So fellow travelers, I arrived home from our holiday road trip to find a beautiful hand-cut snowflake from one of my friends. Never have I been so happy to come home to snow.
Look closely…..
My dear friend Beth has cut not only my name, but also the Japanese character for “friend”
into the pattern.
This wondrous work of art came dusted in glitter, carefully tucked in an equally sparkly card
which showered my desk with the glittering magic of true friendship. As a bonus, I now have a great reason to never dust my desk again (not that dusting my desk was ever a frequent occurrence in my routine.)
Beth’s gift of friendship is a rare gem, one of those where the trust I feel has been there from the start, something I have experienced only a handful of times in my life. Beth and I met first as members of an online Creative Group I have often mentioned. It is a rare thing to meet people in person and find them to genuinely be as they present themselves online, whether that “persona” is reserved and introspective or boisterously funny. The friends I have made in the Creative Group are each and every one of them people with caring hearts, people willing to encourage each other in creative growth and personal healing.
We are also a community which stands together when boundaries are crossed. True friends may not always agree, they may have misunderstandings and even be angry with one another. Yet even in the heat of sorting out differences true friends treat each other with respect. When lines are crossed true friends listen to each other, support one another and when necessary sustain boundaries to allow for healing. True friends acknowledge pain but do not perpetuate darkness when others are suffering. True friends hold fast to hope and joy so others may feel them again. True friends are a rare kind of magic, for they have the ability to create Light. It is magic I soundly believe in for I have seen that Light shine on the path to help others find their way back to the hearth where home fires glow in peace and love.
Walk gently on the path my friends and may adventure find you ready