It’s Never Too Late to Say I Love You

Written by keith Varnum


Whew! I just barely survived a workshop in Sedona, Arizona, with only a fragment of my old sense of self in tact—and that hanging by a thread. I was grateful for what I learned fromrepparttar seminar leader Lester Levenson and forrepparttar 122342 positive changes I made. But I leftrepparttar 122343 human potential seminar filled with sadness, frustration and regret. Duringrepparttar 122344 conference, many people, especially men, expressed their recent joy and thankfulness in reconnecting with their estranged fathers. They shared with us how fulfilling it was to tell their fathers they loved them, and, in many cases, to even haverepparttar 122345 expression of affection returned. Since my father was long dead, I felt I’d blown my chance to experience an exchange of love with him. Throughout my life, I often remarked to friends that it would take an act of God, a miracle, to reconcile my father and me. And that is exactly what it took.

Afterrepparttar 122346 final session ofrepparttar 122347 seminar, I shuffled off to my motel room, packed my bags for an early morning flight, and hitrepparttar 122348 sack. However, sleep eluded me. I kept seeingrepparttar 122349 happy faces of those fortunate guys who reconciled with their dads. I could still hear their joyous laughter as they compared stories with each other andrepparttar 122350 group.

Memories of my father and our countless arguments played over and over in my mind. My dad and I never spoke much about anything, let alone affection or feelings. In anger and arrogance,repparttar 122351 last words I spoke to him while he was alive were “You’ll find out!” Some send-off I gave him!

And his last words to me wererepparttar 122352 same: “You’ll find out!” That one phrase was our central conversation. For twenty years, our main communication to each other was thatrepparttar 122353 other one would find out he was wrong—about whatever topic we disagreed, about life in general, about everything! I winced at our voices of anger reverberating through my mind and then cut off byrepparttar 122354 abrupt slam of a door—his death. Yes, it was too late for me. Finally, unable to shakerepparttar 122355 feeling of hopelessness and self- judgment to find solace in sleep, I dressed and left my motel room for a late night walk.

Shoulders hunched, eyes staring atrepparttar 122356 pavement below my feet, I took a sorry stroll through dark and empty streets. I’d been wandering aimlessly for some time when, through my self-absorbed despair, I noticed a faint, yet definite glow of golden light aroundrepparttar 122357 manhole covers I’d been passing over. I examined each lid I came upon, but could not discoverrepparttar 122358 source ofrepparttar 122359 soft, vague radiance.

In my understanding ofrepparttar 122360 world, abnormalities—such as this faint shimmer—in my “normal environment” are never an accident. These irregularities inrepparttar 122361 “expected picture” are usually my spirit’s way of trying to get my attention. This signal means my inner coach has a message for me and wants me to listen up. It’s like “You’ve got mail!” onrepparttar 122362 computer. This particular sign of a soft glow is familiar to me. A faint radiance has been one of my soul’s principal devices to attract my attention and get me to go inside to check in with my intuition concerningrepparttar 122363 situation.

Receiving: The Flip Side of Giving

Written by Avalon De Witt


Another winter holiday season is upon us, andrepparttar theme seems to be universal. You may call your holiday Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukkah, Ramadan, or Winter Solstice. It is a turning point, a time of celebrating light andrepparttar 122341 hope for new life. The common element is that we all consider it a time for honoring Spirit in our best and highest ways.

Here inrepparttar 122342 United States,repparttar 122343 prevailing holiday is Christmas, and gift-giving isrepparttar 122344 major tradition. There are many stories behindrepparttar 122345 "why's" of this tradition. Many say it is to followrepparttar 122346 example ofrepparttar 122347 Magi who came to bestow their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh uponrepparttar 122348 Christ child. (See Matthew 2:9-11)

We want to have a joyous time, and remain mindful of our values. Yet, we often get caught up inrepparttar 122349 flurry of gift-giving fever, brought on by media pressures and society, and we forget to enjoy what others give us every day. In a time when people are saying "Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men," how is it that something meant to be so special can become so stressful?

Whenever we are feeling depleted from giving, it means we are not receiving enough. So much time and money goes into making our loved ones happy forrepparttar 122350 holidays that we wind up worrying how we're going to do it all. When you sacrifice your spirit, you are sacrificing too much.

Receiving is crucial for giving to be complete. Inrepparttar 122351 famous story, The Gift ofrepparttar 122352 Magi, by O. Henry, a man and wife find themselves lackingrepparttar 122353 funds to give each other what they wanted to for Christmas.

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