In the beginning of September, October and November I received very high doses of steroids to compact a white cell blood count that stubbornly stayed above 135,000. 5 to 10 thousand is normal. Several kinds of chemo would not work. Some of the chemo treatments seemed as benign as drinking water. Others made me quite ill without any positive effect. However, the steroids were successful beyond our hopes and my white count plunged to normal and has stayed that way with one noticeable side effect. Each of my ten fingernails has three lined indentations corresponding to the dates of the steroid treatments. The indentations are all spaced the same. It is like rings on a tree recording historical events.
Psychologists tell us our brains record almost everything that happens to us. Not remembering isn’t because memories are not there. We merely can’t retrieve them. Our problem isn’t memory. It is recall. If psychologists are correct then we are affected and changed each day by our mental intake. At the close of each day we are either a better person or a lesser person. If we were voting on this I am sure we all would vote to end each day being a better person.
Many things that happen to us are the result of circumstances beyond our control. Today I got caught in a massive traffic jam. All I could do was sit and wait. However, there are things that are under our control. Our reading, our use of media, our interactions with family, friends and colleagues are just some of the things we can control. If we consciously use them to better ourselves and others we can finish each day being a better person. Check out Philippians 4:8.
Written by Roger Bothwell on December 20, 2013
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org