Pot of Gold

Tomorrow is my birthday. In my family, there is a tradition of "seeding" on one’s birthday; that is, doing on that day of your birth a symbol of what you want for the coming year.

So, I will create a sacred space for my wife Marian and I, in which to spend some meaningful time. I will enjoy my daughter and her husband, who are coming for two days to visit and celebrate me. We will make lots of great food, spend time in prayer and fellowship and, of course, sing. I will post the Pearlington blog and I will energize solutions for the people of Pearlington. I will take two days off from my practice and most other things, and rest.

I will thank God for the Love, Abundance, Service and Joy that fill my days and remind me how hopeful is the human race. I will celebrate the many new American friends I have made and measure the deep respect and admiration I hold for the ones I have drawn particularly close: Laurie Spaschak, Tom Dalessandri, Jennifer Johnson, Charlie Holmes, Tim Goodnow, David Robinson, Bob Putnam, Glenn Locklin and so many others. I will celebrate my friendship with my fellow Canadians from Pearlington: Mary and Wilf Wityshyn, Nancy Semple and Eileen Powers.

I will pray for and send my love to the wonderful people of Pearlington who, in their humanness, have reminded me to look beneath personality and presentation to find the spark, the spirit, that piece of each of us that is eternal and a reflection of our Creator. I will think particularly fondly of Susie Sharp, Mike and Pam - who, while often not understanding my twists and turns - trust me, rely on me and honor me in all things. They have taken this crazy Canadian into their hearts and into their homes and try to follow the moving line as I write the story of my time in Pearlington.

God has led me many places; to the ravages of war, the sobs of a mother as her child dies helplessly before her; to great concert halls and to the pillars of "power" in Washington, Ottawa, Moscow and many faraway places. He has asked me to look deep within myself and to face that which was written for me, yet is not me, and to overcome the narrative of my life that was the legacy of my hurting parents and to find that which is truly me. He has asked me to lead many times and to accept the target that this makes me, but to do it anyway. He has asked me to find love in a faithless world, only to discover it was my own faith I lacked. He has called me to make gestures as small as the hug of a hurting child and as large and sweeping as to change the world, and to trust that both matter and make a difference.

All this and more I will hold in my heart tomorrow, as I enter my 55th year on this great globe. I will sit quietly among the Black-eyed Susans, the Lilies and the Purple Coneflowers that bloom in our gardens from my dear wife’s loving touch, and reflect on this great journey and adventure that is my life.

And on Friday, I will rise early and create the day as He asks. I will be humbly aware that I am just one man and powerfully aware of what He has taught me: that each of us can change this world.

"Desire is a breeze that blows softly through your hair.
Passion is a whirlwind that tears at the very moorings of your soul."
- from the Portal of Passion, Dream School International