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Embrace Grace

June 19, 2019June 20, 2019by Erika K Rothwell5 Comments

Imagine Grace resides at the mountaintop. Your life consists of climbing through the unknown, toward that high peak, suffering the maladies from unplanned events along an arduous journey, dreaming and reaching for Grace.

Now, instead, imagine Grace alongside you every step of the way. Perhaps, like me, place a flower in your hair as a tangible reminder of her presence. You climb without any equipment or even the necessary strength as the vertical path opens up ahead of you potentially fraught with unexpected hardship and loss. All the while, your companion, Grace, supports you. You survive the best you know how, while she reminds you she is always there for you no matter what choices you make.

Grace in a yellow mountain flower — Photo by Erika K Rothwell – Mountain Flower

Grace exists, but first you must acknowledge her existence. You must call her into your life, as if she were your greatest advocate and most empathetic friend. She is your hope and a companion in your life all the way through to the end.

Grace gently caresses your dreams, your feelings, your being. Without her, you suffer from judgment, insecurity and fear. With her you are accepted, understood, and open to be loved.

Once opened, you are filled with her and you become a conduit to spread her powerful and healing ways.

Join her. Accept her into your life. The support you find will infuse energy into your journey to the mountaintop. When you reach the top, thank her for her loyal patronage. Praise her source.

Bring her back down the mountain, inside of your heart, and share her exponentially as you strive to spread love and kindness, non-judgmental support, encouraging others to embrace her like you once did.

With Grace,

Erika K Rothwell

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Grief, hope, love

Hope – Chasing Stars

April 4, 2019April 4, 2019by Erika K Rothwell4 Comments

When I was younger, my Dad would take my hand to show me the Orion star, the most prominent and brightest of the winter constellation. He wanted me to share in his awe of the universe, yet I was a preteen. It didn’t seem pertinent at the time.

And yet, today the stars hold hope in my mind. I look up at the sky and feel the strength that anything is possible with hope.

Hope destroys the weakened spirit, elevates the burdened soul, and promises a future.

So, I smile at the memory. Have I memorized the constellations at my Dad’s wishes? No. But I have adopted appreciation for the spectacular light show and the power of the universe to drown out the darkness.

AND, I still feel his hand holding mine coaxing me to look above for astronomical support.

This is a short post, to let you know I am still chasing stars.

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Grief, hope, self-acceptance

Arms of Hope – Therapy

March 25, 2019April 9, 2019by Erika K RothwellLeave a Comment

Hope is my therapy. Where else can such a profound sense of acceptance be felt? It exists for all of us, gentle support that anchors our souls. A belief and expectation of something good.

Two blue jays visited today on a branch outside my window as if to remind me of a universal smile of goodness. A pureness that radiates from nature all around me, a perfected treasure gifted to me to view daily if I slow down enough to do so. If I delete one “o” what remains in the word is the strength I put my hope in. For it is in recognizing that power and glory that I accept my own goodness.

My initial inability to rebound and cope seamlessly with loss pours life into these words. They exist only because I still have hope. Hope in a future, not without pain but with a gift. The gift of believing each day, itself, is a gift.

We wake naively without any anticipation of who we could lose in a split second, an occurrence taking only .00001157 of the entire day, changing the course of life for thousands of others. That one second does not define the life of the lost, rather it defines the implication that even a second of each day matters.

That particular second changed everything for me and many others this past week. Except Hope did not change. Hope remained a constant. Life goes on because of Hope. Hope that all happens eventually for good. Even if the temptation is to sink low into an abyss of confusion, the universe reminds us that all is good with it and invites us to put our hope in the power harnessed within.

Strong arms of healing wrap around me gently, reminding me that my pain of loss needs hope now more than ever.

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