A Poem by Guillaume Apollinaire adapted here for us.

Come to the edge, she said.
But we’re afraid.

Come to the edge, she said.
But we might fall.

Come to the edge, she said.
And they came.

And she pushed them,
And they flew!

The Third P – Purpose

Whatever we do in life, it should always be done with the intent to improve the world, even if it’s only our little corner of that world.

You may be asking yourself:

• What is my purpose?
• Why am I here?
• How can I make things better? 
• What can I do to improve my situation or that of someone dear to me?
• What can I do, with what I have, where I am, right now?
• How can I overcome my fears?
• What step could I take today to help another person, to lift their spirits and give them hope?  

Here are just a few possibilities:

• Drive an elderly or sick person to the doctor, grocery store, or pharmacy.
• Offer to watch a neighbor’s children.
• Volunteer at a food bank or homeless shelter.
• Bake or cook something to take to someone in need.
• If you craft, consider donating a few items to the homeless, a VA hospital, a hospice facility.
• Donate to help those who have suffered tragedies.

When I and my volunteers visited the seriously ill patients at St Mary Medical Center, we were fortunate to see their faces light with joy when they were offered handmade items from the Healing Cart. Favorite gifts were drawings created by local school children, pictures of ice cream cones, flowers, rainbows, critters, smiling suns.

Hand-tied fleece blankets are always a much-appreciated gift. We are still making and distributing these to many local facilities and to the homeless. A yard and a half of fleece, sharp scissors, and a ruler are all you need to get started. Instructions are available on YouTube.

In our area, we are crafting and raising funds to welcome Ukrainian refugee families to our community. While delivering handmade items last week, we were fortunate to meet a young Ukrainian family. (I’ll have more details to share when I interview them for an up-coming blog.)

As you’re reading these ideas, probably many more have come to your mind. Don’t put them aside. Take Action, and you’ll experience the wonderful feelings that come with reaching out to help another. As you offer yourself in service to others, some aspect of your life will inevitably be healed.

And keep asking…

What steps could I take today to come closer to achieving my goals?

To quote Mother Teresa, “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” These words resonated with me frequently as I visited patients in the hospital. I couldn’t take their illness away or magically remove their suffering. What I could do, was walk into their room with love, with the purpose to show them I cared, that they were not forgotten. I could also offerthem the unexpected kindness of strangers, handmade gifts of comfort made with care by crafters in the community whom they will never meet, but who so devotedly shared their time and talents. 

What is your purpose?

If the answer to that question is a big, 

I DON’T HAVE A CLUE!!!!!

How can you find the answer????

• Look deep inside yourself and make a list of your abilities, talents, and the knowledge you’ve attained as you’ve lived your life so far.
• What experiences in your life, (good and bad), make YOU uniquely qualified to fulfill your goals?
• What experiences have given you the strength to face and overcome challenges?
• How can you combine these gifts to create your future, manifest your dreams, improve your own life as well as others, to create your legacy?

As I created the Healing Environments Program, I realized I was utilizing all the skills and abilities I possessed at that time, my interior design knowledge, Feng Shui expertise, interpersonal relations to lead and direct my volunteers, compassion to enable me to visit with the patients and truly BE with them, crafting skills as I crocheted items of comfort for the patients. I was also uniquely qualified to share my Father-in-Love’s story, as I had lived it with him.

Now, having written my book, I’ve also acquired some knowledge of what it takes to achieve that goal. I’m far from being an expert, but I have attained some experience along the way. 

As Henriette Anne Klauser wrote in her book, “Write it Down, Make it Happen”, give yourself permission to dream, to be totally unrealistic. If you find yourself dismissing a goal as grandiose or far-fetched, write it anyway and put a star next to it. That’s a live one.”

And Josie Bisse said, “Dreams come in a size too big so that we may grow into them.”

Our thoughts and words create our reality so always write positively, what you want, not what you don’t want. Writing it down, bravely daring to put it “out there” in the universe, is a testament that you believe it can happen. A friend told me that she had written her goal list at one time, tucked the list away, and forgot about it. She came across it several years later, and soon realized as she read it, that she had achieved it all! The Universe hadn’t forgotten her intent.

It’s also important to understand that you don’t need to have all the answers about fulfilling your dreams…how it’s going to happen, where the money will come from, who will help you, exactly how it will look???? Your job is to dream it, to imagine it, and to show up with your 3 P’s.

Oprah says, “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” And she should know; she’s living hers every day and leaving an amazing legacy.

Come to the edge…and FLY!

I wish you ALL wings to soar and Blessings galore!