Breath of Life...

As tenuous as Spring can be, we hope for...pray for...wish for...an end to winter. An end to the bleak, to the cold, to the barren world...for a breath of life to breathe through the trees, across the bleak landscape and into our souls; stirring new life, new hopes, new adventures...stirring hope in starved souls standing in observation as each day clicks by on the wheel of perpetual motion. Father Time waits for no man...

Each season comes in its appointed time...the fowls of the air know it, the beasts of the forest know it, feel it, embrace it. Some of the human variety take joy in the snow, in the cold and grasp every moment of joy they can wring from Demetria, the Greek Goddess of Winter. This year, it seems that she got into the spirit of things and provided us with more time than most are willing to seize...carpe diem. We too, as an emotional species, experience seasons...seasons of joy, seasons of sorrow, seasons of a dry and desolate wasteland with no end in sight...however, we know that each season has an end, that from one step to the next we can enter into peace, leaving behind our dry, dusty winding path.

God is good, amen. A friend used to say this during a particularly tough time in her life and we'd get a chuckle, and yet...No matter the battle, no matter the circumstances, peace can be found...attained and lived. I have seen it in speaking to the operator coming from a similar situation and unloading her story...the irritable woman down the street unleashing her story over a simple 'hello,' the goodness from the stranger at the Independent....in so many ways I have been blessed with meeting others who have walked the same path, and live abundant lives. Blessed with family who love me just as I am...blessed with the 'grama' I hear from the lips of my grandbabies...blessed with the consistent daily love of my Aunt & Uncle....blessed with the encouraging words and love of a long time friend...here where I am...here on this rocky ground, just beginning to show a promise of spring and a promise of a new life full of joy and laughter and peace unceasing. I would encourage you to set aside your worries, your sorrows and view the little things that bring you joy and promote your growth...to step back and view what is good in your life. Some days the struggle to find those hidden gems is very real....but they're there, I promise you. Life affirming moments....the love of a child...the soft spring air upon your skin...the touch of a loved one....complete strangers complimenting you on...well, on anything really. Soak it up...let it breathe through you driving away the painful memories, the sorrows that litter your soul, that inhabit the dark places....

A good friend told me a very simple yet complex idiom....'Let go and Let God....' My first thought was 'ooooh ooook.' Heavy on the cynicism and knee jerk reaction...and yet...those words rose to mind with each foray into anxiety, into fulminating fears, into the difficulties I face. With each time I repeated those words in a mangled mantra, the fear became less...the peace more pronounced ..... in essence dear friends, when we focus on those words and repeat them in a prayer-like way, we acknowledge what we cannot control and release it. To God...to a higher power...in whomever, however and whatever you place your belief...release it and see the good coming in...see peace replacing fear...see a quiet fortitude pushing aside anxieties, pushing aside the need to shape the future. I continue to step into being present in each moment...drinking it in....we miss so much overthinking the future, overthinking the words/actions of others, overthinking our place on this earth. In order to move forward the mindset must alter...must allow for peace amongst the chaos. Let it reign, let it run its cycle while you stand in the eye of the storm...and smile. The Serenity prayer is never more apt than in our situation dear lovely hearts.... “God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.” Reinhold Neibuhr (1971)

If it cannot be changed....move forward one step at a time until it can. Courage to change what we can... stand tall and walk proud as the capable women (and men) you are. I am SO proud of you, you have come so far...don't give up now, hurting and healing women and men...you have slowly found your feet, began to step, shuffle, and sometimes even dance in the right direction, on the right path...your path, your truth... your journey is wide open and full of possibilities, hopes and dreams for a life of peace and unbounded love.