Saturday's Child

Kilworth Conservation Area, March 6, 2011

See that, up there, in the centre of the picture? That's the light at the end of my tunnel. 

It looks and feels like a magical place where fairies sparkle and dance when no one is looking. It looks like a place of hope, where burdens are lifted from weary shoulders and a warm invitation to rest and renew one's spirits is extended.

It's a place I'm heading to one step at a time. With each step I feel lighter, I feel a tiny bit more distant from life's responsibilities. I was born a "Saturday's child" who has had to "work hard for her money" since I was 12 years old. I'm tired of working, I'm not gonna lie. I love my job, I love my kids, I love most of my staff but I have to admit that it's an exhausting job, mentally more than physically. Being on high alert from 7:45am to 2:15pm with adrenaline constantly coursing through my system...well it wears a person out.

So I keep my eye on the "light at the end of the tunnel" and look for ways to enjoy today, every hour, even this exact second when I'm trying to express myself to you, my friend.

Today we went to mass (I work at a catholic school) and the priest's message really spoke to me. He said we all need to take more time to reflect and allow God to speak to us. We are so busy, so plugged in and indeed I read today in the Globe and Mail that Canadians spend more time online than any other country in the world. I believe it. He said to try to find time during lent to just "be" and to "stop, look and listen".

I took his advice while the hundreds of students and parishioners filed up one by one to receive ashes on their foreheads and within 10 minutes three important messages made their way into my receptive mind:

• use my "alone time" in the morning before school starts to spend time in reflection, write in my reflection journal, and just be; see what thoughts, ideas and messages pop into my mind
• "my daughter still needs me"...provide her with lots of guidance even though she may not seem receptive at the time...she is listening
• "appreciate my man more"...how fortunate am I to have found such love in the second half of my life; I need to let him know more often how much he has added to my life

What a wonderful gift "life" is...A very wise man, Prem Rawat, made the following statement once at one of his events:

"Don't waste another moment on a wasted moment...that's a good quote because that's what we do. We waste one moment and then we waste four more on that moment so don't waste another moment on a wasted moment. Go forward, because your life, your breath, your existence is all about what worked, not what didn't."



This is a photo I took in 2009 at Port Stanley, ON and
it's one of my favourite photos of all time.
Can you see God's hands?