Recycle Life, Love and Organs

Organ donation. Extending another's life. Giving what you no longer need. Making a difference long after you drift in the next dimension of being. If you actively recycle paper, plastic, and metals to help save the Earth, it should be safe to assume you're registered as an organ donor, right? It's best not to assume; thus, I write for future lives...it might even be yours...perhaps, mine.

Let's get straight to the point. Why keep what you don't need anymore? We have garage sales and sell stuff for pennies on the dollar of what we originally paid. We donate to Goodwill for tax write offs (or, not). We donate blood to the Red Cross. We might even surprise someone behind us in the fast food drive-thru and pay for their bill. It's consciously rewarding to give a part of ourselves...it is a gracious endorsement of life's purpose.

There is immediate gratification in giving while alive. Why not keep on giving after you've left the physical plane? Think about it. A part of you keeps the light of life burning in another. We are intraconnected...our connection to each other has no definitive lines. Each individual plays an integral part in life's dance. Some lead. Some follow. Some flower the walls. Some leave early. Some leave after they have graced life's party to a song they waited so long to dance to.

Fact: The liver is the only organ that can regenerate itself. A live donor can donate 50-70% of their liver and it will grow back to original size in 2-5 weeks! Truly amazing. The recipient's portion will do the same in a longer span of time.

Face it, when we hear someone needs a liver, the first thought we have is pending demise unless by the grace of God, a match is found. It is bigger than winning the lottery. The waiting list is long and the potential donor's list is short. Not suggesting live donation (but, hey...if opportunity knocks...) but, no need to take it to the grave.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not anxiously awaiting Death's knock on my door or anyone else's; however, when the knuckles of Life's closest dance partner taps on your abode, why not leave your furniture behind for those who need it? Time slips away for all of us...how generous to literally give the intangibly, priceless, loving gift of physical time? E=MC2 re-defined. Your sources of life reflecting you back in the hearts of many.


Fact: The heart is the only organ that cannot get cancer. Wow. This relentless muscle is designed to keep blood moving continuously to nourish each cell. The heart's cells do not duplicate and divide like other cells in the body. It can suffer from blockage; atrophy in portions or be jolted back to life with a zealous zap of electrical frequency. As long as it keeps on pounding its inner pavement...it gives life one beat at a time.

How beautiful to literally give your heart to someone so they can keep sharing love? Isn't that what it's all about?

Fact: You're never too old to give the blessing of sight. Think about it. Allowing your eyes to be the vision of another. Truly seeing from a new perspective. Possibly opening eyes once veiled by darkness so they can see light and all the glorious colors embellishing, beautifying and constantly extending Nature's rainbow.

Fact: Post life donations are more than just organs. Skin, eye corneas, heart valves, bone, intestines, to name a few parts and pieces, can be donated. Live life to the fullest and let your departure make a difference. It's love. In the end, love is the true matter of all energy.

I know and have met several people who are alive today due to the selfless donation of another. The families of the individuals feel blessed, relieved, inspired, loved. The friends of the family and revived individual energetically kissed by a stranger. Love, life's true circle of unity, broadens and brightens...like the sun's white rays flickering outwardly on a cloudless, deep blue sky.

True story: I know a kind, loving, tender woman who desperately needed a kidney transplant. She adapted to the three times a week dialysis routine. She accepted the "don't feel so good" in between days. She acknowledged she could die...she was 40 when we met. She loved her daughter, her family , her life; yet, knew she was on borrowed time. Her daughter even made it clear that when she turned 18, she would give her mother one of her kidneys. She had done research. They were a perfect match. But, age 18 was six years away.

Two years before her daughter could legally donate, medical condition was going South. My friend maintained her integrity of respecting the ultimate possibility without throwing hope out the window. And, then the call came. She had a matching donor.

Seven years later, I see her smile, laugh, love. Our daughters are the same age. We banter back and forth about the challenges of motherhood, getting older, life. All of it with an unspoken understanding of the sacredness and brevity of it all.

Recent true story: A friend of mine heard life's clock tick louder as his mother's life appeared to approach the final 'snooze' we eventually hit. Her liver no longer functioned to the body's needs. Medicine's ingredients couldn't replicate the liver's profound 24/7, no breaks, no holidays, no "me" time workload. Only another liver could help. The waiting list felt like a Russian roulette game...the one holding the trigger was Time.

The liver is the second largest organ. Skin is in first place. It processes chemicals, hormones; stores nutrients for future use; detoxifies the blood; converts carbohydrates into energy...just to list a few functions this 3 pound soft and malleable triangular shaped thing does.

One would assume she was 'too old' to get an organ of such significance. How can we attach worthiness of life to age? Some of history's most profound contributers were gifts created by seasoned walkers of Earth...because they had time to learn more, evolve more and share it. We needed their wisdom to move forward. Thus, you're never too old to donate...there is no age limit.

Long story short...right before Life slipped out of her hands, a matching liver pushed through Death's door and Life resumed the lead in their cosmic dance. Tears of joy, relief, gratitude, amazement, strengthened unity...love...washed the faces of those close to her. I think donors witnessing love, gratitude, and compassion are shining stars we see twinkle at night. They're winking while smiling outwardly expanding Light. She's someone's mother. She's a grandmother. She's a friend. She is loved and was given another song to dance to. How many songs is unknown to all of us. The question is the answer...keep dancing.

The music of life is tender, moving, relentlessly pleading to be danced to every moment it gives. So, I say...dance to the end of Love...and when you leave life's dance floor...help another pick up where you left off.

You will be the life of the party...