Thoughts from the Rock: It's about the Journey
By Dr. Sarah Allen
I used to have a poster in my classroom with a quote from Gandhi:
"Live every day as if it is your last and learn as if you will live forever." It's always been my motto in life. And if I could add:
Hold onto your loved ones. Cherish them every day. Acknowledge and appreciate every good person in your life. Love freely. Speak freely. Take risks and don't look back. Never regret a mistake, learn from it. Apologize without hesitation. Wake up every day and try to be better than you were yesterday. Do it in every aspect of your life. Be true to yourself. Feel and appreciate your emotions and experiences, all of them, even the bad. They are the beauty of what makes us human and gives our life breadth. Live your life fully and authentically, without fear, hesitation, or excuses. You only get one. Treat your body like a temple. It’s your house and you only get one of those, too. Enjoy it all - the good, bad, and the ugly. Have fun. Laugh a lot. Work hard. Be a really good person. Live honestly and with integrity, because in the end, that is all that really matters.
Heaven gained another angel, a true angel. Watch how the sun and stars shine extra brightly now.
The best part of my career and my life are the people in it. My patients feel the same way to me as my students used to, like family. One of my dearest patients, Chip Simmons, passed away on October 27, 2020. He was a very special man, a dedicated husband for 30 years, with two children, their spouses, and 6 grandchildren.
Chip and his wife, Lisa became very special people in my life, because they were so good. They stood out brightly among the others in the city of Miami, with its notorious motto: “Miami is a sunny place for shady people.”
Every Monday morning for over two years, I would give Chip a massage treatment every Monday morning at 7 a.m. before class and before he would go to work. If you have ever entered a house of a loving, married couple for 50 years, you know it feels like coming home and their home was truly a refuge for me.
Miami was the most challenging place I have ever lived, much more than Colombia and Brazil. I often felt like a small fish in a shark tank, especially being a farm girl from Minnesota. I finally made a list on a piece of paper of all the good people and places that filled me up with positive energy and all the bad people and places that I needed to avoid. It helped me get through this challenging period and enjoy my time better. Chip and Lisa were on the top of my list. They helped me get through. Even when I moved to Oregon, Chip still contacted me regularly and always said he was there if I needed anything at all.
Thank you Chip. Recently, I keep hearing your voice and your deep-bellied laugh, and I recall the discussions we used to have. You loved to talk and I imagine you up in heaven talking away with every soul you meet.
I know you would have loved this video as you always told me how much he enjoyed seeing my adventures. I dedicate this story and video to you, Chip. You knew what living was truly all about.
My thoughts, prayers and condolences to his wife, Lisa Simmons, and his family. With much love, Sarah