What Makes A Happy Life
Here is your Sunday story on: THE LOVE OF WISDOM: We trudge through life and battle against the odds to give ourselves some sort of life. Or do we? Of course that sentence is negative and no doubt at times that is how we feel. But from negative springs negative; once you are caught in the trap of being negative you'll find it very difficult to get out. We need to spot being negative by simply SEEING the negative arise. Take for example our normal day. We can choose to trudge through it or simply DO it. If we trudge we'll see little else as we're off in some dream world hoping that we're in that dream. In effect we're saying to ourselves we perform these daily duties but only on half power. We'll never surprise anyone; we'll never do anything miraculous we'll just plod on. All because we're operating on half power! On the other hand if we put our full attention of organising our tasks and doing them they'll be done in half the time and somehow we've found time to laugh and enjoy ourselves. So to introduce some positive action changes our perspective on life. Today's story is about helping. It is one fulfilment to ask for help and another fulfilment to actually help. You'll understand this as you read the story. THE LITTLEST FIREFIGHTER (True Story) The 26-year-old mother stared down at her son who was dying of terminal leukaemia. Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination. Like any parent she wanted her son to grow up and fulfil all his dreams; now that was no longer possible. The leukaemia would see to that. But, she still wanted her son's dreams to come true. She took her son's hand and asked, "Billy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life? " "Mommy, I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up." Mom smiled back and said, "Let's see if we can make your wish come true." Later that day she went to her local fire department in Phoenix, Arizona, where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as Phoenix. She explained her son's final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her six year old son a ride around the block on a fire engine. Fireman Bob said, "Look, we can do better than that. If you'll have your son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make him an honorary fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards! And if you'll give us his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat- not a toy one, but one with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots. They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix, so we can get them fast." Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, dressed him in his fire uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck. Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station. He was in heaven. There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all three calls. He rode in the different fire engines, the paramedic's van, and even the fire chief's car. He was also videotaped for the local news program. Having his dream come true and with all the love and attention that was lavished upon him so deeply touched Billy that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible. One night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse, who believed in the hospice concept that no one should die alone, began to call the family members to the hospital. Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made his transition. The chief replied, "We can do better than that. We'll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favour? When you hear the sirens screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that there is not a fire? It's just the fire department coming to see one of its finest members one more time. And will you open the window to his room? About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital, extended its ladder up to Billy's third floor open window and 5 fire-fighters climbed up the ladder into Billy's room. With his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him. With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and said, "Chief, am I really a fireman now?" "Yes, Billy, you are a fireman now, " the chief said. With those words, Billy smiled and closed his eyes one last time. He passed away later that evening. (Unknown Author) NOTE: This is a true story, but names were changed to protect the family. "Billy" was the first child to be helped by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that fulfils the wishes of children with life-threatening illness. The story is from 1981, and it was Make-A-Wish that made the contact with the Phoenix Fire Department. QUOTE: "If we are lucky, we can give in and rest without feeling guilty. We can stop doing and concentrate on being.' (Kathleen Norris, O Magazine, July 2003)
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