Spent a few hours at the hospital last night. The sister of someone I have known for 20 years is in bad shape, She has pneumonia, her lungs are filling up with fluid. She's only 61 which isn't that old. I saw her 5 years ago and she was in relatively good shape.

What I realized last night when I visited is over the years she has developed schizophrenia, and recently dementia. I thought I knew a lot about mental illness. Unfortunately I saw her so infrequently that I didn't pick up on the schizophrenia. 6 years ago she had a job working at the airport and was fairly functional. Now her life has deteriorated so much that if she recovers she will spend the rest of her life in a nursing home.













Several things occurred to me.........

1. When we are healthy life is good. When our health fails, many people stop caring..... or stop seeming to care.

2. Yes, it does take some effort to communicate or visit with someone who is sick, but wouldn't we want the same courtesy if we were sick? We are not all young, and our health is guaranteed to fail at some point.......
I feel that some of us put little effort into life or relationships, until it is too late. I have been guilty of that as well.

3. The point to make here, is that if someone we know starts deteriorating, and eventually dies, that relationship we had with them, before they die, is entirely up to us......
Expressing regret at not having visited them, after they die.......is pointless......and part of our human flaws.....IMO

4. The selfishness of many folks in this world becomes apparent to me daily.....I can smell a selfish user a mile away because of problems in my own dysfunctional family.....and will be making a conscious effort to divest myself from anyone in my life who I consider selfish, or a "user"....for my own peace of mind......
This means continuing to engage in whatever battles are necessary with the clueless manipulators who continue to claim there is nothing wrong with our present fisheries.... as a means to divert the truth and push their own selfish agenda.

5. Get the hell out there....and make that effort.........you and they will feel blessed for the contact......Make no mistake about it...human contact has healing powers...but if you can't help someone....the contact will offer needed comfort and peace of mind.....

Remember....the person you are feeling (or should feel) sorry for....may one day be you.

I hope these words reached someone who may not have been living up to their potential in helping someone out in their lives who desperately needs it......
Thanks for reading....