Our last three visits to Lugano we stayed mostly on hillsides, up winding roads with some pretty stunning views.
Well, we have a view of the lake where we are now, but the getting here is completely different.
Basically, while the apartment is quite elegant and refined, as well as being in a beautiful area (not that we’ve had a chance to explore yet; more about that tomorrow), we have to drive a heavily traveled road past probably the largest shopping center in the Lugano region to get from here to Ramesha’s family home.
This list of shops gives you some idea. And we’re just days away from Christmas!
This really spoke to me today. Such an important reminder…BE KIND. Not just to others, but also to OURSELVES!
Me: Hey God.
God: Hello, My love.
Me: The world is completely out of control!
God: I know. It’s such an adventure, right?Â
Me: No! It’s like being on a runaway train! I need to feel like I am in control of my life.Â
God: You want to be in control? Â
Me: Yes! Â
God: You are living on a spinning wet rock of a planet that resides next to a constantly exploding fireball in the middle of an ever-expanding universe that is filled with mysteries beyond your wildest imagination. Â
Me: Um, okay….
God: And on this planet that you are hurtling through the great expanse in — you are coexisting with billions of other people who have free-will and their own experiences that shape their perspectives and beliefs.
Me: Yeah…?Â
God: And while all this is going on your soul is residing in a physical body that is such a miracle of delicate engineering that at any given moment could produce its last heartbeat.
Me: Right…
God: What is it about your existence that you think you have any control of?
Me: Um…
God: Come on — you know the answer to this. What can you control?
Me: How kind I am to people?
God: Yep and one other thing.
Me: What’s that?
God: How kind you are to yourself. Aside from that — most of everything else is a bit outside of your design. Â
We felt like we were packing up our entire house this morning, but it mostly looked like so much because our apartment is small.
We arrived in time to unload the car and grab a quick bit to eat, then it was over to the medical center for lab work, a COVID test, and an educational meeting in the main hospital with a CTU (Cellular Therapy Unit) nurse to learn the nitty gritty details of the transplant process.
As I got ready for Sunday service, as we rehearsed, and throughout the service itself, I couldn’t help thinking that we won’t be doing this for some time to come.
And that — more than anything else so far — brought home to me that this is really happening. We’re really leaving for Sacramento in just a few more days and then the adventure really gets interesting!
