Are you Real? Yes, I Matter

I had a patient a couple of weeks ago ask me if I was real? We are atoms, which make up matter, which, is what I learned in Physics a long time ago. Now, did I understand physics? No. Did I understand math, where you had to figure out the problem by reading pages of words to get the sum of some letter squared? No. Every night in high school, I would head over to my neighbor’s house because I had no clue what I was doing. Thank goodness for him because he put in countless hours of figuring out, and trying to teach me things that in the end to me, didn’t matter. I had a hard time in school. It wouldn’t seem that way from the outside, but remember, I was a good actor. I had to work at it. Nursing school was the roughest ever! And, then to take the nursing certification exam not once, but twice! Yes, I took it twice!

I heard a saying the other day. You have to un-learn what you learned in school. Totally true except for some true basics. Nursing school didn’t even come close to making me be the nurse I am today. It took matter. The matter of human beings, the matter of time, and the matter of love. That is what matters in life. Experiences. Souls. Beings. School? Not so much. I’m currently in Iowa and I had the opportunity to visit both of my great grandparents resting grounds. I used to get uneasy with headstones popping up everywhere, but this time was different. Their bodies are underneath as matter, but their souls are ongoing, where ever that may be. Through each generation, we learn, accept, and put the teachings into experiences. Why? Because it defines the matter we live in. Experiences are where we learn, where we cultivate, where we become successful if that is the direction you choose. You have the decision to go where you want. Nobody else. You cannot blame another person for your failures. You are ultimately the one who chooses your own destiny.

Stop blaming others for your non-forward movement. You have always had a choice. I chose a lot of things in my life. Can I rewrite it? No. I can only move forward daily and choose what experiences come my way. I am the driver, I am the matter which strives for success, for compassion, and most of all, the will to make the world a better place. We were put here to help one another, not tear each other away. Two heads are better than one. So what did that patient see when he asked me if I was real? I will never know because when I asked him what he saw, he said, “It doesn’t matter.” Two kinds of matter. Which one are you choosing?