I have been away from home for the last 10 months, caring for my brother-in-law, who was dying from brain cancer, and my father-in-law, who is dying from old age. I have handled their bills and their financial affairs, medical care and medical bills, personal care and cleaning and managing their homes, dealing with Medicare and Medicaid and hospice and home health care, and making funeral arrangements.

The only thing that has allowed me to be effective, the only thing that has kept my sanity, the only thing that has kept me from being submerged in emotions, the only thing that has kept me on the job has been Transcendental Meditation. The calm and the deep peace, the deep rest, the comfort and consolation, the relief and release, the emotional stability, and the motivation of my Transcendental Meditation practice.

The calm and the deep peace, the deep rest, the comfort and consolation, the relief and release, the emotional stability, and the motivation of my Transcendental Meditation practice.

Bruce Merchant is a retired techie who lives in Big Sur, California, and Euclid, Ohio, with his wife Sandra. In the image above, he is flying over Denali, Alaska, with Sandra and his father-in-law, Richard.