I recently had the good fortune to spend a number of days “laying low” in a hospital bed. Don't get me wrong. It wasn't the easiest or most comfortable of experiences, but the enforced “opportunity” to slow down, take stock and reflect has certainly had an impact on my life and, I believe, on those close to me.

I learned that no matter what happens to us as individuals, the world goes on spinning at it's own hectic pace…. but that doesn't mean we have to spin with it.

I learned that I cannot ignore my health, my well being. That I must listen to the “messages” my body conveys – even if they do occur when I'm “on a roll”!

I learned that there is a time to follow, to be in the passenger seat rather than driver's seat. That there is comfort in routine and benefit in quiet time. ..although routine is not always beneficial – and quiet time is not always comfortable.

I learned that crisis can bring clarity. That it brings out the best – and sometimes the worst – in people. I learned that no matter one's good intentions and desire to be generous of spirit, our personal resources are limited and boundaries need to be established.

And above all, I learned that “to surrender” is not a matter of giving up, of losing control. Rather it is the matter of living in faith. Faith in the professionals. Faith in the power of love. Faith in self, and above all, faith that one's Higher Power will ensure that everything will work out just as it's supposed to.

What relevance these musings in your life -- you might well ask.

Life has lessons for each of us. And life has it's own strange way of bringing them to our attention each and every day. Do we heed them? Do we truly learn from them? Or have we become so immune to the daily bombardment that only a crisis will bring us to our senses?