If you have read Nurse Advocate before, you might recall me mentioning in previous posts that I belong to a service organization known as Quota International. I am a member of the local Club, Quota of Plantation FL. Each year, the members choose a Sunday in February to celebrate our birthdays. We usually go to a Country Club and have a nice brunch, talk, laugh and discuss our respective birthdays and what they mean to us.

In 2017, we added another dimension to the celebration. During our luncheon, we take the time to stop, reflect on our lives and remember how important we are to our families, our friends, and our co-workers. We take the time we celebrate our lives and the vital role we each play in each other’s life.

The tradition was started by one of our members, Connie, who had a bad car accident on February 26, 2016, that nearly took her life.  This year marks the third anniversary! Today she is doing well.

If you have ever faced your own mortality, you know that your life takes on a new perspective. Each year, when we have our Birthday Brunch, Connie gives each of us a Tree of Life image and a small medallion we can keep with us to remember how precious our lives are.  The image above is this years Tree of Life.

The first year she also gave us this poem about the Tree of Life by Mia Ocean, that puts everything into perspective. It reads……

This tree is not only a tree
it is a friendly tree that is always watching over you.
This tree is not only a tree
it is a magical tree.
That makes miracles happen,
Hopes become realities,
and never become always.
This tree
is not only a tree,
it is where everything started.
It is the tree of life.

 I hope this post reminds you to reflect on your life and how important you are to your family, your friends and your colleagues and to never take yourself for granted!

Have a good week!