Debra Basham

Living and Loving

Tag: life and death

  • Mojo

    Sacred Stories

    On Sunday evening he was visiting friends to play dominoes. Addressing the wife, he said, “I need you to do some of your Mojo. We need to find a rental for next season.”

    She told him he did not need her Mojo, he just needed to use his own. He was to simply say or think, “Whatever she does, I need some of that now.”

    The following evening, at euchre someone told him about a rental. It was perfect!

    These are sacred stories. What does this all mean to you? Do you have as story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • Grandma’s Ring

    Sacred Stories

    When she was eight years old, her mom brought her, and her brother and sister, to their grandma’s home. They were searching for her grandma’s engagement ring. There was concern about the ring being in the house while it was empty. Her grandma was in the hospital in acute respiratory failure after years of living with emphysema.

    Her mom’s search centered on an old dresser with lots of small drawers. Her mom was removing the drawers, rows at a time, searching for a small manila envelope containing the ring.

    The children were playing in the skeleton of the dresser, pretending they were mail carriers stuffing imaginary mail into each small cubby.

    After what seemed like hours of carefully searching and re-searching the contents of each drawer, the drawers were all put back in. The ring had not been found.

    Just as they were leaving, her mom turned back and opened one drawer to find the tiny manila envelope placed neatly on top. Her mom began to cry.

    As her mom sat there crying, the phone rang. It was her aunt calling with news that her grandma had just passed.

    These are sacred stories. What does this all mean to you? Do you have as story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • Flat Tire

    Sacred Stories

    He had a flat tire.

    Fortunately, a guy stopped.

    After helping him take off the tire, the guy then drove him to a place to get the tire repaired.

    “They do a great job here,” he grinned.

    The tire was quickly repaired, and the guy drove him back to his vehicle.

    Arriving back at his vehicle, the guy vanished!

    These are sacred stories. What does this all mean to you? Do you have as story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • Eagle Print

    Sacred Stories

    His mother had passed away. He was missing her a lot.

    They went on a get-away-weekend to escape the stress of their loss.

    As they entered their room, an eagle print was hanging right over the bed.

    Eagle was the “animal totem” of his mother!They felt her loving presence there with them.

    These are sacred stories. What does this all mean to you? Do you have as story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • Happy Birthday!

    Sacred Stories

    It was the one-year birthday of her twins. Her daughter had lived only three-days.

    She was trying to post a “happy birthday” message for her son on Facebook.

    NONE of his posts were going through, until after she posted a photo of her daughter.

    Her comment, “This little girl is making sure her birthday is celebrated!”

    These are sacred stories. What does this all mean to you? Do you have as story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • Reunion

    It was 1:53 AM when he got up to pee. Faint shadows from the streetlight danced lazily on the wall. It had been almost midnight when she got to sleep, but she forced her eyes to open sufficiently and adjust to the darkness. He expected it, and she predictably said, “It is 2 o’clock. We might as well get up and get on the road.”

    They never think of themselves as leaving their winter paradise. Nor do they think of themselves as going home. They think of themselves as going to see the kids.

    Two days ago a good friend died. He probably didn’t think about himself as leaving or as going home either. I can imagine him thinking of himself as going to see the dogs.

    Traffic was pleasantly light, obviously one of the benefits of their 3 AM departure. More than a few vehicles passed, bicycles obediently following behind. Ontario license plates. Wisconsin license plates. Michigan license plates. A few Florida license plates, but mostly snowbirds driving north.

    A snowbird is a person who moves from the higher latitudes and colder climates of the northern United States and Canada and migrates southward in winter to warmer locales. Snowbirds think they have the best of both worlds…

    While nonsnowbird friends, family members, and colleagues scrape ice from the windshield, shovel snow from the drive, and brace against the cold wind, snowbirds ride bikes, play shuffleboard, watch Eagle chicks grow and fledge, play music, and go out to eat dinner at five o’clock in the afternoon.

    Some snowbirds write poetry.

    From a source of poets and writers poetry prompts “Creative Guidance for Writing Poems and Experimenting with Forms” comes a great exercise:

    If you’re having trouble starting a poem, begin at the end. Take a single collection of poems and make a list of the last two words from each poem. Then write your own poem using only these words. Be vigilant at first utilizing just the vocabulary from the list. After a couple of drafts, stray from the limited words to help bring the poem to its full realization.

    Here are two words from a collection of 9 poems by Mary Oliver:

    could save
    something better
    of things
    a star
    to pray
    your life
    morning light
    the universe
    of dust

    This poem, written on 3/3/2016, is dedicated to Joseph, now reunited with his beloved dog,Tramp.

    Of Dust—Version One

    Your life, of dust; of things?

    Something better?

    To pray…

    Could save the universe; morning light, a star.

    A Star—Version Two

    Longing for something better

    Pray to the universe—celebrate a star—dance in the morning light

    These are some of the things worthy of longing for

    Turning longing into loving could save your life

    From dust we come, and to dust we return. Farewell, Joseph, we celebrate a star! Enjoy your reunion.

  • Safe Trip Home

    Every day I hear about somebody having surgery. Some of those surgeries are major, some are minor. I understand the definition of “minor” surgery as something someone else is having….

    Almost every day I hear about the death of someone I know, someone I love, someone I’ll miss. So much dying.

    This too shall pass. Living with impermanence is at once both gratifying and terrifying.

    Imagine standing on the seashore. As you watch the waves roll in and break, what has rolled in? What have you seen break? Are not the waves continually a part of the ocean?

    My friend, Rabbi Rami Shapiro asks what happens to an ice cube when it melts in a glass of water—he says dying is like that.

    Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (the famous “Death and Dying” lady). Elisabeth had suffered 19 or more strokes and was completely paralyzed on one side, yet she continued to live alone.

    Author Melody Beattie came to her home and did an interview at bedside. Melody asked Elisabeth if she really believed in life after death. Wasn’t she the least little bit afraid?

    Elisabeth laughed. “Didn’t you read my book, dear?” she said. “It’s not about believing. I know there’s life after death. Dying is the easy part. It’s life that’s hard.”

    Melody leaned over and whispered in Elisabeth’s ear, “Thank you. And have a safe trip home.”

    Rabbi Rami says that life is like a giant rope, and we are all connected to one another before birth, during life, and in our life-after-death. Rami says birth is like the tying of a knot in the rope. Dying is like the untying of that knot.

    This is my farewell writing for this winter’s season. Thursday morning I’ll be heading north with many other snowbirds.

    May we each have a safe trip home….

    Debra Basham 3/21/2017
    WC 301

  • Boat-4-Sale

    Sacred Stories

    He saw an ad for a boat in Boat-4-Sale magazine. He made a call and went to see the boat.

    When he got there, this boat was not the same boat he had called about, but this boat was perfect for him.

    “How did you know about the boat?” the woman asked.

    She said the boat had belonged to her husband. Her husband had recently died.

    In talking a bit more, he learned that the woman’s husband had died the same month as his mom. And this boat had previously been in Long Island where he had grown up.

    The woman said she needed to sell the boat, but she had not yet listed it.

    He bought the boat!

    These are sacred stories. What does this all mean to you? Do you have as story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • The Touch of the Master’s Hand

    Sacred Stories

    He was going through a divorce. It was a very tough time.

    He had a very heavy heart as he boarded the plane.

    The man seated next to him on the flight gave him a booklet.

    When he finished reading and turned to thank the man, the man had disappeared!

    These are sacred stories. What does this all mean to you? Do you have as story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.

  • Fiddle Music

    Sacred Stories

    It had been one of the toughest days of her life. She had just buried her baby.

    Returning home from the funeral, she received a call on her cell phone. When she answered, she heard fiddle music. No message, just fiddle music.

    Their dear friend was a fiddle player. He had recently passed.

    She knew instantly he was letting them know their precious baby was now safe in heaven with him!

    These are sacred stories. What does this all mean to you? Do you have as story to share? Send email to debra@scs-matters.com.