“Family like branches on a tree, we all grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one”       -Anonymous

This month we celebrated my big sister’s 50^th birthday. I can honestly say this was one of the best weekends of my adult life. People from every decade of her life were in attendance to simply celebrate her.  I must tell you a little about my big sis.  She is the most generous, nurturing, loving, loyal, and amazing person I know.  I was the “organizer” for the event, and as important as she is to all of our family, I got to see a glimpse of the impact she has made at work and with her friends.  My goal was to make her feel that love, appreciation, and admiration deeply for at least one night.  With the help of my sisters, and a few friends, we pulled it off.  We planned several tributes for her throughout the night, and as the night unfolded, I saw something magical transpire within her spirit.  As I looked around and really took in all of the people in this space, I saw the pain, replaced with love and understanding.  I saw the bad memories replaced with all the good that transpired in light of the hard times.  Not only did I see it within her, but within everyone there.  You could literally feel the love in that space.  If there was a movie of her life, the final scene would have been on that yacht with her little 5’3” body surrounded by love, appreciation, admiration, joy, and acceptance of all she is.   Something we all desire to feel at least once in our lives.  We’ve talked a lot and processed about the weekend, and there is a peace in her spirit that I don’t think I’ve seen before.  Her heart is open and her spirit is alive, and I can’t wait to see how life will unfold for her.  I’m so lucky to have a front row seat as the next chapter unfolds…get ready world because she is truly fifty and fabulous.

I think the biggest aha moment of the night is recognizing that what you are going through right now may seem big, but time heals all.  When I tell you we had some rough times growing up and through these 50 years, that is an understatement.  There were people there that represented love lost, love found, infidelity, betrayal, drug abuse, disappointment, conflict, deep pain, and that’s just to name a few.  That night though, none of that mattered.  Each person lived their lives, made peace with their choices, and came full circle.  That night there were just a bunch of flawed human beings emanating love for this chick that came into this world and took it by storm from the day she was born.   All that mattered for that moment in time was that she felt our love, and that was the greatest gift any of us could have given her.  You may be going through a lot right now.  Lord knows I am and I have my hard days, but when I looked around that party, I realized that it will all work itself out the way life intends it to.  Just live…fully…authentically…and with lots of LOVE.

My takeaways:

1. No matter how hard it seems in this very moment, this moment will pass! Everything happening to you or around you is to grow you into an even better, stronger, loving version of yourself.

My Challenge for you:

1. Don’t wait until your fifty or eighty to let go of the pain of the past. The only way to really enjoy life is to let go, forgive, and love fully. Take a chance and reach out to someone just to tell them you love them.  It will do your heart so good!
2. If you are struggling with a relationship, what are you doing to be the change you want to see? Are you playing the victim?  Own your part and decide today to let it go once and for all, and then live and love with your authentic perfectly imperfect self.  Tomorrow isn’t promised…