A seasonal story…

As its Christmas I thought I would post something a little seasonal perhaps, but more so a story I feel should be shared. Now I was hoping to post this a little earlier prior to Christmas Day, but better late than never right? As you read this post and perhaps wonder its relevancy to the usual subjects I write about please bear in mind that all we do, all we are, all we have been and all we will be is based simply upon our actions and our choices. Whether it’s in a moment of passion, of hope or of pain it is our choices that make us who we are. Sometimes those choices are simple, but have great impact and then at other times they are complex difficult decisions that may cause us great pain. Whether its risking the startof something new or having the courage to end something that has been a part ofyour life for as long as you can remember, choices are what make us who we are.

During the weekend before Christmas this year I found myself unable to go to bed due to some extreme pain in my chest and general abdomen. It was that bad that I couldn’t lay down or even sit comfortably and this led to me spending my night wandering around my little place wishing the pain would pass to let me sleep as fatigue was also beginning to hit me too. At one point it all got so bad that I was violently sick and this increased the pain greatly. As it reached five in the morning I spoke to a friend and they were so concerned that they called me an ambulance worried that perhaps my chest pains may be worse than I thought andthe possible onset of a heart attack. Suffice to say the ambulance arrived andtook me to hospital, just as my children’s Nan arrived to look after them forme. I’m lucky to have such an excellent support network, especially at times like this.

However this is not a story about me and my trip to hospital, it is a story about something slightly different. Whilst I was in hospital the staff took great care of me and quickly assessed me, it wasn’t a heart attack, not even close actually. As I moved through the hospital I encountered various characters, some individuals that appeared to think they were of greater importance than anyone else that was unwell and were quite rude to the hospital staff. It’s behaviour like that which upsets me really, we need to be better than that and kinder to one another. Eventually I ended up in a little waiting room in the CDU of the hospital with two or three elderly people.

Making new friends…

After being sat for a little while with a drip attached to my arm I was fortunate to be visited by my elder sister, who came to check up on me and ensure I was okay. Which I was of course and would be able to leave in only a few hours. However it soon became apparent to me that although I had received visitors my elderly companions had not and this played on my mind a little to be honest. It was this lack of family presence that led to me speaking to one particular elderly lady, that had been brought in with a nasty bump on her head.

Anne as I soon learnt was an impressive ninety-four years old and from Yorkshire originally, she even still had the accent. My conversation with Anne was somewhat fragmented though, whether it was that bump on the head she had received orperhaps something else related to her age I chose not to judge, but to continue our conversation.

During my research into various aspects of the paranormal something I have looked into was memory. Our memory is one thing that really cannot be trusted, often parts will be missing or parts will be replaced with other memories or imagination in order to build us a picture. This isn’t just memories that are old like say childhood ones, it could be something that has literally just happened too. Hence why the Police will gather as many witness statements as possible in order to define the facts through the various perspectives available. This is something that perhaps all of us need to realise and potentially apply to our own lives onoccasion. Comprehending the simple fact that memory isn’t fact due to perception ensures that we then look at greater possibilities when reviewing statements or contemplating possible evidence.

Meeting Anne…

Anne shared with mesome interesting snippets from her own memory as we sat drinking tea waiting inthe CDU. She told me of her fond memories of her father, he had grown up in Yorkshire too, but as his parents were from Ireland he was called Patrick, Paddy for short. Paddy worked in the mines, but loved to play both football and rugby too. However he’s talents were not restricted to sport alone though, he was anamazing singer and this was where Anne highlighted a musical link within her family. She then explained how her brother was an amazing pianist and that he had even played some concerts too, she remarked on how she had loved listening to him play. Anne played too, but only in the pub; a comment which made me smile I must admit. She didn’t really comment on her mother at all.

During our conversation Anne did manage to divulge a little detail to how she managed to obtain her bump on the head although I think she remained very confused about the whole situation. She told me how there was a chest of draws involved and that she remembered it had fallen over somehow. Beyond that though she couldn’t recall a thing and even asked me at times why she was at the hospital. Knowing what is going on around us or why we are somewhere is something we all most likely take for granted. It’s something so basic and natural that we just don’tquestion its importance. Anne’s questions such as asking me to explain why she was in hospital were quite upsetting, something which was highlighted further by her lack of family support too. I could only tell her that she had knocked her head, but that was clearly insufficient detail and I could tell that she needed more background. Something I just couldn’t provide.

A reminder about my own Nan…

My own Nan is in her mid-nineties too and currently lives in Cornwall hundreds of miles away from me near where my cousin lives. I have been a bad Grandson to her in recent years, as I have not been down to visit. Of course I make every excuse under the stars; I’m too busy with work, too busy with my kids, it’s too far, none are really that acceptable. Meeting Anne reminded me, actually the lack of visitors for Anne reminded me that even though I thought it was terrible she had none, I too was as bad as Anne’s family. This time of year family is often in our minds, but perhaps that just isn’t enough we should be doing more and showing our family we care by visiting them in person. I know my Nan would have spent some of her Christmas with my cousin and aunt’s family, so not alone, which is good. I hope that Anne was equally joined by her own family and had a good Christmas with them this year, especially after ending up in hospital with that nasty knock on the head.

Anne’s fragmented mind (during our conversation at least) gave me some interesting ideas that Iam sure will come up in future posts, but equally made me contemplate a little more about something that is given a little less focus these days; something I will refer to as the transition from life to death. It’s been looked at in the past where some have actually weighed a person prior to death and then again once they’ve passed, to attempt to calculate the weight of the soul. However that’s not quite the angle I am going for here. The connection here that I found a little more interesting was that of the fragmented information presented by Anne during our conversation, it was remarkably similar to that of the information presented by Mediums when they communicate with spirits. I had often wondered if there could be some kind of connection between dementia  and telepathic interaction. A connection where as its difficult for information to be communicated  by the individual as recalling it is hard, but possibly accessible by someone else telepathically. It would certainly be fascinating if that was the case I’m sure. Perhaps something I will look into further in 2019 and discuss on my blog posts.

Christmas and family…

Christmas is a great time to catch up with family, to spend time with them too. It doesn’t have tobe fancy, just talking can often be enough. I have done a little of that myself this year thanks to my elder sister that allowed us all to descend on her in her new place. It was great to see my immediate family this year and for my kids to be there later in the day too.

A friend once told me that everything happens for a reason, it is all a part of our journey. I’m not sure I really every believed any of that, it always seemed a little bit too spiritual for me really. However that said, if we take the time to zoom out a little, then often those connections become evident. I am glad I met Anne this last week whilst I was in hospital, she has sparked some interesting ideas for me. She has equally reminded me about family and friends again, their importance and how there is a greater connection between us all to be recognised.

Often we can find ourselves repeating the same approaches over and over again, but this doesn’tneed to be the case we can go beyond that. Question what you know and what you’ve been told, try something a little different. Whether your approach is spiritual or more scientific then perhaps it’s time to seek a balance between both approaches.

Merry Christmas & A Very Happy New Year to you all. ��,C�