Tag: Family

She-Shedding Emotional Excess

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2019 has become the year of shedding excess for me. Remarkably so, this theme has been communicated to me through, prayer, meditation, yoga, and Netflix. All in January 2019. I hear you, God!

Therefore, I am sharing this part of my journey for the next few blog posts. I have outlined my she-shedding as follows:

  1. Emotional
    1. “Responsibilities” to Family & Friends
    2. Circle of “Friends”
    3. Fear
  2. Physical
    1. Hair
    2. Weight
    3. Clothes
    4. SHOES!!
    5. Home
    6. Yoga Practice
  3. Career
    1. Number of Clients
    2. Amount of “Busy Work”
  4. Spiritual
    1. Empathetic Attacks
    2. Sex
    3. The Overwhelming amount of “Inspirational” Facebook Groups

For today’s blog, let’s focus on shedding emotional excess:

“Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert

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The summer of 2018 was not an easy one for me. I was selling my home and moving from Colorado. It was time. I had planned to move to Hawaii but took a detour to West Texas. I found a love for this little town and its community. Things run slower and it is much quieter than Loveland, Colorado.

Unfortunately, some of my friends and family felt I was abandoning them. This pulled on my “responsible” apron strings. And shit got ugly. I can’t remember feeling so guilty about “doing me”…well ever. People said I was chasing after my new love. Not true. He and I decided to hang in West Texas for a couple of months, while I decided what I wanted to do. Since we both travel, we decided to make our RV in West Texas our landing spot.

The gift of this relationship: No unrealistic expectations or responsibilities. However, my guilty feelings over the summer flowed into our vibe from time to time. On one such day, at a carnival, I could not bring myself to smile. If you know me, I smile a lot sooo…

It was time to set my friends and family free to make their own decisions. Time for them too experience their own journeys. Regardless, of my desire to “fix” everyone else’s problems. I need to do the things I have feared my whole life.

Thus, I let them go. Of course, I let them go with a blessing and not a curse. Regardless, I did experience frustration and shake my fist at times. I am human after all. This began my process of shedding emotional excess.

But Elysia, How do I Shed Emotional Excess?

I’m so glad you asked! As have always been instructed by my advisors: First thing you do is pray. But faith without works is dead. Therefore, action must follow…

  • Service Work to Others – Just because my life seems like shit, doesn’t mean that others who have it better than me. Absolutely not! Being present and offering an ear to someone else surely gets me out of my own BS.
  • Staying True to Commitments – Life continues no matter what. Suit up and show up, even if it is just to shut up…
  • Focus – When we are emotional, we can certainly be effective. We have emotional energy. Use it!

And personally, most importantly:

There are no victims, only volunteers

I took a 2-month trip to South America to be alone for a while and reflect. Speaking with my boyfriend on the phone, I recognized that I didn’t handle the summer of 2018 so well. But now I was getting a do-over – celebrating Summer Solstice the second time. I was not going to let history repeat itself twice in one year!

Suddenly, I observed how I had re-developed the victim role. WITAF?!!
I had been playing victim during the whole summer in the states! What an effin’ waste of time! Precious time, I might add.

Just to be clear, there are benefits of being a victim – people feel sorry for me, the person who upset me might send gifts…etc.

Therefore, I took some time to identify the pros and cons of being a victim. Not surprisingly, the cons outweighed the pros. How could I be the warrior queen I say I am and be a victim at the same time? I cannot.

Consequently, I stopped letting people talk to me a certain way. This is not easy. Indeed, it takes courage. But we do teach others how to treat us. Stepping up and standing up for myself is essential.

None of this is new. I have known this for a long time. I guess revisiting this lesson was in order. Just to make sure that being a victim still does not serve me, I’m sure.

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While in Punta Hermosa, Lima, Peru, I rediscovered my courage to face the power of the waves. I have always had a love for swimming in the ocean. But I also have a reverent fear of its strength. I wanted to swim further. Swimming into the waves, I ate shit a few times. Then enjoyed the glory of floating far from the shore… That moment, that day I shed some excess – fear.

Do you “feel” the need to shed excess emotional excess? If so, comment below. And stay blissful my friends.

Things People are Asking

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…What they are asking me – the woman who is traveling alone. Their Questions and my answers.

I’m in my second year post-divorce. What have I learned? So much, I have to gather my thoughts quite often.

I have learned that I enjoy traveling. I love to travel with the boyfriend. I love to travel alone. Presently, I am in the midst of a 2 1/2 month solo visit to South America.

Unusual Lifestyle?

I am also learning how this new lifestyle scares the hell out of some people. Or at least confuses the hell out of them. It’s become a fun little game of question and answer… or unsolicited statement and unsolicited reply.

  1. Next time you should experience this with someone you love.
    1. I am experiencing this with someone I love – Me.
  2. Who is driving you around?
    1. The bus driver.
  3. Be careful!!
    1. Of course.
  4. Aren’t you lonely?
    1. Sometimes. But everyone should experience loneliness from time to time. It helps one appreciate the presence of others.
  5. Do you need help with that?
    1. I sure do. Thank you!
  6. Do you miss home?
    1. I am home.

So, I don’t mind the questions or comments. Like everything else in my life, I just have fun with them!

 

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Ultimately, I am having a fine time. Meeting new friends. Staying in and binge-watching shows without being judged. Walking through city squares at night, people watching. Lots of Café con Leche!

Ecuador has become my new favorite place. Olon, in particular. But Lima, Peru has its charm as well.

 

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Staying Connected

My daughter and I have a scheduled weekly chat to check in about our lives and new adventures. And there’s the occasional text to and from my sons. My oldest will be joining me in Peru to celebrate Christmas. I miss my kids. Yet, I am so happy that they are all living their truth. Experiencing their personal journeys.

I really miss my granddaughters deeply. Thankfully, they are in good hands. My son and his wife are an excellent team as parents.

I really really miss the boyfriend. Fortunately, we have this understanding: We welcome these pauses in our relationship. No, It’s not an open relationship. We just are okay being apart and being alone at times.

Plans and Lessons

There were many plans made for this trek through South America. Unfortunately, it didn’t all work out according to said plans. But it never does. The back is injured again, interrupting surfing lessons. And I was doing so well! So I guess I will try again next year. 2019 is on its way, regardless of whether I give it permission to do so.

Then there’s the “shedding the excess” lessons. This need is surely what this trip is uncovering. And I have learned, more importantly, to ask myself some questions:

  1. Are you being you – living your truth?
  2. Are you living according to your values?
  3. Have you reviewed your values lately?
  4. Can you be happy regardless of any circumstance?
  5. Are you sincerely ready to let go of the past?

These questions are being answered along this journey through South America. I guess discovery is what adventure is all about, right? Stay Blissful My Friends. – e

 

Honoring Mom and Dad

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momdad

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. – Exodus 20:12

I once read that the number 21 represents Mother and Father. I am no expert in numerology but this thought has remained with me. Especially lately as I have applied the meditation practice I learned from the Ashram. After the Guru-Gita, we would meditate for 21 minutes.

Thinking about Mother and Father, male and female energy, Yin and Yang, Father God in Heaven and Mother Earth. Even in engineering parts, they design male and female parts, and some plants need to cross-pollinate.  So many examples God has given us. For good reason. So we can reflect on the power of creation,

Today, I felt led to honor my parents. They may not have been the ideal mother and father, yet I believe they were exactly the parents God intended for my life.

Dad and I did not see each other for years at a time due to his incarcerations.  Mom checked out quite a bit. Yet when I needed sage advice in my younger life, Dad was the one I turned to. After he passed away and I got sober, my mother became one of my best confidantes and friends.

My father never got to see the miracles in my life from sobriety. My mother did. When I got sober, I really had no thoughts of improving my relationship with mother. It was just an amazing added gift of the program and from God!

You may have had an absent parent or a terrible relationship with one or both. Perhaps, someone told you that your father was a “sperm donor”. Regardless, we all came from seed and egg. We can honor the two people who came together to create us anyway. This is a good practice we do for ourselves.

Because we were created from Spirit. God chose and used these two beings to create the wonderful being that is you. For that reason alone, we can find some way of honoring them.

Can you see yourself honoring your parents today? If not, what can you do to get closer to doing so?

Stay Blissful My Friends – E

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A New Record Player

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It is my 9th birthday and we have moved out of Pacoima to a seemingly better town. I still don’t trust this process so I keep my frown in place. Besides, my new teeth are taking too much time growing in and I look like a gargantuan when I smile.

My lack of excitement distresses mom and she knows no other way to convey her wounded emotion than to yell at me for being so ungrateful.  She did put a lot of effort into this little family party after all. There is just no way to communicate to her that I am doing this for the whole family’s safety. If I avoid happiness, nothing bad will happen again.

The best gift she had given me up to this age, however, was sitting nicely in the corner of the room I share with my cousin. A brand new record player! All white and black and able to play 45’s and 33’s. Alongside it is the new 45” I had asked for, my favorite song “Boogie-Oogie-Oogie”, by A Taste of Honey.

My mom did good this time. She seemed to hear what I had said I wanted for my birthday. I had recently asked her for a pet Boa Constrictor and instead, she bought me a couple of hamsters. They would have made hearty meals for the snake but instead, I now had a cage to clean, and those rodents stunk. But they were cute…so there’s that.

A New Record Planer (1)

I wanted badly to tell my mom how happy this made me. My new record player and record. I knew that going forward, when we took our monthly family trip to Tower Records I would be able to pick out a new 45” for myself just like my brothers. A true rite of passage this was. I recognized that. I just didn’t say anything.

I also knew that as everything else in our home, the record player was not just mine. I owned nothing, none of us did. We shared everything with everyone. The player would soon be broken by someone else who did not have the same respect I had for it. That’s just how it is when you have so many people with their kids moving in and out of your home. We couldn’t so much as eat a candy bar to ourselves. Everyone had to get a bite.

I don’t have regrets for that part of life. I learned how to share. Also how to avoid attachments to people and things. Perhaps too much. For I have had an ability to move on without looking back in such a way that I would give others abandonment issues. Loved ones, whom I would someday have to make amends. Thank God for a new day, a new life!

My life has taken a magnificent turn! I rarely cry and I am no longer afraid to smile. Unlike my younger years when I associated happiness with the precursor to frightening events. Events that might take my parents away again. At the age of 9, it felt a lot safer to keep my head low.

But at that moment, I was all alone in my room and I proceeded to flip that little piece of wax onto the player like I had seen my step-dad do so many times. Then I dropped the needle the record and listened to the sweet sound emanating from the little speakers attached.

 

Since I was all alone for the moment and no one would be able to see, I let out a small, closed-mouthed smile…

I hope this writing will bring a sweet smile to someone as well. It’s not enough for me to have joy, I want to share it with everyone I come in contact. Stay Blissful my Friends – E

 

Personal Values/Break on Through

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Personal Values

In my last blog “A Moment of Clarity“, I posed the following questions:

“Ask yourself if you still believe the words that you speak or even the thoughts that you think. Are your actions representative of the values in which you are living today? ”

I also wrote of taking action. Elysia, where do I start? I’m glad you asked. A few years ago, I experienced yet another painful bursting of a bubble. I found a support group on-line and one of the first assignments handed out was to prepare a Personal Values statement.

I had done this several years before after reading The Purpose Driven Life. Again, I found myself asking the same above questions. Not a bad place to be really.  At this point, I would do anything to step outside of the raw emotional pain I was enduring. The Personal Values writing process was simple and I would love to share it with you today!

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  1. Start with a list of everything important to you. You don’t need to overthink this, just write.  Some examples: Having dinner at the table as a family; Getting to Work on time; Daily Meditation and Prayer at a specific time of day; Going to the Gym in the morning; Spending one night a week with my girlfriends; Volunteering once a month at a shelter.  Got it? Good. So write, write, write!
  2. Review this list and choose 5-6 of the most crucial items for you today.
  3. Summarize these 5-6 items. Elaborate and expand on the importance of each value.
  4. Then again, ask yourself if you are already living according to any of these values.
    • If yes, identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement.
    • If no, how do you intend to make these work? Where are your strengths and weaknesses in following through? Might you slightly tweak one of these? For instance: It could possibly be more attainable to have dinner at the table as a family three times a week, or meet up with your girlfriends every other week.
  5. Ask yourself if your current work/life situation is allowing you to live these values.
    • If yes, then you are ready to go forward with living your personal values! I like to post them in a place I can see them daily as I begin the process of living them.
    • If no, well, this part can be difficult, because  you are probably due for a major life change. But be fearless! This is an exciting part of your life!

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Life changes are a positive thing, just not always easy. I remember when my little Chevy Aveo was a total loss due to a rear ending accident. I was sad. I loved that little car. It was fun and it made a really cool sound when I accelerated. Then I saw my new car…A beautiful purple Ford Fiesta with all the perks that the Chevy did not have!  I know this is just material, however transportation is a daily part of life for most of us.

If you trust the process, you can truly experienced the satisfaction of breaking on through to the other side!  

You know the day destroys the night
Night divides the day, tried to run, tried to hide
Break on through to the other side

Break on Through

I know right? How do The Doors fit in with all this personal values jigger? This song can mean so many different things. Today I see it as anthemic. I am ready for a change. Fired up, ready to go, ready to break on through! This song did not represent such a thing to me several years ago.  That my friends, is the true magic of music. But that is a topic for another day ha!  I love the idea of changing my perception or psychic change if you will. I have a tattoo of a blue rose that specifically represents this type of change.

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Today is a different day. The bubble has been burst. Nothing will ever be the same. Thank you God!!

Now Go!

…And stay blissful my friends – E

A Moment of Clarity

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Moment of Clarity
AKA – Epiphany
AKA – Disillusionment
AKA – The bubble has burst!
 
I am a huge fan of disillusionment, having experienced many epiphanies – all for the improvement of my inner self. What I love about these said moments of clarity are the sudden opening of my mind, realizing that I no longer think or believe the way I have been all or most of my life. Maybe some of this thinking is cultural, or passed down in my family from generation to generation.
Zig Ziglar once told a story about a woman cooking a ham. Her husband asked why the ham must be cut in two pieces and  positioned a certain way. She replied that this is how my family has always cooked ham.  With her husband’s encouragement, she called and asked her grandmother what the reasoning was behind this method. Her grandmother laughed and replied “When we were young, we had a very small oven so this was the only way we could get it to fit.”

Not all moments of clarity are this cheerful and fun. Some can be painful…as growth usually brings forth some pain.  Sometimes we have to step out in faith to  live our truth. At times this can be perceived as failure by our family members. Occasionally  tribal shaming will happen. At these times, we must accept that we are disappointing our loved ones and own it for the greater good of living in our reality.

Benjamin Bratt stars in this movie, produced by his brother Peter. Though beautifully filmed, it is not an easy movie to watch at times. It tells a real story of generational culture and of beliefs/thought patterns. Tribal shaming appears in a rather violent way. I know this violence all too well. Still, I am glad I continued to watch. 
 
In probably the most powerful performance of his career, Benjamin Bratt’s character “Che” is more than ready to have his bubble burst. For in a beautiful scene alongside Aztec dancers performing, Che experiences a most compelling moment of clarity. It is in this moment, I feel as one with Che.  

Knowing we cannot go on living the same illusion and yet fearful of the unknown. At this jumping off point, either fear will motivate us or faith will. I think sometimes fear gets a bad rap. Fear is a gift, a part of our human nature. It warns us to swerve to avoid a car accident or to avoid going near the flames from a burning building. Fear can sometimes lead us to faith. 

A moment of clarity is as a good a thing as long as it is followed up with action. 
Ask yourself if you still believe the words that you speak or even the thoughts that you think. Are your actions representative of the values in which you are living today? Are you ready to have your bubble burst so you can experience real life? A blissful life?
 
Stay Blissful My Friends – E

Sunday Shot of Bliss IV.

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Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. - Casey Kasem
Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. – Casey Kasem

When I was the little girl, I used to look up to stars and wish myself away from the violence and the chaos of my life. It helped to look up and away from all of the gravel and asphalt. Away from the angry people. Away from that man who used to pull a gun on me on my way to school and then pull the trigger. “Click”.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm. 8:3-4)

I always knew I would have a better life, even at such a young age. The stars were not my God, but a representation of the hope I would have in my God knowing someday that better life would be attained.

Source: http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/01/worth-seeing-beautiful-images-to-remind-you-to-spend-more-time-looking-at-the-stars-above-and-within/
It is said that stars represent high hopes and great ideals. I like this concept!

There was a time when my hopes seemed so high. To live in a decent neighborhood, to have a nice home and a car that runs without having to push start it every day.

After all this came to pass, I realized just how not so high these hopes were. Again, I wanted better. I wanted to be better. To be a friend among friends, a worker among workers. To be a better parent to my children. To have something to offer others. To be of service to all of God’s creation.

My hopes and ideals are not too lofty, but they are bigger than myself. I cannot achieve them on my own. That is where a good support group, fellowship or whatever you want to call it comes in. The good news is that there are people who have lived this before and are more than happy to share with each other how they did it!

I have heard this song several times this week. I used to think it was a corny love song. Now as I hear the chorus “Waiting”. I realized this star could represent anything we are waiting on. A life partner, a job/career move, a home, retirement (gulp), the birth of a child, and for some of us just a better way of life (whatever that means).

Keep in mind that waiting, does not mean being slothful  until said “star” arrives. We must work for it. If it just happened, how much would we appreciate it? Just like labor pains; though they are difficult to experience, how easily are they forgotten when that newborn baby is placed in our arms?

I understand labor and working while waiting. Sometimes, it seemed that a bad situation was never going to end. Or more concerning, potentially get worse…and sometimes it did.

Source: http://www.bhmpics.com/shooting_star-wallpapers.html
Source: http://www.bhmpics.com/shooting_star-wallpapers.html

It is said that a shooting star represents a fleeting moment. “This too shall pass”. Thank you God for that one. If I didn’t have this cliché in the back of my head (and also tattooed on my shoulder), I would have lost my mind several years ago.

Are you waiting on a star to fall? Are you willing to work while you are waiting, to overcome the obstacles? Can you accept each circumstance along the way knowing “This too shall pass”? Will you share your experience and empower others along the way?

Stay Blissful My Friends – E

The Little Girl, Her Obstacles and Her Hustle

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Source: Popscreen.com
Source: Popscreen.com

Anonymous, a good word to describe the little girl who existed within the insanity in which she grew up.  Surrounded by two older brothers, an older sister and the many other “cousins”, who belonged to whatever friends her parents allowed to move into their home.

Lost in a crowd of many children, most of whom did not like the little girl.  The ugly duckling that was she, overlooked; nothing special.

Except for her father, who referred to her as “The light of my life”.  The only problem; her dad was a heroin user and dealer.  When he would get arrested and sent to prison,  life would return to utter chaos.

More people moving in with their kids and boyfriends and their drugs.  People sleeping on sofas and the floor.

Not much was expected of this little girl. She would probably grow up to be a drug addict on welfare, with many children.  All of it would eventually become true, though…something happened inside of her at the young age of 6.  She decided she knew more than her teachers and her mother. She would educate herself. The little girl aspired for more.

She did not know how to get more, but she learned…sometimes the hard way. She understood her hustle. Working long hours, turning in recycled glass for money. Sometimes collecting food from churches.

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Proverbs 31 says: “17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. 18 She sees that her trading is profitable,  and her lamp does not go out at night.” In other words, the Proverbs 31 Woman had her own “Hustle”. 

The bible spoke of this little girl many years before she was born. Before the little girl became a woman.  Her God had already predestined her steps. Though she made many mistakes a long the way, she got better and stronger.

Ganesha is the Hindu god known as the Remover of Obstacles and the God of Success and Prosperity. He is also known as the destroyer of evils and the god of education, knowledge, wisdom, wealth and domestic harmony. In India, no new undertaking, whether it is a new business, a marriage, a new job, taking an exam, or any other endeavor, is started without first making an offering or prayer to Lord Ganesha and asking for His blessing. – 2005, Reverend Jeff Bekasinski

The little girl became the woman that she wanted to be; Someone she liked, someone she loved. No drug or drink could give her a better high and she would not trade this for any euphoric drug in the world. Cocaine having been her biggest obstacle, she was now, clean and sober.

This is a true story. Anyone can own this story. For we all have obstacles in life and we all can overcome them. Some obstacles are less dramatic yet just as real. What obstacles do you want to conquer today?  Are you prepared to own your hustle?

Stay Blissful My Friends – E

Sunday Shot of Bliss III.

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Albert Einstein Picture Quote

Miracles do happen indeed. It is our choice whether to open our eyes to see them or not. My life is a series of miracles. But this is not about me. I want  to share the miracle that is my oldest brother, Ed.

Ed is quite the family cause celebre at our annual reunion.  Young cousins (usually boys) will walk by him with wide open eyes. Occasionally, one of those young men will muster up the courage to approach Ed and ask him “Is it true you’ve been shot in the head twice?”  My brother will smile and say “Yes”, then proceed to show his first scar and explain where he was when that one happened. Then he will point out where he was shot the second time and how that one was more serious.

My brother Ed is the oldest of 5 of us from our mother. Though Ed has always been a serious guy,  he often shared his love of comic books and Star Trek with the rest of us. When he was old enough to drive, he was given the family Monte Carlo. Then promptly instructed to take us kids to the movies. That was okay with him because Superman had just been released. My brother was a no-nonsense kind of guy so he did not put up with us yelling “shot-gun!”. Nope, we all had to sit in the back seat. We devised a plan that if any of our friends saw us we would just tell them that Ed was our chauffeur.  They most likely wouldn’t have believed us since we lived in Pacoima, California at the time.

At a young age, Ed decided he wanted to become a police officer and entered the LAPD Explorer Program.  Of course he graduated.  That’s just the type of guy he is.  Around this time, he witnessed some behavior on the force that was less than ideal. Not deterred, he decided he would become a better cop than what he had seen. My brother was not short on idealism, a trait I admired in him. I still do.

Here is a tidbit that I don’t think all of our outside family even knows about:  In 1981, Ed’s first miracle was surviving a motorcycle accident. He and my step-father were broadsided by a truck on their way to work one morning. It was serious. I remember walking 2 miles to Holy Cross hospital to see him and crying with gratitude for his life on my way home.

Because of the damage done to Ed’s leg, it would take years for him to even be considered a candidate for law enforcement. So he took jobs as a chauffeur (had we prophesied this?), a security guard and as a night shift clerk for a gas station.  Ed was fearless.

When he was a security guard in Compton, Ca during the 1992 LA riots, he made friends with many of the local police officers. Many  would become life-long friends with Ed. My brother assisted them during the riots and also other events.  It was at this time that he was shot for the first time.

Ed was working as a security guard at a mall in Compton when he kicked out some gang members who told him they were going to come back and shoot him. Fearless Ed replied “Then you better shoot to kill”!  They did. They failed. The bullet struck him just under his cheekbone and went out the back of his head.  He was in and out of the hospital within hours.

A few years later, Ed moved to Atlanta, GA.  His leg was coming along nicely and he was cleaning up his credit. Many of his friends from the LAPD had sent in letters of recommendation to a law enforcement agency just outside of Atlanta. It looked like his dream was finally happening.

Ed was working the overnight shift at a BP Oil station. He had been robbed once by a guy with a fake gun. Ed pulled out his REAL gun and apprehended the robber. He was told that this guy was a suspect in a series of gas station robberies and given a commendation by the local police department

In July 1994, after dropping my sons off at school I got a phone call. Ed had been robbed again – and again shot in the head. This time the bullet was lodged in his brain and my brother was in a coma.  I knew I had to get to Georgia and be there for my brother and of course,  for my mom. We did not have any expendable finances but borrowing them and arranging care for my kids was…well miraculously a piece of cake.  I was on a plane that evening.

The doctor’s said that it was fortunate that the bullet was from a .22 and Ed’s chances of living were good. How much damage to his brain function was the question.

The thought of my brother’s life having been in the hands of someone who had no value for human life made me indescribably angry. Yet, I had to keep it together. I was there to support my mother. I picked up Ed’s telephone book and began to call his many friends.  They were obviously concerned and sad. I remember telling each of them “If I know my brother, he is thinking this very moment that there is no way some dirt-bag with a .22 was going to take his life”.  Every one  of them laughed and said that is exactly what he would be thinking!

Of course, Ed survived. He is one hard-headed individual and much prayer was spoken on his behalf.  There are so many miracles that began the moment that thug entered my brother’s store:

It is a miracle for the robber and Ed, that my brother did not have time to get to his .45, else the guy might be dead and Ed would have had to be the one who had pulled that trigger. It is a miracle that the guy used a .22 and not a larger gun or my brother would be six feet under. It is a miracle that my brother still believes in the right to bear arms and he does so today. It is a miracle that he walks, drives and independently takes care of himself.

Ed loves to pretend that he doesn’t understand something to confuse us. Yeah, he has brain damage, but after hanging with Ed, he might have you wondering if you are the one who had a head injury!

Though Ed’s chances of ever becoming a cop are over, he has a wonderful life. Every time a Marvel Comic is adapted into a movie,I won’t go to see it until I visit him in California. Because those are the movies we watch together.

I am forever grateful to God for the miracle that is my brother. Ah, and gratitude is a good road map to Blissful Living!  Stay Blissful My Friends – E