Wake up calls

"Many people have spoken of their illnesses as a 'wake-up call'. That means wake up and experience life--wake up and bless each morning, wake up and appreciate friends and family. I have heard people with critical illnesses say that their lives only really began when they were diagnosed. Why is that? Because whenever we are diagnosed with a critical illness, much of our superficial personal baggage is dropped in the first five minutes. Why do I act so arrogantly? Why I am pretending to be so tough? Why am I judging so many people? Why am I not appreciating all the love and beauty that surrounds me? Why am I avoiding the simplest and most important element of my being, the love in my heart?"

—Excerpted from A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles