Be...

Be...not Shakespeare's 'to be or not to be'......no...this morning as I sit with hot cup of heaven, awakened early by the moose living in my cozy home, I contemplate, ruminate, fumble with words streaming through mind pressing to be on the page, the screen before me....I think on children, on grandchildren and the love ever present, ever needed and necessary, tending wounds one cannot see but feel in far reaching spaces of the heart and mind...I think on family, on commitment to one another, to love received and returned, I think on broken places and spaces that take up so much of the heart that one feels awash in nothing else...

Be that woman, that man you needed as a child...be the mom, be the dad always present, always forgiving and understanding...I sat yesterday amongst the laughter, the comedic moments relieving and obscuring the elephant missing in the room...the presence lost and felt no matter where you step, speak and breathe...the tears that sneak out, the emotional equivalent of an anchor weighing each footfall down, each breath fought for at a price...

Love saves...oh my friends, it saves, it soothes, it draws close and embraces...no need for words, just a soothing warm blanket covering in empathy and kindness...

I knew love and acceptance...and trusted it not...from a select few do I know with a depth seldom found, that I am loved, truly...for all else I look to actions matching words, and walk, talk, speak my truth before exiting stage left, striding with confidence toward those forever friends, family that no matter what path I take to, are there walking with me and oh, dear treasures, it heals, it soothes, it places bandages and dressing on wounds you had forgotten for the moment were there...

Yes, oh yes...love saves....

The grace we extend to others will reflect back on us...the forgiveness and love we offer to those we come in contact with will be returned a hundredfold...

As a child, a somewhat ugly duckling...truth...super white, freckly ginger with crazy kinky, curly hair cut in a shag or whatever was quickest for optimum ease (mom was a busy woman, working and supporting a family of 6, 3 of whom were boys on a mission, always) and the product was something I cringe at when viewing pics of myself as a child and into teen years. As this child running rampant through orchards of the okanagan with 3 other untameable children, I spent much time alone...many times I was not fast enough to keep up with the older brothers and would end up miles away from home, hungry and frustrated and hot...It is not a bid for attention to say that I did not know what love was beyond angry words, a hell of a lot of spanking (big bro Kelly and I racked up the highest score here) and parents who were enmeshed in battles of their own.

It was through this time that God would send people into my life that truly loved and accepted and cherished, giving out hugs and love with open arms...one stands out among the few...we called him Uncle Paul though I know not whether he was actually related or just one of the many strays my mom and dad gathered in to the fold...it mattered not. To me he was family, he was my protector, my guard, a love I could see, feel, know...

At the crazy young age of three I remember the first time, I think, I crawled into his lap and the sensation of being pulled in close, no words necessary just acceptance. He disappeared from our lives around the time I turned ten...never to return. When asked where he was and why we didn't see him anymore I was told he had died, only to find out years and years later in my late teens that he was alive and well but no idea where he was.

I have jumped down the rabbit trail and jump back on the path to being that person for children...giving love and acceptance to those who stray across my path to such an extent they feel special to someone, to give them something to hang onto when feeling low, feeling unwanted. Truly a gift that keeps on giving.

Be this person...love unconditionally and much...accept, cherish and comfort those in need.

The reward is priceless and like a boomerang always comes home to the giver, filling their cup with the oil of gladness.

Go with God today, and everyday forward in the knowledge that YOU are that person for someone...you give hope to the hopeless, love to the unloved...that's superhero power...

May God richly bless the words that pour from your lips into the heart and soul of others.

May your everyday be filled with enlightenment, revelation and aspiration...the path you walk is unique to you and you alone...find your purpose, your forever friends and family that love always...

Walk it out, talk it out...speak your truth with grace, with mercy, with understanding of the ignorance we all at times live in...knowledge is power, wisdom is the afterburner that fires the heart and soul to live well, to give out more than we receive, to accept the unaccepted.

Go with God and may the path you walk be well lit and clear before you...