Ode to a Lobe – Day 22

22 Elul 5774
By Rise Kirbo

To my lungs, July 24th was a day like any other.  Inhaling and exhaling.  The precise and precious exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide providing essential and life affirming nutrients to every cell in my body.  Working for 63 years, never needing a tune up or a vacation.  Never needing any type of advanced degree to do a better job.

The body has no ego.  It doesn’t feel sorry for itself for perceived injustices. It doesn’t seek approval. It simply does it’s job, working within the landscape of what is.  And on this particular day our life changed because cancer snuck up on us again.

Dear Lobe,

I’m sorry you had to die so I could live. One moment you were busy at work, and in the next moment you were gone forever.  A ghost of yourself with only a past. I imagine you now in a container of formalin waiting for the scalpel to reveal information about this deadly invader so that we can know what our next steps will be.  Thank you for providing me comfort and safety in your sacrifice. Love R.

I know the importance of the breath in a spiritual sense. To be present and aware from moment to moment, breath by breath.  Now I am letting go of what I know to be and what I’ve lost.  I am beginning to explore what resides between the empty and silent spaces.  For in the quiet and the stillness there lies a new opening for deeper insights, for forgiveness, for acceptance, and for faith.  Amen.