The children tried to cope, but at times, the best they could do was to go into a room and scream, sometimes for more than an hour, emerging exhausted and distant.  They struggled to find comfort in play, unburdened by the weight of their experiences.

He was visibly shattered.  Despite his accomplishments as a successful businessman and elite athlete, his intolerance for his humanity raged.

He briefly skimmed over the reason for his visit:  advanced metastatic cancer.
And then, without pause, the insults starting flying.

Not at me…. at himself.

People drove for hundreds of miles to join the celebration.

His attributes were many, but I couldn’t help but wonder whether something in particular about this man of only 23 years sparked this incredible outpouring of love and admiration.

What was it about the way that he lived his life that affected so many people, of all ages and walks of life, so deeply?

This month, my lessons started when I contracted an illness that left me no choice but to abandon all plans and get into bed.

The symptoms were intense, and my suggestion to patients to find a place of balance and breathe when they are dealing with challenging illnesses, was now appropriate for me.

At the spur of the moment, I decided to join a yoga class taught by a wonderful man with a huge heart. The subject was love, and I felt drawn to immersing myself in this experience for a few hours.

While I am usually quite shy in group settings, I tried to stretch myself by turning sideways to almost face the group rather than facing forward on my mat.

However, I quickly found myself stretched further when we were asked to stand in two lines facing each other and look into each other’s eyes.