Rain Rain Wash Away

Oh, how I just love a calm rain on a sultry day in the summertime. The smell, the sound, and the cleansing nature of it all. Today it is raining and I find myself relecfting on it's literal (as well and figurative meaning) for me.

We all know the importance rain holds, in it's crucial and essential relevance to our existence on this planet. Without water we cannot survive, nothing can. Metaphorically speaking, we also cannot survive without the hopes carried by the rain to wash away our sorrows, to cleanse our souls, and to wait for the sunlight to break through the storm and shine upon a brighter path to peace and harmony in our lives.

At this moment in my life I find that there are many unsettled things around me. We all have these times, dear reader, in which we are experiencing some form of limbo or another where major and minor decisions need to be made. Seeking answers, not knowing what the outcome may be, while moving forward with a bit of fear and anxiety.



If only the rain could wash away our fear on the unknown, enabling us to walk without worry. If only we could see a break in the dark cloud cover to help guide us to this place of peaceful destination and fulfillment. These are the hopes I hold today as I ponder my next move. I must zone in on my fears and overcome each one. At this point it's a difficult task for me, as I'm sure for others. Being a confident individual does not make you immune to moments where you feel that confidence lacking. It happens to the best of us depending on the situation at hand and the tools we feel we do or do not posses.


And so, today, as it rains, I look out the windows of my home and at the same time need to take a look also into the windows of my ego. Two different views which must come to the same conclusions. If you are also, dear reader, battling with yourself in one way or another, I wish the rain to wash away your worries, fear, anxiety, and apprehensions  May the sun break through and shine upon your being with much hope and grace while showing you the path to a peace of mind.

Family far and away........

Growing up in the northeast, I moved around a lot, but always lived within a 50 mile radius of my very large family. This made them all very accessible at all times and therefore a constant part of my life, until the the age of 18 when we (my immediate family) all packed up and moved across the country. Waiting for us in Arizona were a few family members that had moved there a couple of years back. For the next 15 years or so, I stayed in Arizona, far away from the bulk of my family members. It was an adjustment at first, but as time went by, it became my new norm.

Married with a toddler and pregnant with my second child, my husband and I decided to take the position offered to him in Texas by his current employer at the time. He went ahead of us, and after my son was born, me and the kids met him there and stayed for 4 years. After that, he was offered another position in the Mid-Atlantic, across the country; and off we went.

I was done with the desert and longed to be back east. This is where I wanted to raise my kids. This is were I felt they would thrive and this was the place that I wanted to call home forever more. 11 years later, we are still here and I am grateful every day. It was one of the best decisions for my little family.

I share this with you, dear reader, so that you know where I am coming from when I speak to the many issues faced when living far away from your family. Making these choices to leave your loved ones is never an easy one. I have based my own decisions to move by what I thought would be best for my family. If that meant having to move away, then so be it.

My children have never known what it is like to be raised in a large family. They have never had the experience of playing with all of their cousins. Nor have they had the opportunity to be able to go the Grandma and Grandpa's whenever they wanted. They do not know the joy of great family gatherings during the holidays or the fun of an impromptu visit from aunts and uncles.

The fact that they have not been able to experience the love and closeness that comes with being surrounded by family makes me sad for them. They know no different, but I do. They have not suffered a loss, but I know what could have been. With all this being said, I still feel that these decisions were the right ones. The fact that they have thrived, regardless of the absence of extended family, is proof that is was.

I want to let you know, dear reader, that if you have to or have made the choice to move away from family that it will be alright. You will adjust and can start a new chapter in your life with a relocation away from your loved ones without any guilt. If you choose to move for the betterment of your family's quality of life, let no one guilt you into staying. You must do what is best for you and your family. If those around you love you, in a true and selfless way, they will let you go and not try and selfishly hold you back. (I know that there are extenuating circumstances to these statements, but for this post, I must generalize)

The other motivator for writing this post today is the current situation many are finding themselves in due to the poor economy. We all know someone, if not ourselves, who is suffering with financial difficulties. During these unfortunate times, we are having to make the most difficult choices. In some instances, one of them could be the decision to have to move their family far and away from their loved ones in order to either keep their current job or find a new one. If this is the case, I want you to know that even though these moves are difficult, you will find peace of mind in the end. I want you to have faith that you and your family can get through this life change. I want you to hold out hope for the brighter future that awaits your family, even though it may take you away from those you love.

Please remember that once you and another person are close at heart, you are forever close souls. No matter how far apart you may reside from each other, your love has no boundaries and your soul does not know space and time. You are forever bonded. You are always near and dear to those that matter most, no matter how close you live to each other or how far.

I wish you well. I wish you success. I wish you peace of mind.

Sometimes, Bad Things Happen to Good People for No Reason.... Really.

I have always found it a bit difficult to have sympathy for good people who make blatantly bad decisions and then cry about the resulting negative consequences afterwards. On the other hand, when I see horrible adversities thrust upon those who are in no way deserving or responsible, my heart bleeds for them. We all have had these types of challenges brought to us in one way or another, some being much more severe than ever anticipated.

Whenever I have been faced with one of these tragedies, I've tried to reflect and learn as much as I could from it and to turn that experience around to be an asset of sorts. Whether I share my experience with others who have found themselves in the same situation or to makes things right by advocating for the victim, I always realize that my vision on the world around me has taken on a slightly different perspective for the better.

In any circumstance, we all have the same question: "Why?" or "Why Me?" Well, for the ones that have made a bad choice, that answer is always quite clear and comes with time and enlightenment. But for those find themselves legitimately victimized by horrid events, I have the answer: "There is no good reason and you may never fully recover; and that's OK."

Let me try and explain my theory a bit better. I feel as though we are all interconnected on this earth, therefore we all matter and no one is more significant than another. For example: There is a plane crash and 100 out 123 people die. Were 23 of these souls more important than the other 100? Did they maybe pray harder? Did the dead all live lives full of evil doings, and therefore, deserve to die in a big flaming ball of fire? The simple answer is NO! Now, in retrospect, anyone can say that none of them should have gotten on the plane in the first place and so they were all responsible for their demise, but really?

I know that this was a very simplistic example, but what I am trying to ultimately convey is a sense of peace and understanding. That bad things just happen to good people and it's painful to watch these poor souls in the aftermath trying to figure out and justify what has just happened to them. Some carry these questions around for the rest of their entire lives with no answers in sight. In doing so, it is very difficult to try to (with time) do some healing. Some wounds will never fully heal and that's OK also. I just want to help alleviate some of the burden; to tell you that it's alright and that you have no responsibility and you will not have an answer to these questions simply because there is none.

Please do not misunderstand my motivations for this post, as I am an avid believer in prayer and I'm probably one of the most hopeful people you'd ever know. I wish light and love to guide you through these hard times with a little less guilt and the second guessing along the way. May a peaceful and harmonious road await you.


NOTE: I write these blog posts from a Spiritual perspective as opposed to a Religious one. Reason being, I want my blog to be All inclusive and therefore, would Never want to offend anyone. I am accepting of all peoples no matter what they do or do not believe. Peace ;-)