The man in room 28. Shakira.

I look into an almost empty hospital room. silent. cold.
room 28.

Three empty beds, and one fragile looking old man sitting in his wheelchair by the window. His eyes closed.

My patient for the next 50 minutes.

I ask him how he is doing, he says he is in pain. Too much pain to even move his hands, he says, after I ask him to open and close his hands for me. His body rigid, held captive, by arthritic pain.

I slowly start to move his fingers, hands, arms for him. As I am doing this, a Vicente Fernandez CD by the side of his bed catches my eye. I ask him if he likes Vicente, and for the first time since I came in the room, his little eyes open, at least for long enough to reply yes. So i play the CD, all love songs. Inspired by the music (and knowing instantly this man must be a hopeless romantic... and it takes one to know one ;) but I could sense it, As we both sat there in the room, lyrics of great love songs filling the room.) I ask him if he was ever married and how he met his wife. This is not an exaggeration , or an attempt to sound poetic, but he changed completely, his eyes opened, and remained open, looking at me as he spoke about how they met. how they danced all night that first night. As he spoke about her, his eyes seemed to become slowly filled with life and he was now opening and closing his hand, his fingers flexing into a fist then extending fully without difficulty. he Talked to me about their children, all 8 of them, and listed their names one by one, with the sound of vicente in the background.
LOVE. had brought him back to life, right before my eyes.

Its a powerful thing. no doubt.

Tonight in concert, MY Vicente, Shakira. So much to say.
To see her in concert today was amazing. The way she leaves her soul on stage. Her body completely surrender to self expression, lyrics exposing her soul.

man in room 28, Shakira,
thank you, today you remind me to
do what I love, LOVE who I love,
with complete devotion, abandon.
because one mistake is to believe that in GIVING, we lose.
In giving, in {LOVING} is that we come truly alive.

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Breathe in .......slowly....
the longing to be caressed by sincere touch. genuine affection.

Breathe in .....slowly......
the desire to be kissed by lips that would say my name forever.

breathe in......take your time....
believing that you will one day walk, your hand held by one that will take you as you are.
Exactly,
just
as
you
are.


Breathe in.......slower.....
to dream of laying my head to rest on a chest who's heart beats just a bit faster for holding me close.

breathe in ......
the need to connect mind, body, soul, with another...enveloped in intense passion, uncontainable. inconceivable. yet TRUE.

breathe in.......close your eyes....exhale...
keep believing in LOVE.
release your fears
SURRENDER
for LOVE only comes with surrender.

Breathe.......
LOVE.