Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened, but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm. -Robert Louis Stevenson
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When I have been listened to and when I have been heard, I am able to re-perceive my world in a new way and to go on. It is astonishing how elements that seem insoluble become soluble when someone listens, how confusions that seem irremediable turn into relatively clear flowing streams when one is heard. I have deeply appreciated the times that I have experienced this sensitive, empathic, concentrated listening. -Carl R. Rogers, Experiences in Communication
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The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said. -Peter Drucker
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I have been wondering about when and why the lesson learned in my accident has so suddenly been lost to a feeling of melancholy? I do have to say that I prefer enjoyment of each day, looking forward to the people I might meet and the stories that I might hear or talents observed. I remember riding the public transportation wheelchair accessible vans, never being able to anticipate who would be riding.

The difference between the transportation in the small town where I live now and in the neighboring city is the variety of people riding the vans, In this smaller town, rides are only provided for people going to doctors' appointments, some kind of therapy or jobs. In the larger city, passengers might be going shopping or to a movie, or to visit a friend. I looked forward each day to the unexpected.

One day I rode with a woman who appeared quite ordinary. I commented on a ring she was wearing and, when she told me about it, I detected an accent, perhaps Irish or Scottish. When I asked about her accent, she told me that it was Scottish with a proper British English undertones. She began sharing stories of travel all over the world. This very ordinary appearing woman had an extraordinary life, most notable to me was that she had been hired by the Royal Family of Tibet to teach their young childred proper British English and proper British etiquette in preparation for Queen Elizabeth's coronation. She knew the family members who had been slain during the attack on the Tibetin Royal Family in the palace by Chinese revolutionaries.

Another day, I was seranaded by a ninty two year old man who used to sing in a barbershop quartet. He told me he had been going to old folks homes homes to sing for the residents. Later that day, I talked with a young woman who was from the same state where I grew up. She seemed to have Asperger's autism and was a savant at counting and keeping an accurate count of cars that drove by according to their colors while she was in conversation with me.

I've heard stories of other's lives, where they came here from and why, shared funny happenings or simply small talk about where they were going on that day. I loved to listen to these people and learn about their diverse backgrounds. If nothing else, I enjoyed sitting outside listening to the birds and the wind in the pines, watching airplanes fly overhead, or saying hi to a neighbor walking their dog.

I don't know where this piece of me has gone. I want to sort it out and find me again...the me with the quiet and peaceful mind, aware of each passing moment and able to relax, smile and know deep down inside that no matter what, everything will be as it should be and I can count on it!