JournalChatter

Quote of the day: "Before someone's tomorrow has been taken away, cherish those you love, appreciate them today." - Michelle C. Ustaszeski

Vicky has posted a story about appreciation - appreciating the people in our lives and cherishing our todays. Sometimes something happens in our lives that brings into focus life's frailty. And sometimes we're lucky enough to get a second chance. This is Vicky's story. It's a story about second chances and learning from them. It's a story about living each day, in each moment, because it's the only thing we are certain of. The future is still yet to be made, and is not in our control. So, for today and every day, promise yourself you will cherish those you love. Cherish the most precious gift given, the lives and the love of the people that surround you.

Four years ago my youngest daughter contracted Bacterial Meningitis. She remained in a coma and on life support for a short time when the doctors told me her chances of survival were not good. Every day we watched her lying in her hospital bed in ICU thru a window. Miraculously, she sufficiently recovered and they decided to try to awaken her from the coma to see if there was any impairment of her senses or residual problems.

Ever so slowly she began to show improvement and the first time she opened her eyes I was amazed at how really beautifully her eyes sparkled. It was almost as though I had never looked into them before that moment.

Now whenever I am together with my family and I look at my grown children’s faces I see them in a different light. Their laughter is so much clearer and their faces glow brighter. It is as though I was given new eyes to see them thru, an enhanced vision that comforts me. That’s also when I feel humbled and appreciate the precious moments tenfold because I have learned that both happiness and life are delicate and fragile.

- Vicky

Quote of the day: "If every day is an awakening, you will never grow old. You will just keep growing." - Gail Sheehy

Here is a story submitted by Marianne. Its a story of her awakening, of her life journey. We all have had at least one moment in our lives when we realize where we are going does not match where we want to be going. A moment when we realize we want something more. That more is up to us to define - as it is different for each of us. Her words beautifully touch that desire in all of us - the desire to find ourselves and our way in this world. May her story inspire you, our readers, to look over your own life and lead you on a path to your own awakening.

My story began at the age of 28. Until that point, I thought I had the answers, but what I soon discovered is that I didn't even know the questions. I was 18 when I married, and by 21 I had two daughters. Life was not easy but not difficult either. It simply was. I don't know when the awakening occured, all I know is one day I realized I was a chameleon, changing to fit my environment. A survival skill, granted, but a habit that was costing me too much. It was costing me myself. No longer willing to pay the price, I set out on the greatest journey of my life. The journey to me. In a small apartment at the beach, a young woman I was only beginning to know set a course with two young daughters in tow. My solace was the sea. I would walk to the beach and touch eternity every day. The vastness of this ancient mother reminded me of the impermanence of my life. One might think there was little comfort in this thought. For me, however, there was great comfort. It reminded me that no matter what the world would go on. And it has, and it will.

-Marianne

Quote of the day: "None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

This quote of the day resonated with Vicky.  She wanted to share her story with us, a story of envisioning her dream - and seeing it to fulfillment.  But more importantly, its an example of listening to our inner voice, and how that inspires and moves us to greater heights.

Here is her story:

"I read your quote of the day and I needed to respond to it because thirty years ago I heard a whisper. A story formed in my mind and then it struggled to come alive and take form. If I wrote it once I wrote it a thousand times, each copy an improvement over the previous one. I joined writers groups and every year I improved my writing style. It has literally become a tremendous learning experience for me. Soon my dream to publish that story will be realized and I am now going through the process of a final edit. Possibly this summer it will be completed and published. It will be my 65th birthday present to me.

People have questioned me about why I allowed myself to become so obsessed by my story. The second question is why do I work so excruciatingly hard to put it all in correct form? No answers are obvious except when all is said and done I have completed a dream. Probably one a type A individual dreams up but nonetheless I completed it! It is an accomplishment that I can chalk up right next to bringing up my four children and being owner, operator of a twenty-four year successful business.

But, the whisper has helped create who I am today. And I must admit right now I am feeling happy and fulfilled! And by the way, my next whisper has begun to take shape."

-Vicky

Vicky has posted a story that tells the hardships that so many people struggled through, not only to come to America, but to prosper here.  Its a story we can almost all relate to - as the majority of Americans have ancesters from another country, who came to America to follow their dream for a better life - for themselves and for their children. This is her story - but its also an American story.

"My story also began on Ellis Island, where my Grandparents left an infant child behind in the cemetary, a victim of smallpox. They lived an existence with one foot still planted in Italy, another stretched across the ocean, having taken the giant leap to America. All of their remaining years they spent living in Littly Italy, lost among a conclave of settlers from Italy who bore similiar pains of being the newest members of an alien country. They died fifty years later never publically speaking a word of English, their remaining four children fully intergrated into the land of their birth as first generation Italian-Americans.

What has transpired over the century was full intergration into American society. Now myself, a second generation descendent, I am blessed with granchildren who represent the new American face. Two are Thai-American and three are blond, blue eyed children who bare no resemblence to their immigrant ancestors. I often wonder about the strength it must take to leave the land of your birth to travel across an ocean, never to see your immediate family again, with no comprehension of the consequences of the move.

But now in my later years, I view my grandparents immigration as a huge gift to me and those members of my family. They provided us with the opportunity to change the face of America. We are a part of the evolving face of Americans today. The gift from our ancestors changed America into a melting pot of different customs, languages, and foods. It is America as it was destined to become."

-Vicky