Journey

My journey has been strange, wonderful, scary and exhausting these past few days.......but, when I think about it, that is pretty much life in general for most of us, most days.

Just when we think we have the hang of what's going on, we fall off a cliff, face a mountain, or hit a few hair pin curves. This journey that we are on, is not for the faint of heart, and not to discourage, but it has been my experience (so far) that the longer you travel......well the more interesting it becomes.

I remember my parents and their friends, it appeared that they just sailed through life. But, I know better now. When I think back, I remember deaths, illness, hard times, it's just that my folks never really talked about what was going on. My mom might cry, sometimes my dad cried, but basically they just kept on going. Friends would come for coffee and cake or a meal, and there was always laughter, a few hugs, and the world kept spinning.

So this journey, that we are on, all of us, right now are at a different place in the road. Some are

working so hard, we don't even realize we are on a journey.....others may be close to the end of theirs. Most days, I am aware of where I am, mindful of what is taking place, and the fragility

of the lives around me. To be honest, there are times during this journey that I wish could stop it.............

those times, when friendships are blossoming, when the sweetness of living is overpowering,

when joy sweeps over you like the ocean waves, when the goodness of life is thick and gooey

like fresh honey on the comb.

And then those times, that I wish I could just flash forward..............when there is sorrow, and heartbreak, when illness steals the energy of everything around it, when there seems to be no

salve for the wounds, just salt that is rubbed on the rawness and you think there is no end in sight.

But the journey is the journey, it is why we are here, why we are connected..............every breath we take, is fuel for the journey, that is why it is so important we remember to breathe!

Tonight, I appreciate my journey, all the curves and hills, the valleys and the plains, the storms

as well as the sunshine. My journey is me, it has forged my strength, broken me at times, and sometimes taken me to the end of the rainbow and the pot of gold.

I have thought about so many of you today, that I have met on my journey, each of you have added to my trip, given me what I needed, provided rest and nourishment, cried with me, and laughed with me, I only hope I have given you all the same and more. I hope our journey goes on for a long long time.