BERNIE By Bernie Siegel, MD


You Are Here to Live and Learn I


f you could be God for a day why would you want the opportu- nity? Now most people answer if they could be God they would change and fix things to make the world a better place with fewer afflictions. I am sorry to say that, that is not the right answer. When I confronted God with the problem I had as a doctor watch- ing all the suffering He made it clear that the reason for being God for a day was not to fix things but to understand why. His actual words were, “A perfect world is a magic trick. It is not creation.


You are here to live and learn.” The answer tells us what makes our lives meaningful. When we


show compassion to another human being it means something. It really works to say, “I love you,” to someone when they are scream- ing at you for taking their parking space or some other meaningless thing. They don’t know what to do with you when you express your love instead of screaming at them. Try it tomorrow and let me know what happens. In one extreme case a woman had a guy with a ski mask on grab her purse. She said to him, “I know behind that mask is someone I could love.” He dropped her purse and ran away. Years later a man came up to her to thank her for what she had done for him. It was the guy who grabbed her purse.


Yes, I read the headlines about the killings and suicides and they are due to indifference and rejection being shown to people, especially as children, rather than love. With rejection come anger, rage, revenge and then guilt. So murder and suicide become the final events. Your love could stop that and help people to be repar- ented. So be a grand parent or a great grand parent now and don’t wait for the next generation to benefit from your love.


Now let me lighten up the column and give you some help


which is easily accessible. I want you all to be able to have my angel assist you when you are having difficulties. I will tell you his name so you can call it out in times of dire need. After being involved in several serious accidents such as my car being totaled twice by people going through red lights, choking on a toy as a child, falling off the roof of our house when the top rung of the ladder snapped off and recently falling off my bike when I hit some black ice on the road and always walking away with no serious injuries I announced one night during a lecture that I must have an angel.


A man came up after my lecture and said, “You do have an angel and I know his name.” “Really, what is it?” “What did you say when the ladder broke?” “Oh, Shit!” “That’s his name.” I do not know who that guy was but he gave me a great gift.


Because when I skidded on the ice I called out my angel’s name before I hit the ground and was laughing and so totally relaxed that I was barely bruised at all.


So when in trouble just call out his name. The only condition is that it really must be a passionate call from your heart. The other day I was stuck on the parkway on my way to give a lecture and I called out his name and he got the State Trooper to wave the traffic ahead and I made it on time. Sometimes he’ll give you a spiritual flat tire too. Then you get to the airport late and miss a plane that crashes.


So keep your sense of humor and when you don’t know what to do…laugh. It heals and protects your body. Studies show that cancer patients with a sense of humor who laugh more even when nothing funny is happening, live longer. So take some laugh time today and watch what happens to the people around you when they hear you laughing.


For many, Dr. Bernard Siegel-or Bernie, as he prefers to be- called-needs no introduction. He has touched many lives all over- the Planet. In 1978, he reached a national and then international audience when he began talking about patient empowerment and the choice to live fully and die in peace. As a physician who has cared for and counseled innumerable people whose mortality has been threatened by illness, Bernie embraces a philosophy of living and dying that stands at the forefront of the medical ethics and spiritual issues our Society grapples with today. Read Bernie’s regu- lar blog posts on his website where you will also find his books, articles, and CDs: http://www.berniesiegelmd.com.


34 Essential Living Maine ~ January/February 2017


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