“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.” ― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

I remember the very first moment I believed I could fly.

It was a cold winter evening in 1978, and I was just about 7 years old. My mother had treated me to my very first movie – Superman, starring Christopher Reeve.

And, oh, what a most amazing adventure that was. I still remember balancing so precariously on the edge of that wobbly old movie seat, my small body was just enough weight to keep that chair tipped forward. And anyone who dared to sit in front of me, received a most stern warning glance from my Mother urging them to move on. This was our special day, and one in which a small dream was born.

The movies back then were far different than they are now. In those days we had real heroes, and the villains never won. The stories were much simpler – and there was no need for over the top special effects or gore.

In those days, that 30 foot screen towering directly in front – held a most special space for imagination to grow.

And, in leaving that theater on that cold winter night – I remember looking up to the stars believing I could fly.

And to this day, I still carry a piece of that “movie screen” imagination inside.

After all, imagination is the spot where the heart really lives.

And after all, my dears – you are only confined by the walls you build for yourself. 

I was a little discouraged just this past night.

A dear friend had called to wish me a Happy Mother’s Day. And though our conversations are generally always something I look forward to with great heart and great love…well, I think even the best of friends, at times, can find they have a little hill to climb.

And, oh what a hill.

Oh, I know my friend meant no harm. It was just that the energy of that moment became a little too much for this tired heart to handle.

I am human, after all. And if you had asked me a year ago the very same question, I doubt his words would have bothered me much at all.

Being sick is not always so easy. And being sick when you look well—that can be its own challenge, too.

And though, these eyes may sparkle a smile in return—it doesn’t mean, there’s not a tear tucked away somewhere deep inside.

And when I smile back to you—you don’t see my worry that the yard has become just a bit overgrown.

Or, that the trash cans are now too heavy for me to move to the curb in time for tomorrow’s pickup.

Oh, but there’s always a story behind every human spirit—something tucked away much deeper inside.

Wouldn’t life be so much easier, if we could all just take a moment to pause and to read each others’ ‘signs’?

I’ll just bet there wouldn’t be quite so many ‘hills’ to climb.

namaste and much love today…and take a few extra minutes to read through all of those ‘signs.’

I was just a bit tired today, the result of chasing my thoughts too far into my dreams. And though, I have two articles just nearly ready to go ~ I think it’s best sometimes to let the words get a bit of a rest, too.

Luckily, I have endless amounts of loving-kindness to share in this tiny space where my words would have appeared.

namaste ~ and all of my love to you on this day. 

Thank you for the gift of your light.

“You can. You must. You will.” — Eunice Shriver

These are the words shared by Kennedy family matriarch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and to her daughter, Maria Shriver.

Her words were simple, but their meaning most profound—in that all things, when done with the fullness of heart, are possible.

In this most beautiful video, Maria Shriver tells the story of how her mother broke through all social barriers in founding the Special Olympics—and in doing so, became the torch-bearer for so many young dreamers.

“You are the stars,” she urged these most brilliant young souls, “and the world is watching you.”

And, it all started with just one single thought—unobstructed by any of doubt’s most sinister veils.

“By your presence, you send a message to every village…every city…every nation—a message of hope, a message of victory.”

Indeed, we all have a gift to share with this world—and that is one limitless belief.

Video: The Gift My Mother Gave to Me.

 

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud. Do not complain. Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution.

Never whine. Whining lets a brute know that a victim is in the neighborhood.

Be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity.”

Namaste, and Happy Mother’s Day!

“Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you could never get from reading books on astronomy. These pure and spontaneous pleasures are ‘patches of Godlight’ in the woods of our experience.” ― C.S. Lewis

I found my way through the winding back roads—a path that drapes against the backdrop of my most favorite thinking spot. I had made my way there today by bicycle, something I have not done in quite some many months.

And though, my legs ached with a slow, sore burning unlike anything I had ever felt before—in my heart, there was a profound ‘lightness’ that soothed me and lifted me up again.

We all have these places we find along our path in life—they offer us the space to breathe, to love, to reconnect. And, some may be found along the backdrop of a winding country road…while others are more simply tucked within our hearts and waiting to be found.

I found my breathing space today. It was just right there along a quiet country road, nestled close against the tree line…and with a stillness that gave my heart the space to breathe again.

Namaste my most beautiful friends. I send you all my love today.

And may you all find your space to breathe.

Bonus Poem: by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
call to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.”

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” ~ Ernest Hemingway

“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.” ~ Pablo Neruda

After 16 days, working tirelessly to break through the massive rubble of the nine-story building collapse in Bangladesh—the rescuers here believed there to be no chance for any additional survivors.

That is, until they heard the soft, clanking ‘tap’ of metal against an iron pipe. Followed by the desperate cry of a woman’s voice, “I’m alive!”

And just like that, hope was restored.

A young woman has survived 16 days buried deep within the rubble, and with no means for water, warmth, or the comforts of another human soul.

But still, she survived. Today, she is alive.

I am reminded of an Emily Dickinson passage, one that so perfectly captures this vision of hope:

“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.”

There is a limitless power embedded in these ‘wings’ of hope—and one that carries with it a light that has the capacity to brighten even the darkest of days.

Hope urges us to hold on, just a little while longer. And hope reminds us always to never give up.

Today, there is a miracle amongst the rubble—and hope is what carried it there.

Namaste—and I pray that we all may care for hope’s wings this day.