Ren, the Lotus Rabbit<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A nurse raised in a home where Buddhism was always close by.
After caring for young children in the hospital, I now sit beside many people in their final days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even the things that don\u2019t go well are lessons worth learning.
Even suffering is a matter of how you choose to receive it.
That said \u2014 it isn\u2019t the same as simply enduring.
Change your perspective, and it\u2019s just a path you\u2019re passing through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the grass, in the trees, even in a cucumber on the kitchen table \u2014
there is life in all things.
I try to live with my hands quietly joined, thankful for the ties I cannot see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Caring for lives just beginning and lives coming to a close,
I\u2019ve been taught, again and again, how precious it is to be alive.
The people in these stories have been gently changed so that no one can be identified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Toward a life without regret.
What matters most is living with gratitude.
And I hope the last words I leave behind are simply, \u201cthank you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of these stories have become songs.
On days when reading feels like too much, you\u2019re welcome to just listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, too, I want to say it: thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n