I met my dear friend Elena via this blog. Have we ever laid eyes on each other? No...not yet. Yet, somehow we have become kindred spirits. Her Facebook posts make me laugh out loud, inspire me and make my heart smile every time I read one. She often shares on my 'Confessions' Facebook Community Page about her journey with 8 year old "G3" she calls him. G3 has Aspergers and ADHD. He is so full of joy, love, honesty and energy! Elena's spirit is also full of love and peace . She leaves a trail of this love behind wherever she goes.
I once asked her to send me a bit of sunshine when I was feeling otherwise cloudy. She sent me this:
Hello from my heart to yours....
I once asked her to send me a bit of sunshine when I was feeling otherwise cloudy. She sent me this:
Elena also sends out these daily blessings via e-mail. People read them and forward them. Her intention is to bless as many people as she can. This one really struck a cord with me...so I thought I would share it with you all. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did...
Hello from my heart to yours....
"Today’s Project: Learn how to stay out of your own way."
Rod McKuen, poet, composer & friend
I welcomed in the Fall at the beach... fortunately, in Florida, we can do that.... it was a lovely 4 days of reflection... soaking in all that nature has to offer to soothe my soul... the sun... and the sand... and the ocean... and the breeze.. and the afternoon rainshowers... and the seagrapes... and the seagulls... and the crabs crawling sideways and getting tangled in the seaweed.... what I liked best was floating on the ocean on my boogie board waiting for the big wave.. it was quiet out there and I could hear the thoughts in my heart... I was open to receive clarity and understanding for the so many thoughts that go through my mind...the thoughts that stand in my way of moving forward and making decisions and choices that need to be made so that I can continue on my journey to becoming the blessed person God intended me to be... I let great waves go by just so that I could stay in that peaceful silence a little while longer each time... and I prayed....
We all needs these kind of retreats from the world and from ourselves... where we just let go and let God speak to us through the wonders of nature... so vast and beautiful is the world that He has given us... we just need to find that "retreat" place where we can go to seek peace... sure I had the ocean this past weekend for this, but I am one with nature... I can find peace in my own yard... I talk to my rose tree and am able many times to see rainbow colors coming off of its leaves .. the energy it gives to the garden around it.. yeah, it may just be the reflection of the sun and the surrounding flowers, but it's like looking into a fairy world of sorts... and butterflies come to me and will let me take them off a leaf to rest on my finger...
When I lived in North Florida, I found comfort in laying in a pile of dead raked leaves and looking up to the yellow and red and orange ones that had yet to fall to the ground... and when I lived in New York, I laid in the snow and looked up to the pale blue sky and felt like I could see heaven....
Believe it or not, these times with nature help me to "stay out of my own way" ... it's so easy to get caught up in the daily hum-drum of life... to just go with the flow and ride whatever wave comes along, even if it isn't a good one, just so that I can get closer to the shore... but that doesn't get me closer to being the blessed person I am intended to be...
We all need times of reflection so that our soul's can regenerate.. we need to clear our minds so that our hearts can hear more clearly the messages that we need to catch that "great wave" towards an open shore of vast possibilities ... many of our prayers are answered when we get out of our own way...
...and sometimes, in the silence of that waiting and oneness with nature, we may hear a voice yelling.. "here it comes, Mama, it's yours... take it.. take the wave... take it.. !!!" and we do..and we end up all the way on the shore.. beached on a boogie board and basking in the glory of the sun.... and laughing... and laughing at the awesomeness of it...
May you all be able to get out of your own way through reflection... take a nature retreat.. even if only to your own backyard.. just 15 minutes... lay in the grass... open your eyes, your ears, and your heart to all the wonders around you.. be open to receive .. and you may be very surprised to find that you will receive all the peace you need to continue riding the waves of life.... because you are loved beyond measure and are a cherished blessing to the world...
With love,
Elena
Logging you in...
Adelaide Dupont · 285 weeks ago
And for those of us who knew and appreciated these points in high school to a greater or lesser extent - always good to have a refresher and feel them through the current and future generations who we survived to be able to see.
I especially appreciated points 5, 7 and 10.
And young women not settling or settling down yet is a good thing.
"It's never too late to live our dreams" - but it may be too early for some of them!
And 8 of course.
nicole · 243 weeks ago
Risa · 230 weeks ago
LAH · 221 weeks ago
Maira L. Coral · 216 weeks ago
I was looking for information for my Multi-Genre Disability Research Project from my Early Childhood Special Education class on the web, when suddenly I came across your blog. I started reading this out of curiosity and I want to tell you that as you said yourself, you will not be Amanda Gorman, but you managed to make me shed some tears, perhaps because I felt totally identified with your words, especially in the part that you speak of your son. My son also has Asperger's syndrome, he is 19 years old and he is in the second semester of College. Also like yours, he takes classes from home, likewise my eldest daughter is also taking college classes from her room. At the same time, that I work as a preschool teacher from my kitchen through a computer, my husband sleeps in the room during the day because he works at night. Also in the afternoons I myself take virtual school classes. I am a 51-year-old Latin woman who began to learn the English language as adult, so maybe you find some deficiencies in my writing, however, I was very moved by how proud you express yourself about your son. Referent your mother, I liked the humorous tone that you give when your talk about her, so I did not want to miss this opportunity and stopped my assignments for a moment to let you know that your words do make a difference, since they reach the heart of at least those who have opportunity to read you. I want confess you that is the most long I have written to someone I don't know, because your words inspired me, thank you...
Gavin Bollard · 209 weeks ago
Thanks for this post. I've been very distracted of late and so this was how I found out about our friend Kate. Kate's struggles were very real but they were so constant and so wide-ranging that it was difficult for people around her to address them. I think it's going to take a while longer for me to process all this.
I learned so much from Kate because she was always quick to point out the many injustices in the world. In her glory days, she was very much a crusader and she cared for everyone. Over the years, as her situation took its toll, I came to realise that it was the fact that she couldn't be put in a single specific category, that made the system fail her. She needed help that they weren't set up to provide.
She needed more care and she needed to be less alone. I'm so sorry that this has happened.
For a long while we were corresponding almost every day but a couple of months ago, I realised that she had become so stressed that nearly every interaction I had with her was starting to trigger her. I backed away to give her a bit more space. She only had a little time that she could stand to be online and there were too many things that she wanted to do in that time. I thought that by taking a step back, she could reach out to more people who might be geographically closer and able to assist.
Kate was a beautiful soul and she will be sorely missed by all of us.
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Spoil your cat · 122 weeks ago
Many of these living arrangement aren't good, and many of the people who run those places really don't have the residents' best interest at heart. Those places are like old age homes and foster homes, where you sometimes hear horror stories. They're hard to trust. But then there are good ones, of course.
The best thing for an autistic adult is either to go on living at home or working and renting an apartment and living independently, but that isn't always an option.
Duncan · 112 weeks ago