Listen…..listen to your body. Listen to your gut. Listen to your spouse. Listen to your heart. It’s important to not just listen but hear.
But instead of me going on and on about the importance of listening, I thought I’d see if I could get the same point across by quoting a few songs:
Don’t make the same mistakes
The ones that I have made
The consequence could lead you to an early grave
This is my best advice
To one so young and brave
Always listen to your heart
Always listen to your heart
We live in stressful times
It’s hard to make ends meet
Sometimes it’s hard to know
The way to point your feet
Life, sometimes devious
Can fool you with deceit
~Mike and the Mechanics
I couldn’t agree more. My adult life has thrown many curve balls my way. But sometimes when at a crossroads you just have to
Listen to your heart,
It knows right from wrong,
Let it guide you,
Listen to your heart,
It will make you strong,
Look inside of yourself and listen,
Listen to your heart.
~Little River Band
And
When life becomes too much to take
Then how can you hope to resist
The tempting hand of greed and guilt
Answers you at the top of the list
If you take the time to reassure yourself
That really it’s just a start
Stop, take one step back, look at yourself
Listen to your heart
Just be sure of yourself
Even if you find yourself in a world of trouble
And you feel that friends will never see you through
Look down deep inside you, take out all your emotions
It’s your heart that gonna help you through
~Lisa Stanfield
So remember
When you can’t find your way through the night
When you’ve lost touch and nothing’s feeling right
You can’t find that path that leads you home
You don’t know which road, which road to choose
That’s when you’ve got to
Listen with your heart, listen to your soul
Inside you’ll find the answer
To take you to the place you need to go
Listen with your heart, listen and your heart will let you know
No matter where you are, the truth is never far
Just listen and your heart will lead you home
And when this world has got your mind confused
Feels like your faith has just run out on you
You can find that faith inside your soul
The strength you need lies deep, lies deep in you
That’s why you’ve got to
Listen with your heart, listen to your soul
We all lose our way sometimes
We all lose our faith sometimes
But if you just believe and just be strong
Trust your heart
Your heart won’t do you wrong
Listen with your heart, listen to your soul
Just listen and your heart will lead you home
~Cece Winans
Listen with your heart, listen to your soul.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Neil Rubenstein has been married since 2003 to his wife, Amy. His CDH survivor (Aidan) was born in June 2010 after being diagnosed at 37 weeks. Aidan had surgery to repair his hernia when he was 4 days old. His surgeon discovered at that time that Aidan had no diaphragm at all, all his organs were in his chest (except for his liver), his heart had been pushed to the left side by his stomach. Even with all this, Aidan did not need ECMO and was only in the NICU for 29 days. Aidan had a follow-up procedure at 13 months old to close up an abdominal hernia that his surgeon created to give his organs room to grow once she moved them all back to their proper location in his abdomen.
While Neil and (his wife) Amy were still dating, they started Creative Celebrations, a children party planning and entertainment company. Neil has over 15 years experience in Integrated Marketing Communications and is currently looking for his next permanent role in the Chicago area.
Amy and Neil recently had their second child in September 2013. After spending 2 months in the NICU, Brody came home on an NG tube. Brody will need the same follow-up surgery as his big brother when he is 1 year old. Neil is the former CHERUBS Illinois (and Wisconsin) Rep and Co-Chair of the Parent Advisory Board. Neil recently created Help4CDH Families and is working towards nonprofit status to be able to continue to provide a forum for people affected by CDH to meet and support each other as well as to be able to provide financial support to CDH families in their time of need.
Excellent Neil 🙂 Listening is a key to happiness. Be still, listen. Thanks!
Thank you so much for reading and taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it!
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