Dear Cancer, 

You cant have this one! I have known you for far too long. You seeped into my life in brutal, drawn out fashion years ago. You took my dear friend, my laughter and joy in 2006. Before you took her, you tormented her body for years, but you were never able to touch her soul. She fought, smiling and laughing..you did not win.

You took another sweet friend, a woman far too young to be in your clutches. You didnt torment her for long. You were quick, quiet and brutal. No one remembers you though. We only remember her smile and we have her sons, carrying on her spirit. You did not win. 

You have struck another, a gentle spirit surrounded by massive love. You have struck hard and viciously and quickly. I know differently now though. I know that love, and the energy that love brings, can conquer. We simply do not, and will not, allow you to exist ANYWHERE. Our belief in the healing power of love is so much greater than your insipid hold. You are no match for our collective strength. 

Whatever it takes, whatever tools we must use, to strike you down-make no mistake-you stand no chance! So cancer, tonight as I close my eyes to hold the tears in I will see what IS..and you are not there. You cant have this one. You will not win.

For Carol and Jennifer-for my angels I send my strength to Gabe.

The Point of Power

There is so much in the news lately-gun control, the Pope resigns, the economy, Newtown, an enraged ex cop in CA. If we let it, it could consume us. But if we don't let it consume us, we free ourselves..we change the exact circumstance that we would have let take over our life.

Every day many of us wake up and check our Facebook news feed. How many of the posts are negative-someone has a cold, or they are complaining about the state of the world, or just that today might be a certain day of the week? Many people are so consumed by problems and the outside world, that they are simply paralyzed into inaction. They simply cannot see another way. However, "when there is a problem, there is not something to do, there is something to know." (Dr Raymond Charles Barker)

This is what I know-I get to have whatever I choose to think. If I continually focus on the negative and on problems, then that is what I get to have. What we think about, we bring about. When we consciously send out love and light into the world, then that is what we draw back to ourselves. Personally, Id rather know that I am drawing in love and light instead of hate and darkness and conflict. 

The point of power is always in the present moment. We are not stuck in the past. We do not project into the future. It is this moment, right here, right now where our power lie. We are not helpless to affect change..in fact we ARE the change. Whatever I choose to believe becomes true for me. Try it. If I wake up each day and believe it is a crummy day, it will be. There is no doubt about that. 

I wake up each day declaring that today is my best day yet. And guess what? I have yet to be proven wrong.  And Im very sure I wont be.

For many years I was a news addict. I checked the news easily 25 times a day, on the internet, on tv, in the newspaper. I read the same stories, told from a different perspective, over and over. I filled my mind and my consciousness with what was mostly negative information. Then..I woke up. I stopped watching the news on a regular basis. I now only buy a newspaper once every couple of weeks. And those times that I do, I end up usually throwing it away without reading it. I am still very well informed. The difference is that my mind is not filled each moment of each day with negative news..It is a proven fact that a steady diet of news of the world will change a persons' emotional thought process. When I stopped feeding my mind with this news, I felt a change physically, emotionally and spiritually. It is very freeing. 

What we put in our minds first thing in the morning sets the tone for our day. What we hear and watch at the end of the day is what rests in our subconscious as we sleep. When I realized this, I realized that CNN was not the first and last thing I needed to hear or see upon waking or before going to sleep. 

When we are at peace(and world news does not evoke peaceful thoughts), we can spread peace throughout our day. To effect real change in the world, it will take this shift..a shift in our collective consciousness. It will take an awakening to make a real difference.

The point of power is now..today, this moment. 

One Year Later..Colorado Reflections..

It has been 13 months since I landed, unsteady and unsure of many things, in the mountains of Colorado. I had, at the time, what seemed a simple goal-to make a new life. I had no plan, just a lot of hope and a lot of passion for moving on. I knew few people here. I only knew that I had been to this grand place and fallen in love with it. Call it a feeling or an intuition, but I just knew deep within that there was "something" here for me.

I began my life here with enthusiasm. But inside I felt uncertain. I felt fear..no, I felt terror. What would happen to me? How would I make it? Who I would I meet? I heard the naysayers, the skeptics. I heard, but I chose not to listen. Instead, I worked every day on becoming the person who I knew was meant to be here. I had something to prove, but it took a while before I realized who I had to prove that something to. I was the only one who needed to see this through. I was the only one who really needed to believe. When I realized this, something happened. I found myself surrounded by amazing people and even more amazing experiences.

For years, I had shut myself down, hidden behind my own walls.  When I moved to Colorado I gave myself permission to be open to whatever was in front of me. I gave myself permission to say "YES!" And say "yes" I did. I opened my arms to new people and new ideas and new adventures. I gave up even more. I gave up worry and stress. I gave up judgement and fear. I gave up anger and bitterness. People have said to me.."how did you do what you did?" I have thought a lot about that. First, I made a choice. I would start my fifties in celebration of the great opportunity before me-the opportunity to change not just my own life, but the lives of others..the chance to make a difference. I finally understood what that meant. I chose not to live in the past, not to hate or be hurt anymore. I chose to stop each day and celebrate the beauty in life. I chose wholeheartedly to surround myself with people who raise me up, who raise this world up and bring positive light and energy to everyone around them. I chose to heal my life and help others heal theirs.

Deep in my soul I have found, here in Colorado, a true sense of peace and happiness. I have found my purpose and my passion. I live in the moment, however grand or small. I wake up with a renewed sense of enthusiasm for the day.

I know that it all happens for a reason. All of my heartaches and pain have brought me to this place, right here, right now. Each day is a lesson. I thank Spirit every morning for the blessings in my life, big and small. I knew there was "something" here for me..and I have found it. Its life, in all its grand and amazing splendor. Sometimes I have to pinch myself..its all that good. I do not know where this journey will take me next. I only know that I am so grateful for it all..the Rocky Mountain high continues...

This post is dedicated to my friend, Jennifer-may you rest forever in peace and know that your spirit lives on.