EARTH LAUGHTER

The other day I was given one of the most beautiful gifts of my life, in the form of a true story read to me over the phone by my sister. I simply had to put an excerpt here to share with all of you. The article was written by a doctor about to meet a new patient, a 9 year old boy with a softball sized cancerous tumor on his face. Both his eyes had been removed, followed by multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. "I was about to meet wisdom and knowledge in the form of a blind nine year old boy with terminal cancer. He should have died months ago, slipped into unconsciousness, or have been in the throes of excruciating pain. Yet, he defied all the odds.

"I am Dr. Lerma. Welcome. You must be Matthew", I said, intentionally directing my salutation to Matthew's sister, who was sitting directly opposite from him. When she started to laugh, Matthew protested loudly,"No, silly, I'm Matthew." Amazingly, he knew I had addressed her instead of him, considering he had been blind for more than a year. He smiled a magical crooked smile and began an animated attempt to make me laugh. "Dr. Lerma, I want to introduce you to Regina, my tumor. The doctors call her retinoblastoma and tell me she is a bad tumor, but I consider her my friend. You see, Dr. Lerma, Regina is going to help my family and other children who are sick."
"How is that possible" I asked.
"Well God's the only One that knows that, but all I have to do is accept her."

One day I asked Matthew how he had lived so long with all that he had endured. He cocked his head as if listening to someone talk, and then he said simply and matter-of -factly, "Okay, I'll, tell him. Well, doc, it was a gift from God's angels." I was a little surprised by this revelation, but sometimes patients did mention angels, and I usually just ignored it as a side effect of the medications or the hallucinations of the dying mind. But this felt different somehow, as Matthew was very lucid and had refused all medications since his admission. Matthew looked at me as though he could see me, and said, "Okay, let's talk about the angels. Ask me some questions. I can feel your heart, and it has questions, so shoot."
"Are there any angels with us today Matthew?"
"Oh yes, they are here."
"How many angels do you see?"
"Three."
"What color are they?"
"They are bright gold."
"How tall are they?"
"They are a little taller than my favorite basketball player, David Robinson."
"Do they come to you when you are sleeping or when you are awake?"
"Both ways. They come in my dreams, and we all go swimming with the dolphins, seals, and penguins. It's a lot of fun. When I'm awake, they teach me things about the earth and people."
"Can you tell me what they teach you about the earth and people?"
"Yes. They tell me that the earth is sick like I am, and that the people have to learn to make it feel better so that everybody can be healthy and happy. Sometimes when I'm swimming with the dolphins and playing with Gabby, I can hear the earth crying because it is sick and is sad. It makes all of us sad. But Gabby has shown me what makes the earth laugh."
"And what makes the earth laugh, Matthew?"
"You make it laugh by swimming with the dolphins, seals, penguins, fish and a bunch of other animals, and saying thank you to God for the water, plants, and all that stuff."

A day or two later, our conversation continued.
"How often do you see the angels, Matthew?"
"Every few days, mostly on Fridays, I think."
"Why do you think they come on Fridays?"
"Because that's when I had my chemotherapy, and they want to help me feel better."
"Do they talk to you?"
"Sometimes."
"What do they say?"
"They ask me if I'm feeling okay."
"What do you tell them?"
"I tell them the truth-that sometimes I feel sick. They tell me they'll make me feel better whenever I feel bad. That's why I don't have any pain like you always think I should have."
"How do they make you feel better?"
"They show me blue water with dolphins and let me ride on them, and after that I feel better than before."

Matthew hugged me and whispered in my ear,"The angels are going to pick me up on Monday. Will I get to see you before then?"
"Of course," I assured him."I wouldn't miss it for the world, Matthew."

I made my visit to Matthew early Monday around seven in the morning, because that is when he said the angels would visit. He knew the moment I arrived and said, "Hello again,"as if he could see. I started to ask if the angels were in the room, but before I could get the words out, he boldly spoke up. "Dr. Lerma, do you know there are about twenty angels in the room with us right now?"
"Really? Anyone else?"
"Yep, all my friends from the beach. They're all laughing, and the angels are so bright and gold that the light makes everyone in the room look gold, too."
Matthew then gifted me with his final words: "I'll see you later." The little boy nodded his head as if he was sharing a special secret that only I would understand.

Matthew passed away peacefully at six in the evening with his family at his bedside. I could feel his spirit still around, no longer in the worn out body. I knew that this world was a better place for Matthew having been here, even if only for a few years."

Wow. So that is what we do to make the Earth feel better; we make her laugh! By giving thanks for all the gifts of Nature, and by playing in Nature with all of her magnificent creatures. After my sister read me the story she pronounced that my most important job each day was to GO SWIMMING! This is a job I can do. I need to make the Earth laugh! I always thought I went to the water to receive joy. Apparently I can also give joy too. Thank you, Matthew.

This is a much shorter version than the complete story which has a beautiful part about Matthew's family and what he did for them. If you want to read the entire thing, it is from the latest issue of Light of Consciousness magazine.

So let's go make the Earth laugh people. We need to give back.
Thanks for listening.