Jeffrey C. Long

In a recent episode of Grey’s Anatomy on TV a patient came in with an aneurism. It seemed inoperable, though one doctor knew of a way to treat it. Her reply was “For years, I was living asleep. This woke me up and I’ve been alive ever since. My aneurism and me, we’re good friends.”

This really slapped me upside my head. Because of the hecticness of life I live asleep. While I was in Mississippi, the phrase “Be There” came to my mind. That wherever I am, whatever I am doing, I need to be fully present sucking everything in through my senses. I need to do this in the normal times. But it was heightened when I was driving along the gulf coast witnessing the devastation of Katrina, or at the ocean in Florida, or eating one of the greatest meals in my life (grilled grouper with crawfish etouffe). I did everything I could to just soak in the moment. It was very worthwhile. Memories have a stronger imprint when they are tied to emotions. By “Being There” I strengthen the memories. Be There.