H e l l o from FDL

Hello -- I once was dead, but now I have risen and am here to tell you about the tunnels back to life. Choose wisely for there are only three doors - although you get a second chance, turn-abouts are unnecessary pain to pass through again and again. So I am going to take you on a mysterious ride, fasten your seat belt, grab on to what you can and throw away the rest, for not even I know where this is going.
Whenever I had the 'pleasure' of being a hospital guest, I was always alone for life keeps everybody else busy in their own schedules. G-d has indeed enriched me this ‘go round’ for I have had many visitors and calls, beautiful presents and lovely cards -- all to say we may feel all alone on this side, but we are never totally alone even though sometimes we might just their minds.
Now that I got to see both sides of the having someone or not having anyone, I would highly suggest no visitors for the first two days at least – I was in so much pain that it took all my strength just to block it off! Smiling and making nice was definitely not at the top of my list – one was gambling with their own life entering this lion’s den, but this too could have been their trial to see if they could get out without being eaten alive.
Now throughout life’s journey a lot of people may have gotten dropped into the compost pile, pushed, shoved, stepped onto – whatever it doesn’t make a difference how one got there, but how to stay out, for compost, like all other faculties in life reproduces itself. I am in the stage of my treatment of being asked whether I could pass air or did I have a bowl movement, so that set me off and running in my thoughts – do I really want to birth and produce more compost? You could even be given white chalk to drink and have albino babies for a week. Do they not know the pain it would bring on? Speaking of pain, the most useful present was a lovable teddy bear with sympathetic eyes – you just hug that old bear as close to you as possible to muffle the pain in coughing; guess it keeps you and teddy from bursting the railroad tracks wide open, plus sharing your pain with a strong friend who can ‘bear’ it. Compost is compost and we neither have to stay were we have been nor set up house there. The only necessary fruit of compost is to bury it! Stop making friends with it and enjoying the squishiness between your toes! You have been lied to, and furthermore, you have bought into that lie hook, line and sinker --- time to take a shower for we are moving upward and out of this pit of decay.
Now I have been down all three of the tunnels. Ok, so I am a slow learner, but in all fairness there was never a light shining at the end of any tunnel to say ‘pick me’. My Father knows I love to solve and work out the details, so He allows me to pick and choose the hard way. The names of the tunnels were not revealed when choosing, but discovered after closing the doors behind you. One was “MY WAY” this had lots of twist and turns, dead ends and blocks. I spent many a year in this tunnel for I could not find my way out and kept hitting walls. G-d has given free choice to all His children, so My way was the choice not of my own, but of another one that had the capability to make that choice. Some times we are but pawns in the hands of the players. If you pay close attention to the players you start to learn the strategy of the game and eventually understand you are coming into the ability to start making right choices and change the rules of the game.
The Second door “YOUR CHOICES.” If you hit this one, I am proud of you for you are moving in the right direction and there are many lessons to learn in this tunnel. This tunnel is made by your choices – now don’t be so hard on yourself – look at the role models you had, didn't have. Many times we just have to wing it, you play with what you have and learn from your mistakes, bottom line is you're pushing on - run, crawl, skip, jump; just keep moving and don’t set up house in this tunnel you are to be PASSING THROUGH.
Now I swear I spend as much time in this one as in the first, if not more, for now I felt like I had to clean up everyone’s else’s mistakes. You know the dance, two steps forward and three steps behind, shake a little, bow a little and shove right on back. This is the noisy tunnel for everyone has a opinion on everything and all mean well to just tell you how it all is – Did you ever say ‘just keep your opinion to yourselves?!’ But then that would include your own opinions, maybe this world would get along better if there was more thinking and less speaking going on, ‘but then that’s my opinion.’ Eventually you learn that it was not the right place to go - you have not enjoyed life, nor any of your own choices and whatever is behind this door has got to be right, for there is no other choice to make at this time. You are being blown out of here, for you are ready to make more right shoices.
Door number three, come on down!! I thought you would never pick this door; it has been a long time coming!! This door is called “His Way”, so might as well say goodby for there are going to be a lot of changes and I need you to pay attention. I can tell you this ‘you will enjoy this trip for you are finally in the right tunnel toward bigger and better things. You can invite all your friends at a later time for you are going to become quite a promoter of this place.