Sometimes my Dad would call my mother at work and say, “The
word for the day is…. And he’d come up with something. One time he called her and she answered the
phone and said, “Admitting.” She worked
in the admitting office at the local hospital, and he said, “Fallopian Tube.” No hello, just "Fallopian Tube." And with a great deal of enthusiasm. After Wayne Dyer came to visit me in the
hospital, she answered the phone and he said, “Wayne Dyer!”
I have reflected a lot about Wayne since he made his
transition and watched his movies again.
I regret not seeing him in 25 years and very glad I called into his radio
show about 5 years ago. And grateful
they put my call through. So many people
called into his show and frankly I was very nervous and almost hoping they wouldn't take my call. It took him a minute or two to remember me,
but he did and was so happy to hear from me.
I had not read his books or listened to his lectures in a
long time until 2007. When I saw him on PBS, he was
so different than I remembered him. So
gentle and so full of love. He used to
send me his books and on the package, there was a stamp that would say, “Love In Action.” In the 80's and early 90's he would answer fan letters and send out packages on his own. In this PBS special in 2007, he spoke so much about service and I
said to my therapist, “I just can’t be that good.” Then I saw the book he had just written at the library, “Inspiration,
You’re Ultimate Calling.” As soon as I
opened it, I kept reading. And anyone
that knows me knows it is difficult for me to stay interested in books, but I
pretty much read and read. I took it home
and just opened it to whatever page and practically memorized it. I renewed it 2 times and finally bought
it. I try not to buy books but I bought this one and highlighted and underlined passages. The book is so worn out now that the cover fell off. Everything in it was wonderful. Mostly he spoke of serving others. I loved it. I did everything the book said, and then I burned out. I was exhausted from trying to do something
for someone every day. This was one of his suggestions. Preferably a stranger. One day at work
on a Saturday, someone played some music, and a supervisor started singing and
dancing. I was exhausted. Out of nowhere I said, “Terry
has graced us with her voice.” I was being sarcastic. Terry heard me and was not happy. It wasn’t nice at all. Then I visited some friends out of state and
made sure I was not talking about me and for a week I was a good girl listening
to lots of stories that she shared. I
also played a great deal with her children. Again, I burned out. The last night I was there she talked about a
movie she saw and I interrupted with a story about me. I apologized.
I think it’s lovely to think of
others and it’s also lovely to think of yourself. I'm a little more balanced now, no pun intended. I then began working my way backwards and read all the
books I had missed that Wayne had written, except a few. Then, I got to talk
to him. One thing about Wayne is how
human he was. There was absolutely no
pretentiousness about the man. When I
first met him in 1980, he walked into my hospital room and I was a nervous
wreck. I kept yawning to calm down. He noticed that and asked if I was
tired. And frankly, he was almost
cocky. He looked so much better than on the cover of "Your Erroneous Zones." He had his Jordache jeans on. He asked what happened and I
told him I fell off a roof, broke my back and almost severed my spinal cord. He said, “Well, do you want to walk?” I said “Of course I do.” His reply was, “Well then you’ll walk.” He gave me books and tapes and signed
them. When I came home, I would write
him and he would send me notes and say things like, “I am praying for you.” I felt very loved and now very honored that I
got to have that experience. I am blessed beyond measure, and as he would say, “There are no accidents.” And I do walk.
The word for the day is…”Wayne Dyer”.
