the 6th anniversary of the traffic accident which took my son and his wife approaches. last week my 71st birthday inspired another round of shivers and shakes at the prospect of raising their 3 orphans. the arrangement has stabilized well but? ? ? can i really parent teenagers in my 80's?

dunno, dunno, but taking it one day at a time. . . today's meditation read from "courage to change" is resonating with me this morning and seems worthy of the added reinforcement of sharing.

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when students first learn to play the piano, they are usually taught to use only one hand and include very few keys. then they move on to using two hands, eventually learning to play all the keys, the high ones as well as the low. in fact, part of the pleasure of playing lies in hearing the rumble of the lowest bass notes and the light chiming of the treble.

today i am learning to play a new instrument -- myself. i am a person with the capacity to experience a wide range of emotions, from love to joy to wonder. i am profoundly grateful for the laughter and light spirits -- and also for the anger and fear, because all of these feelings are part of what make me whole. i believe that my higher power wants me to be fully alive and fully aware of all my feelings: the crashing crescendo of great anger, the soft chant of serenity, the heights of wonder, and the new insights that stretch my heart and mind, just as my fingers stretch to reach all the keys in a challenging chord. i am learing to play richer sounds than i ever thought possible.

today's reminder

today i will appreciate the full range of feelings available to me. they make my experience of life full, indeed.

"i sometimes have been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable. . . but through it all i still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing." ~agatha christie

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just sharing. think i'll indulge my sudden urge to play on my keyboard.