My friend’s birthday was Sunday. I saw a note about it on Facebook.
I kept thinking about sending her a birthday message. I probably reminded myself 7 or 8 times in the week. But, truth be told, I still hadn’t by the time the day came.
When the day was upon me, I came up with an alternate plan. I’d stop by the coffee house she owns and wish her the happiest of returns on, what was now to be, the anniversary of her birth.
Candie's Coffee & Company, 245 Town Center West, Santa Maria, CA
……oops! The day went by and I hadn’t gotten there. Next plan: I, the avid texting fiend, would dash off to her a happy-go-lucky little text ditty of “Happy Birthday”. But, best laid plans….and all that….suddenly my eyes flew open as I was laying in bed that night when I realized it was not only too late to text or call but that it was already, technically, the early morning hours signaling the day after her birthday.
Still, as the days went by, I knew I wanted to find a time and way to let her know she’d been in my thoughts.
Yesterday, Thursday was the first time I’d seen her since her birthday.
I stopped at the coffeehouse, with my partner, so could grab a quick beverage of pleasure.
As expected, there was my sweet friend, sparkling and bright-eyed, greeting her customers with her sunny charm and genuine warmth.
Her smile always lights both her shop and her soul, and when suddenly her laughter kicks the air, well, you can’t help but find yourself captured and chuckling right along.
On this day, my partner and I grabbed our coffees, chatted for a few minutes with my friend and her fiancé and then we said our jovial goodbyes and left.
Climb into the car. Buckle the seatbelt. Start the car. Raring to go. Suddenly it hits me!!! Remember, I’d missed the birthday….and now I’d almost missed this opportunity!!!
Candice and Joe, Purveyors of Fine Coffee
I asked my partner if she’d run back in with me and sing “Happy Birthday” to our friend. She was ALL for it.
So,….in we ran.
Quickly we posed.
Harmonizingly we sang.
And, as my sweet friend’s gentle eyes filled with tears I thought to myself, maybe it was okay my loving wishes for the happiness of her birth came a little bit later than I had planned.
For in her beautiful brown eyes I saw the reminder of a lesson I want to never take for granted:
Sometimes the offerings we least expect offer us our deepest joy.
My Journey East of Eden
October 31, 2009
At what age do we take responsibility for our actions? When do we become accountable for our decisions? I learned a critical life lesson when I decided to use John Steinbeck’s East of Eden for a class assignment. I was 15. I haven’t forgotten the book – or what it taught me about myself. Brooke Leigh Sheldon.
A child is born a soft, beautiful innocent.
Soft Beautiful Innocent
Leaving forever their sleep of silence in the sensuous rhythms of the Sea of Nine, they will propel themselves ever forward. They look to us for safety.
A child is born a moving, energetic force.
Touching the air for the first time, their tender bodies shudder with bursting newness. They reach for us, knowing only that they need our comfort.
A child is born a clear, open visionary.
Hearing and seeing with a perception unique from our own, they attend to our actions and reactions to learn their own way.
...a child looks in our eyes seeking our approval
A child is born a creative, expressive imagination.
Designing a puzzle of complexity to later become the labyrinth of their own being, they look to us for guidance, trusting we will offer them love and peace.
A child is born a pure, expansive mind.
Inventing and changing as each day passes, trying on the ideas and images we model for them. But always, a child looks in our eyes seeking our approval and our nurturance.
A child is born a soft, beautiful innocent.
What a child becomes depends on us all.
Innocence Lost:
Today I read the tragically painful, yet hopeful story of the 52 children rescued as part of the FBI’s Innocence Lost National Initiative. In 2003 this program was created, with the goal of stopping the sex trafficking of children in the United States.
Reach Out
We all realize the United States is only one of the countries attempting to deal with these insidious crimes against children. The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking www.CASTLA.org explains in depth the horror of this story as it reaches around the world touching every crevice of the globe.
However, it is imperative to recognize that a child does not have to be kidnapped in the night, snatched at a playground, or sold into slavery to become the victim of this chilling degradation. The harrowing truth is a child is the victim of a sexual assault from a stranger in only about 10% of all cases.
This, in turn, reflects a catastrophic realization. 90% of the time a child is a victim of sexual abuse, it is caused by someone they know. Additionally, estimates indicate that 30-70% of perpetrators of child sexual abuse are the child’s direct relative.
These facts are terrifying.
Yes.
If they are terrifying to us to read I ask us all to think of the incredible terror and overwhelming pain each of these children suffers with daily. These children will grow into adults. All of us do. This pain is not easily left behind.
No child should live this way. No child.
No one.
Anywhere.
Please, reach out.
Reaching out when life is hurting can be the most frightening thought we can consider.
We fear rejection.
We fear disappointment.
We fear silence.
But, when pain engulfs our life, the smoke and flames can blind us to the exit labeled SOLUTION.
Times such as these we need the eyes, heart, mind, and strong arms of those who can see the difficulties in our personal world with a fresh view.
We are enriched when we reach to those who care for us.
We are embraced when we reach to those who love us.
Humankind is a species dependent on its interconnectedness. In other words, the need to connect, to help each other, to hold one another close is what makes us, well, human.
And remember, when we reach out we offer something to the ones we reach to. We offer them the special opportunity to GIVE.
Life is an amazing opportunity to share time with each other.
Thank you for sharing your time with me.
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Are you living on purpose?
October 18, 2009
It’s important to stay present in your life by living in the moment, but what are you doing with that moment?
Are you living it or is it living you?
TheLastStation.com
