From the Heart

Love is a many splendored thing. Love means never having to say you are sorry. Love makes the world go round. LOVE.

Love is from the heart.

Today I had good news and bad news from the doc. I have changed my diet and exercised more and my blood pressure is way down, that is the good news.

I also learned that I have an irregularity in my heart, nothing that's going to kill me, but if it wasn't discovered I suppose it could have, and that would be the bad news.

It seems that my heart contracts as it should, but takes a bit too long to relax before contracting again. This can cause dizziness, or sudden death; fortunately I have not experienced either.

Oh geez. No worries. This could explain the weird "heart" thumps I have felt for most of my life and have mentioned to doctors repeatedly over the years, with no comment or diagnosis beyond "Most people have some irregular heartbeats on occasion, nothing to worry about."

Uh huh.

So now, I am on a beta blocker. This can cause dizziness, but prevents sudden death. I suppose that's an improvement. I also get to return to childhood memories and pop an orange-flavored baby aspirin daily. I guess there is a silver lining in every cloud!

It's amazing how even something that is supposedly controllable with meds can suddenly make you think about life from a new vantage point and cause you to see with immediate clarity who is important to you, you will be there for you, who you love - from your heart.

And for me, it's simple. I love my family. And I love my friends. And I love that I have a deep faith. And I love myself, I am happy with who I am. I have made a lot of mistakes, but I have few, if any, regrets.

And I love life. And I plan to stick around for a long time and continue to drive everyone crazy - and hopefully share a few laughs along the way.

And I love - easily, fully, with complete trust, unconditionally. And I am thankful for that. It may have given opportunity for disappointment and heartbreak in my life, but I would rather experience those things than live life with doubt and mistrust governing my thoughts and actions.

And I live from the heart. Life is good. But life with love is better.

True love is eternal.

Bryan Adams "Straight from the Heart"