Recovery

Lewis Woods, Rocky River Reservation, Ohio

Loadfields”

I picked this song tonight because it talks about something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. We’ve all felt it.  Shame.  But the only way to be free, to heal, to be what we’re meant to be is to let it go.  And what we are meant to be is happy.  We are meant to love and be loved.  And no one on this planet, I don’t care what authority they use to justify their position, has the right to make you feel ashamed.  You’re beautiful right where you are in your own journey.

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Huntington Beach, Huntington Reservation, Bay Village, Ohio

ing o One Republic’s “Preacher”

Rather than list my goals for the coming year, I thought I’d reflect on the most important lesson I learned this year.

I have long envied some of my friends, strong in their faith, who are able to weather the most difficult storms in life with grace, strength, and optimism.  When I offer my sympathies they respond with a smile and say they have “turned it over” to their Higher Power.  They possess a certain peace that I can only dream of.

“How do you do that?” I ask them.