Linus Van Pelt, the security blanket donning Peanuts character was once known to say, “I know there is a lesson to be learned here somewhere, but I don't know what it is.” Linus obviously didn’t know how right he was when he uttered that remark while clutching his blankie, thumb in mouth. Life is full of lessons; every moment we live we experience and every experience is full of lessons to be learned, things to be taught, and mistakes to be made. When you’re someone who is sick or has been sick you spend your time on earth searching for answers to all your questions, especially the looming question of why me? We search high and low, left and right for the answers. We ask our priests, rabbis, spiritual leaders, family and friends for answers to all of our questions. We seek out old values and new traditions. Sometimes we even type our problems into the search box and let Google reveal the answer (or at least, the most clicked on answer). But maybe we’re searching in the wrong places, asking the wrong people, and combing the wrong books. Maybe to obtain the answer to our question, why me? it should really be phrased as, what will be the lesson I learn from this experience? Perhaps then our answers may be more clearly revealed to us. Perhaps then our answers will come in the form of fabric, thread, batting, and love. It’s no wonder that Project Linus, the nonprofit organization which hands out quilts to children of all ages in hospitals, was named for the philosophizing Linus Van Pelt. Linus had it right: it all leads back to the blankie.
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