Top Ten Things I Miss

These are the top ten things I'm missing today. It is interesting that so many of my friends and loved ones have shared that they're missing the same things...

1) The sound of my mother's voice...and her infectious laughter
 
2) My father's brilliance, sense of humor and charm

3) Hearing "Good morning, baby" from the love of my life

4) My Aunt Trudie's unconditional love and never-ending wisdom

5) Living near family and close friends

6) The freedom of being a young adult, without all the pressures of life

7) Unforgettable, firework-inducing, leg-buckling kisses

8) Being married

9) Rocking my infant son to sleep

10) The butterflies that come from being in love


And yet, I'm happier, more hopeful, and more determined than I've been in a long time.  Life is presenting beauty again and I'm embracing it. I gladly live in the present. I remember the past fondly. I look forward to the future. I am happy and content in my here and now.

Constantly Thinking...

Breaking Free of the Darkness

I have never been an addict. I have never been in a gang. My understanding, however, is that it is extremely hard to leave that life once you’ve been in it.

I’m finding that the same is true of getting out of debt. It’s true about getting free from any downtrodden state – whether that’s poverty, homelessness, depression, the sins that can so easily beset us, the ties that keep us in bondage…

It’s as though you have a 1000 lb. ball shackled around your ankles, trying to hold you in place. Or worse, but maybe more appropriately, that you have little demon imps clawing and clutching at your feet, ankles, calves, desperately trying to keep you in the destructive darkness. You have to fight harder to break free, to get out of that life than you would have if you just avoided it.

If it is within your power to do so, and it usually is, it is truly better to avoid it altogether than to struggle with breaking free of the darkness and returning to the light.

The good news is that it can be done. It takes fierce determination. It takes never losing sight of the goal. It takes never succumbing once again to the darkness.

The helping hands may be few and far between, but they are there. They don’t always come in tangible things, sometimes it’s just an encouraging word. Reach for those helping hands. Don’t let pride keep you from asking for help. 

Do the part you can do. Every. Single. Day. 

Soon, you’ll see more light than darkness. Focus always on the light, not the darkness. Talk about the light, think about the light, walk toward the light. Ultimately, you will be free of the last and final destructive bond of darkness.

Don’t ever give up hope. You can do it.

Constantly Thinking...and moving toward the light.