I received an email from a young lady away from home for the very first time.

She had been accepted, on full scholarship, to a University in southern California – roughly, three thousand miles from home.

Her father had recently passed from a degenerative neuromuscular disease. And though, the family was consumed by the debt of the unpaid medical expenses – still, they only wished for one simple thing.

“Promise me you’ll go on with your life,” he once said. “Don’t let anything hold you behind.”

Can you imagine the pressure she must have been feeling?

After his passing, and perhaps at her most vulnerable state, she met a young man.

“At first, he was so nice,” she began. “And then…”

She went on to describe months of escalating ‘incidents’ – at first, rudeness building to upsets, and then…well, that’s when the unimaginable began.

In a fit of anger, he said to her – “You are nothing without me.”

And, in time, she began to believe him.

I asked her to call me immediately. And last night, we spoke for several hours – into the early morning, and until I sensed she had reclaimed a small bit of her inner peace.

Why? Because, all of are all connected in many, many, millions of imponderable ways.

And yet, we pass each other each day – as strangers, we might say. Never once taking a moment to understand the struggles within.

In any given day, we might pass someone struggling with self-image – or, another, desperate to feel the sacred bond of human connection. And, perhaps that stranger sitting right over there – has just lost his best friend of 45 years.

We all have our personal stories, my darlings. And, the very best stories are those formed on the wings of our rising up again.

Each of us has felt the tug of loneliness. Each of us has wished our voice to be heard. Or, that we ourselves might find the courage to face these ‘nearly imponderables.’

I’m often asked what I feel to be my own purpose in life. To which I answer simply, “My purpose here is to listen.”

And, such a blessing that fate has found a way to intertwine our paths once again.

It’s not coincidence that this young woman reached out to me; she was drawn to me by a story I had published, regarding my own experience with violence.

Like her, I too fell into the space of measuring myself through another’s eyes.

“I love you only 60% percent today,” he would sneer. And, in my own mind, I would race immediately off to figure out how I might make up the other 40.

With vivid recall, I can tell you how it felt to be tossed like a rag doll against a wall. I can tell you how it feels to have your arm broken in two places, or the stinging humiliation of a man’s ring slicing lines through your cheek. I can tell you how it feels to gasp for air as another human attempts to squeeze the very life right out of you.

And, I can tell you the sadness in wondering if you’ll ever make it home to see your little ones again.

But, likewise – I can say to you with unwavering certainty, “Here’s what it feels like to rise up once again.”

And, I will say it smiling with the brilliance of over 10 million radiating stars.

Why? Because, in my brokenness I found connection. And that, has been the greatest gift I have ever known.

Life is so very tricky, my darlings. We might spend years wondering why something has happened *to* us. But, it’s these short glimpses in between which show us our ‘reason’ why.

Were it not for these experiences, I wouldn’t feel compelled to reach out… to connect…to write.

And, were it not for that path – would I have ended up *here*?

“Why doesn’t he love me,” her voice trailed off.

Though, perhaps the question which should be asked is – “Why can’t others love in much the same way?” With boundless heart, and eyes of compassion?

And knowing, it’s this pain which makes us human.

It is within these moment that we are offered our greatest gift…that is, the capacity to offer our hearts in connection.

And, if only for this one moment in time – speaking to a young lady into the wee morning hours – if only for that one moment, I know…

That I am not haunted by my pain, rather – I am blessed by it. And, I wouldn’t trade that for all the money in this world.

Much love, my dearest darlings. And, know that you are not ever alone. I’m only just a message away…and ever-grateful for the gift of our connection.

Namaste.