Prescencing Optimism

There can be many reasons to slip into despair in our world. Or look to a situation we are in and not connect. Now I am not talking about truly abusive or risky situations, this is speaking more to the day to day life we lead. We can have a choice to always be looking backwards (and usually to a past that never truly was, rather an idealized mythology that never existed in the way we have framed it) or forward to a future, as we want to constantly think this is simply a step in our journey or an interim placement. It can fuel an underlying anxiety, disconnect or even, be a root in the anger many cannot put into words. Many questions swirl as to why this is our current state, and many rationales, conspiracies and stories are shared. But still…

The question arising as we live like this is, simply:

Do we set ourselves up to not have connection?

Sit with that a moment. Wherever you are in life. Have you set yourself up not to have connection due to letting past experiences shape your present understanding? Letting your own assumptions become a confirmation bias by the way you choose to engage with your present communities? Present workplaces? Present (insert reality here). It can be hard to traverse through change, there is grieving involved. There can be loss involved. One may not have the words to communicate what is happening. This is where the more creative outlets of colouring prayer or painting prayer can get the emotions out to connect with the root cause, the root reason that one is having the challenge of letting go of that which has tethered them to experience the new (and yes many times blessings) through the soul shaped prism of past experience. As the ligth shines through the now, still allows them to hide it under a bushel.

It may be weird to have this children’s hymn pop up as we discuss moving into the presence, but it is true. For it is pointing out a simple practice of gratitude. We have light. We have love. It may be small things to celebrate, but celebrate them none the less. It is why it is important, wherever we are, as we struggle with old paradigms that come into play to interpret current situations. It is important to cultivate that which is going well, that which is to celebrate. These are the instances, that when we look back (especially when we right them down to reflect on in times of despair or struggle) aid us in building our resilience, or letting our light shine.

How often, do we miss out on what is right in front of us, simply because we are focused on not being present?

Choosing to disconnect?

This simply can be by the picks of nit. Not where I see myself, not the job I wanted, not the church that fits my (insert label here), what other nits can you pick with your reality? What happens if we pause, breathe deeply, be in the moment, and right down what does fit. What does work?

Instead of rationalizing distance, we take steps in connection?

How does your reality change? Where are you connecting? How do you know you have belonging there? What is going well? Where is your gratitude? What are you thankful for? Why?

As we continue in Step 2 of easing restrictions in Alberta, what are you thankful for in the here and now with your story of life?

Is the frustration or anger beginning to alleviate?

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From Grieving to Gratitude

It has always been a weird situation when folks try to make out you’re some kind of super hero or special person for being a parent of an exceptional child. Really? I think all parents that engage with their kids to support them in becoming who they are meant to be are quite amazing regardless of the labels society places on the child. See, the only real trash parent I see are the ones that decide a coping or discipline method is to beat a child or spouse or sexually, emotionally and mentally abuse them (which is why I cheer the Canadian Government’s $7.5 million investment in kid’s help phone during this time of social distancing, perhaps silence will break and we can rescue more from the darkness, but I digress).

I’m a parent of a 14 year old and a 12 year old. Any labels through medical or societal are not their to define my children, rather they are their for communities and society to know what my child needs to thrive, discover, belong and be the most awesome them, they can be. Full stop. Being a parent is hard. Each of us has our own strengths, areas of growth, challenges, and then we are given mini-mes that become a ramped up mirror of our best and worst traits (hey, I knew I was a sarcastic so-so, but trust me when my kids riff on me its really obvious lol). So why do we need to sub-divide?

Within the exceptional child community, why do we sub-divide further? With comments such as, you can’t possibly know because your child can do x-y-z-… we are conditioned to constantly be in apology mode for a spasm, a sound, a spasticity, a stem or a tick…yet…

The world around us, can be as assertively a-holey (to borrow on of my daughter’s favourites of skirting swearing) it wants towards us. Religious can say we did something so our child is being punished for sin, that they need prayer for healing. In religious settings many have heard of our family’s journeys where the elders, long timers, and money givers feel it is their right to make an issue of the “different”, not understanding truly what an imageo dei is an how a diverse mosaic our Holy truly is in human form… yet it is left to us to take the slings and arrows, and to make apologies, up to us to mea culpa, and share the medical history to “educate”. Yet at no point does someone hold the bullier accountable, and threaten to cast them out, instead the surface issues are touched upon, and one does not want to deep dive to the “isms” below the surface. Truly live healing and reconciliation at a community level as the gospel teaches, so instead we leave. Before the social distancing began I was sharing ideas with some non-profits to offer up this spiritual space for families seeking it an not yet ready to traverse the choppy waters. Also knowing that the last 2 places my family has been and is, are safe zones, some may say courageously, but rather I would use the term they came to meet my son with Jesus’ heart.

But I digress. For the fight before these moments was cemented in something deeper. As alluded to. You fight against the passive systematic eugenics for your child to be allowed life. Then you battle the assertive systematic eugenics for them to keep their life. You lift the life up to the Holy Mystery thankful for the love and blessing of parenthood for however long they will be with you, knowing that it truly is a blessing.

Yet as noted, different groups you try to be apart of use “tradition” or “money” as reasons they cannot alter physical spaces for accessibility (making a physical space able to be used by all). Never mind if they are willing to even extend the interpersonal space to allow the different to exist (noting any similarities with any other marginalized group). To the challenge of belonging- this is being known by many, missed when not their, supported in finding and fulfilling purpose– it challenges the concept of the abled, the idea that disability is catching, or that the wrong thing may be said, or what do you do when the child dies? So many things race through minds to create barriers, instead of simply meeting the person before you as… a person.

The other challenge is fighting with other systems that tell you, like the CBE, that you chose to have it, and should be happy with the scraps thrown your way. Our current education minister that believes scrapping aides is a cost saver for the rest of the school year that will be done by home, not understanding the roles fulfilled. The governmental policy not seeing the child as a full person, just as a nuisance that can be spun as the rationale for why other students can’t have things (and yes has been done many times). When tragedy strikes, knowing your child will not receive the same level of support as other children would, because it is too costly to figure out how to aid them in grieving.

To a disability community fractured because everyone chases the funding needed for our children to excel, so instead of exceptional kids and adults, we hear about specific disabilities, and others are left outside. Sadly, as I noted earlier, some families’ take this approach in trying to support one another in the idea of-well your child can– so you don’t get it (or in the struggles to keep plastic straws). A selfish inability to see beyond our own situation, and to understand that we can advocate for something beneficial to other families’ even if it is not directly beneficial to our child because it’s the right thing to do.

The system, politics,  communities, religion, try to beat down upon you that your child or loved one is not a full person. That you should mourn because they may never (fill in the `traditional’ coming of age mile stone) and as such you are missing out.

And ya know what my pastoral response is to it all?

BULLOCKS!!!

Being a parent, uncle, aunt, grandparent, god parent, is a pretty awesome thing. The child before you, that is now in your life regardless of diagnosis or labels is– a friggin’ blessing folks and is looking to us to love them, mentor them, and support them into becoming the most awesome them they can be.

What does that mean? It means celebrating when things happen that are awesome, crying when things change or loss happens, chatting and sharing with the child like you would any child. Doing life together as a family, and standing your ground as a strong advocate when something is unjust, or educate when necessary, but also, regardless of time affiliated with a group, person or family member, when they don’t get it and it becomes detrimental to your mental health or that of your child- END IT!

See my son is 14 years old. 14 amazing years of having a son. Some say how did you raise a son with___. Honestly, I raised a son, this is my son, and truly the only one I know how to raise.  We have had many laughs, tickles, wrestles, experiments, times in hospital, tears when little buddies and grandparents went to the tea party in heaven, his heart convinced me a non-dog person to get a dog…and we cried when our mumma house hippo joined the Jesus Tea Party. Waiting for the next blessing. He has ministered with me, cheered in hockey games, been out in multiple parades collecting donations to help other kids, the first to hug a new friend that he just met, and deeply feel rejection from those that should know better. He chose to be baptized in pre-school, we celebrated his elementary school graduation, and are looking forward to high school. Do we know what the future holds?

No.

But he’s a kid. Kids discover, learn, and define who they are in life. Parents help them cultivate that so that they can become the who they are meant to be.

That is what we are doing. We live each day with gratitude, even those days he’s a weiner because he’s a 14 year old boy and does what 14 year old boys do, and those days when he shows wisdom and compassion through the simplest actions beyond his years.

Society tells you to grieve. I thought it was important to share, that grieving is about making society feel better for their innate fear and hatred of that which does not conform to their “ideals”. The labels and diagnosis are there not to define your child’s boundaries of life, but rather to state what the world needs to do to ensure they belong, grow and thrive into the citizen they are becoming.

Rather live in celebration, push the envelope, learn, discover, laugh, cry, and be the parent you were meant to be with the kids you have.

Shift from grieving to gratitude.

Practice each day, writing out 3 things you are grateful for. Plan your own family milestone celebrations that fit the family you are and are becoming due to who your child is.

Be in the moment. Let hope grow, and love abound.

Some thoughts

This was originally going to be a Facebook live, but that is not a kind feature to those of us that do not have the smart phone. I contemplated YouTube, but after dealing with trying to get FB to function–yeah, thought it was simply easier to spend some time writing out what I was going to share.

It is intriguing times in our new temporary normal, distancing, and still trying to provide support. Figuring out tools that we can use to stay connected and supportive, while at the same time being able to take a strong lens to those that should no longer have purview or input into our lives. Far too much false information being shared and as such I continue to encourage you dear reader, to listen to the Prime Minister, and your local Chief Medical Officer and their team in the province. For those that are wondering why the Emergencies Act federally has not been enacted, it is simple, that is the Act that centralizes when provinces/territories are unable or unwilling to respond in time of national crisis. They are responding. Collaboration is happening. Which means full funding is going where it needs to go. Hallejuah!

But as I wrote in my previous post around a scheduled day. At this time I want to share some ways to shift our thinking out of the shadows, ramped up anxiety or negativity. It is through 4 distinct things we can do, 3 cerebral and one physical:

1. Pause and write out 3 things you are grateful for in the moment. Keep a running list visible or in an easily accessed notebook so you can look back on the abundance in your life.
2. Write down one goal of learning for the week, plan a phone call follow up with a friend to talk about accomplishing it.
3. What is one thing today? This week? You are going to do to recharge yourself? Schedule it, do it, celebrate it online so others can see the fun and health.
4. Finally, move your body, move your mind. Get up, respect social distancing, listen to the Chief Medical Officer for the healing in fresh air and sunlight, and go for a 5-20 minute walk to let your body heal and renew.

Also, a special bonus, plan a screen/social media sabbath daily and weekly so you can be unplugged and enjoying other hobbies. This helps to renew the spirt more than you may think, as it allows your system time to process everything that has been taken in either actively or passively.

Stay safe, stay healthy, know wherever you are and whoever you are– you are blessed for simply being you.

Keep being you.

A Four Letter Word

There are many four letter words that have come out of my mouth during this journey, and have been applied to my life and the ripple effects with my family. My journey on healing from trauma was supported awesomely though by having family it allowed me the space to heal. Not only heal, but make the connections within my flashbacks to trace core memories of trauma that needed to be rooted out, and healed to create the ripple within my own person.

It did feel like energy and electricity bursting through my body and leaving during the sessions. It was amazing as the weeks between would pass and different emotions of the spectrum would be felt- both positive and negative.

Yet, the work I did between sessions I would not encourage someone without a healthy in home support network to do…for in the isolation it could very easily go from healing to suicidal, it was a trip into the darkness and trusting the light path to bring you out.

Yes I am a person of faith, and that faith whether out there or subtle have played a role in my life. The same with this journey, and I am glad that in my life prayer and action go hand in hand, and the constant dialogue within myself and the Holy Mystery is there. It was amazing as I began healing to see the different opportunities that opened up for me and my family, the different places where we could connect for joy, love and healing. Where our faith would be rewarded, and where we could see communities around us come out of their own struggles into a new dynamic understanding of belonging as happened with our home church in Calgary in regards to the faith challenged laid down by my son to them.

This is the winding road. The ripples like upon a river or lake created by a skipping stone. The soul ripples that answered the question, what happens when the helper needs help?

They discover who their true family is (whether blood or chosen, there are many who journeyed with us, and blessed us communally and individually that I may or may not have mentioned in these two volumes, to you all I say thank you). You also discover your own true self anew.

It was this sense that brought me to the remission appointment at the Foothills Hospital with my PhD. Psychologist where the healing began on February 14, 2019. Here I was entering the office once more on October 31, 2019…

Not knowing what may or may not come of the meeting, but one thing was certain.

Today was the day; I could firmly stand in my faith, in my healing.

It was the day where the four letter word that had carried my family through the darkness was fully lived and embraced. It was a beautiful four letters:

H-O-P-E-

My step into hope of the new dawn of my pilgrimage with Brother Jesus as I once more stepped into the office.

Soul Ripples 2: with Gratitude

With Gratitude

 

The last 3 years has been a journey of healing and discovery. A point in time when my body and mind said enough was enough and I needed out. It was a time when the Jonah Effect took hold of many, and like the sailors in the ancient Hebrew Story, even though they may not have wanted to, they cast aside our relationships within their own fear.

In the midst though, one discovers their true loving family and friends. I would not have made it through the journey without my beloved best friend and soul mate, Shawna, and our two blessings, Leland and Justina. My Dad, Wayne, and his wife (and longtime family friend) Sherry, who kept things normal from times on the farm, parades, exploring the history of Countess, AB, a Frankensteined computer to re-engage my passion of writing, oh and the delicious Grandma meals Sherry prepared for our freezer.

Friends who have become family: Paul Vargis, Scott Hofstetter, Benny Leung, Deb Runnalls and Deidre Wilson-Smith (my son’s Godmother), as well as Deirdre Leighton (and UCM Alberta) who provided opportunities for community and belonging.

Lest we forget, the curve balls where the journey took us to healing. From taking a leap of faith to test the waters of structured learning in April 2019’s Leadership Summit at Alberta Bible College. I am an alumni who has had a tenuous relationship, yet in those 3 days I found a peace of Spirit within, and regardless of what grows from there, Pastor Dave from the Vulcan Church of Christ, and many others met over those days encouraged me on my healing. My journey through the wilderness and that there is blessings waiting on the other side.

The homecoming to Centennial Presbyterian Church in the summer of 2018 was also a curve ball unexpected. A place where we let membership rest, but always felt restless…the simple offer of pastoral care of having coffee opened up a courageously safe space to re-engage my passions of teaching, sharing, and preaching through being the grief support coordinator/trainer, Men’s Prayer Breakfast Co-ordinator, and Vision Team Member.

It is with deep thankfulness and gratitude for journeying with us into the new phase of life.

Surreal ER Convos from May 2016

Nurse: For your x-ray, take this card, walk down this hall looking up and follow the blue line to the room with the black box outside.
Me: Got it.
Nurse: Oh but look down every so often so as not to walk into anyone or thing.
Me: Is that really a problem?
Nurse: We do have to give the warning so what do you think?
Me: Gotcha.

Doctor: Do you smoke?
Me: No
Dr.: Drink?
Me: no.
Dr.: Street Drugs?
Me: No.
Dr: You know cocaine is a street drug?
Me: Yea I am aware of that.
Dr: so no to cocaine?
Me: Yep.

Soooo when one is presenting with what could be a heart attack, always remembers…your doctor will want to clarify if you understand what is and is not a street drug…hmmm….

Road to “What’s a Samaritan” part 1

Psalms, are like my second book One Voice in Protest: Poems in Hope, it is a diverse collection of poetry and music that walks the whole relationship with God. They can be brutally honest, simply brutal, praise worthy, walking a fine line, or simply wondering what is possible. Psalm 30 fits into this tradition.

The Blessedness of Answered Prayer

A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the house of David.

30 I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up,
And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
² O Lord my God, I cried out to You,
And You healed me.
³ O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, ^[a]that I should not go down to the pit.

⁴ Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of ^[b]His holy name.
⁵ For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But ^[c]joy comes in the morning.

⁶ Now in my prosperity I said,
“I shall never be ^[d]moved.”
⁷ Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;
You hid Your face, and I was troubled.

⁸ I cried out to You, O Lord;
And to the Lord I made supplication:
⁹ “What profit is there in my blood,
When I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise You?
Will it declare Your truth?
¹⁰ Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me;
Lord, be my helper!”

¹¹ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have put off ^[e]my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
¹² To the end that my ^[f]glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

-Psalm 30 (New King James Version)

 

Like any good poetry there is an accessible level of understanding. As the editors of the NKJV have labelled it for answered prayers. It does not touch on the journey the person has walked to get to that point, that would be going beyond the black and white of the page. But for the engaged in life believer they know that prayers are answered but there is a struggle, a pilgrimage that happens into some dark places. The Holy Mystery is not a cosmic slot machine or free Amazon shop to meet all our needs. Some prayers are answered in the way we expect, some are not. There is not a rationale to why, we enter into the muck and the work of life and see what happens, and then see what comes from it.

In the depth of these words is a dark journey, with allusions to death and the store house of souls in the underworld. There had been a struggle within the psalmist’s life whether in the community or the interior castle. Yet where the celebration comes is in the learning, growth, and moving forward. The psalmist discovered Holy Love in the journey, and this is the celebration of thanksgiving and gratitude.

It is why the arts are so powerful in sharing faith stories. They speak at many levels, for many it will simply remain in the the prayer a said and solution a was given…praise God. Yet, as many who are disciples, who live to grow a deeper self, there is a resonance with the deeper story of life recovery here. Coming through the other side to the place of contentment. Whatever the other side is. Could it be a chronic condition? Could it be healing? Could it be knowing when our time is nigh, or even choosing when that time is? All these can be understood in the heart as answered prayers, and as such, bring gratitude and thanksgiving. For it opens up what our Imageo Dei is crafted to be here and now.

It can be a journey with despair and hopelessness, and that to is okay. I have and still have dark moments on my own journey of healing with PNES-PTSD. Yet I know in this moment and time who I am, and what is meant to be. Focus. Take the time to follow the path. Heal. Enter the new path.

What is your gratitude heart song? What is the darkness you have emerged from?

Want to read Soul Ripples? Buy at Amazon.

 

Geek-i-tude

In just two months my monthly trip to the comic shop to pick up the new Heroes in Crisis will come to an end. As this has aided a renewal in some fun in life, I have decided I should figure out another series to pick up and read. With news Supermans titles would be going weekly it became a bit too expensive to pick up. With Detective Comics #1000 I was piqued with the new storyline starting in 1001 and picked that up.

Though Tom King was the writer of H.i.C. and Batman #68 looked like a standalone story to sample. Well, it was part of the Knightmares storyline (part 6) of the deconstructing of Batman. I will try not to give any spoilers.

It was a fun story of a bachelorette night with Lois Lane and Selina Kyle discovering friendship and shenanigans.

How can this be a Knightmare in deconstructing Batman/Bruce Wayne? Seeing joy is wrong?

No.

It is deeper than that, and for anyone that has perhaps journeyed through trauma you can get it. You become hyper-vigilant to seeing the horrors, and the catastrophic. It leads to constantly being a fight/flight/freeze scenario. You replay your life, and relive that which you have lost. For Bruce, it was seeing Selina who he had lost, and coming to the realization that there was nothing that meant more to him. The inability to feel/focus on gratitude it one of the biggest emotional numbing agents within PTSD before and during healing.

The other piece is in the conversation between Bruce and Clark, about the worst nightmare for Bruce. The quiet. Bruce hates the world that makes Batman necessary, but what happens if Batman is no longer necessary?

What is the greatest fear of the situation you are in?

What is your major support? Have you told them so? Authentically, have you paused. I have written previously of the Jonah Effect, those that bail on us when crisis or illness arrive. Yet, how often do we truly acknowledge those that have continued the journey with us and been there for us.

The Knightmare was for Bruce realizing that which could possibly be no more, because he was too focused on everything else to let himself be present for the good. That is Selina.

Today I was proud to be able to share the supports of my wife, kids, 3-5 close friends, Dad and his wife that have continued on this journey of pain, sorrow, and now healing with me. There is gratitude which provides more healing. It was humorous and learning to see this type of struggle from our world shared in our current mythology.

Before you go forward, whereever you are on the journey, truly take time and pause–

Who are those that support you and you support them in the journey?

Move into 2019 in Gratitude

Some say that you can re-wire your brain by taking time each day to reflect on the 3 things you are grateful for. I would start team meetings with this, as it shifted the energy in the room. It shifts you from a mindset of stress, defeatism and negativity into a place of…oh yeah. There was also 2 other questions that I would pose, so here is your New Year’s Eve Soul Work:

1. What are 3 things you are grateful for in 2018?
2. What is something you learned in 2018?
3. What is a new (or renewed) piece of self (soul) care you will take with you into 2019?

And yes, for regular readers, this can be part of a daily examin  exercise so the day reflected on just doesn’t become a “how did I screw up today list”…which is not the purpose.

Tonight at Midnight…welcome to 365 new opportunities to create the new chapters in your new book of life…

My Neighbour: Sunday Gratitude for the Journey Thusly and beyond

“I’ve always known I’d die alone”

-Captain James T. Kirk (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)

Stay positive. Focus on what you can do. Easy mantras to say, hard to live when it is not good days you talk about during a week with the unknown rattling your brain and causing the reliving of mental and emotional pain, but good hours in the week. Yet it is the gratitude for what still is that must also be talked about within the journey. Each chapter of the book of our lives, begins with letters put together to form words, those words into sentences, those sentences into paragraphs, those paragraphs into pages, those pages into chapters, and those chapters into a book.

The thing about flashbacks is that when lived with sometimes, some good can be remembered. The quote that opens this reflection up may seem weird, yet in my time building children, youth & young adult ministries/groups and outreaches I have not only used spiritual texts but media to percolate constructive and critical thinking. The first I used in this purpose officially was Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, the movie where literally they discussed the purpose of pain in our lives, and where to discover the intrinsic spiritual piece, the shared belief in an afterlife paradise.

As Kirk pointed out to Spock and McCoy when Sybok came for his pain, we need our pain, it shapes who we are, it is how we have grown. This is partly true, pain plays that role, but through the actions of the movie and how family is shaped/found in the journey to beyond the Great Barrier, what is also shown is that bonds are created in gratitude, shared life and community. This is about that gratitude. Those moments of reading a few chapters of a book or writing a short piece and knowing the pain to come. But it is about still being able, however briefly, to participate in the simplicity of lifelong passions.

Much like was shared in the earlier post around my awesome employer, the PMO office, Service Canada and my MP aiding in ensuring my family’s continued financial viability.      The pause on the vocational journey for a family that has always been giving can be challenging, but there were still those moments over the past several months when we were able to feel included in creating that dream of a better world:

CP Kids and Families  is a great non-profit that aids families and individuals who are blessed to experience life differently due to Cerebral Palsy. It has many programs, but the adaptive bike clinic has blessed my son with freedom like none other. This year our funds may have been short, but gifts in kind we were able to provide art to support the silent auction at the annual Christmas Party, always a great time that the family enjoys as it becomes a community party based around fun and the joy of the season where labels slip away.

Cerebral Palsy Association in Alberta another great non-profit, where it aided us during this time is the ability to donate goods through their drop bins (you can never know when you have the energy to make it a place to donate, and sometimes it is only kids clothes you have as they keep growing).

Calgary Drop In Centre: Donations Centre & Recyle Centre the ability to drop goods off that aid in new homes is a great blessing, the fact they have ability to take goods around the clock gave us a great place to donate items. We knew that we were giving so others could enjoy a home.

Robert McClure United Church falls under the giving back section because it accepted my family, but more…it took both my kids as kids. The ability to be apart of both sharing their belief in a better world through fully participating in the Christmas Pageant without barriers or labels, participating in liturgical painting, and lighting the candle of Love while sharing Indigenous Sacred teachings…well…. I encourage all of you to look for the little ways you can give to make a difference whether it be in word, deed, goods, action or monies. However, you can help your neighbour, please do, for that is what makes community.

Kirk: I thought I was going to die.

Spock: Not possible, you were never alone.

It is true. In the darkness of the battle to stay upright some days, one does feel alone and that the end is nigh. Yes, in moments of life like this, you can lose “friendships” but that is what one should not focus on.

Yet it is not only building community through the giving to help others. Sometimes as much as we do not want to stubbornly admit it, we need help. The true gratitude is when it happens without judgment, without hyperbole, or making one feel less than. It is simply happening because we are family—blood or otherwise, bonded together through being. Whether it was simply spending time, sharing cake (deserts are always good); cup of coffee, meals, aiding with minor/major repairs; money, laughs and an ear,  if need be…and all the things in between, the small to major ways that life happens and can need support.

Being our neighbour, thank you.

For all those that stepped in to help my family up until and past now on this journey, we thank you for in the smallest of actions to the grandest, we know that we are not alone.

Bones: Do you ever think we will find God out there?

Kirk: Perhaps God is not out there (taps chest) but in here, you and me Bones.

How today will you create or realize gratitude within your interconnected life?