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Know Your DNA?
It is Labor Day Weekend. For everyone here in Michigan, public schools are starting next week. The weather has taken a turn toward the cool, and the prairies are looking quite like autumn. Change is palpable….
As I sit at my desk, looking out over the back yard, working at the keyboard, Hummingbirds are chasing one another away from the feeder. Even a bee is joining in with this game, each claiming territory and working hard to maintain it.
I just watched a very interesting 5 minute video. A roomful of people were discussing how each felt some bias against other nationalities. These individuals were then each asked to undergo a DNA test. The results were quite shocking and rather life-changing…
That we belong to one another is not a surprise to those with a spiritual leaning. That is why my email signature line is a quotation by Mother Teresa: “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” Our connection comes as no surprise to scientists either. The evidence has proven we actually all have more in common than we ever imagined.
Although scientists have long recognised that, despite physical differences, all human populations are genetically similar, the new work concludes that populations from different parts of the world share even more genetic similarities than previously assumed.
All humans are 99.9 per cent identical and, of that tiny 0.1 per cent difference, 94 per cent of the variation is among individuals from the same populations and only six per cent between individuals from different populations.
(See 0.1 per cent difference.)
Bertrand Russell says, “There is no reason to suppose that the world had a beginning at all. The idea that things must have a beginning is really due to the poverty of our thoughts.” Possibly, it is this same poverty of our thoughts that had allowed people to think any group was superior and/or any other group was inferior. Perhaps as science and spirituality shine new perspectives on the same truth, humans may find it is easy now to feel our connections to one another and to all sentient beings.
We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness and affection.
Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them – we can only love others as much as we love ourselves.
Shame, blame, disrespect, betrayal, and the withholding of affection damage the roots from which love grows. Love can only survive these injuries if they are acknowledged, healed and rare.
Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
Yes, if everyone just had that DNA test done, you would have proof of the truth. School is starting. The season is changing. This is the time to embrace who we really are…
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Honesty
“I am always doing that which I cannot do,
in order that I may learn how to do it.”
~ Pablo Picasso
Some days—more than others—you are aware how connected we all are.
My dear friends/colleagues and I are experiencing palpable loss and questioning around changes with regards to massage therapy services provided by our local hospice organization. We value these therapies. The massage therapist was the one person on her hospice care team who knew when my mother-in-law had begun her active transition in October of 2015. The nurse was caught off guard, but Marjie was not.
As my heart finds relief through my fingers on the keyboard, a lot is happening.
Carol is driving three hours to check on her son. He has experienced alcohol addiction, and has not been going to work or answering his phone.
Claudia is doing her best to support herself and her husband, Wayne, as they deal with the day-to-day experiences of his Alzheimer’s.
Another friend is navigating misunderstanding and fears around her psychosis-like symptoms, most likely related to a kundalini awakening.
During my inner time this morning, holding all of this in my heart, I asked, “What is real about all of this, and what would Spirit have us know?”
Faeries Oracle Card
# 62 The Glanconer
Illusion. Delusion. Lust. Projection. Clear sight.We may claim that something means little to us when, in fact it means a great deal. The situation needs to be handled with care. This is the time to call upon Honesty for aid!
Faeries Oracle Card
# 40 HonestyReminds us not only to be clear in what we say and do, but also to act and speak with compassion and tact. Dishonesty, even in the name of tact, is not helpful.
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How does this situation get redeemed? I can barely hold it in my heart, it is so painful. Knowing how valuable Marjie’s massage therapy was for John’s mom; seeing the loss, but knowing it is important to not activate the drama triangle.Thoughts of the Old Testament story about Joseph and the coat of many colors pops into mind. Joseph’s brothers, smitten with jealousy, sold him into slavery. Years later, desperate to buy grain, the brothers come face-to-face with Joseph. Joseph is now second in command to the Pharaoh, and in charge of the supplies. The brothers feared for their lives! But, Joseph was not vindictive. He was conscious of the bigger picture. The proof of Joseph’s world view is demonstrated by him telling his brothers, “You meant it for ill, but God meant it for good.”
Zen Osho Tarot
Knight of Water
TrustWhen we take trust to the level of the quantum leap, we don’t make any elaborate plans or preparations… No, we just jump, with hardly a thought of what happens next.
Trust life. With trust, something immense opens up.
You are not deceived; there is nothing that can be taken away from you… You cannot lose your real treasure.
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I have wondered before if this is about offering massage therapy house calls for critically/chronically ill as private pay. This might just be a step away from dependency on insurance. For sure, the insurance industry has been problematic for our society. It has not been financially good for doctors. It has not been mentally good for patients who have lost touch with self-responsibility as an employer paid premiums and an insurance company paid charges. Might this current chaos have a good long-term outcome, as with Joseph all those years ago?What would spirit have us know about all of that?
Angelic Messenger Cards
# 39 Cooperation
A Nourishment CardCooperation between your feelings and your body create physical health and feelings of happiness and fulfillment. Cooperation among your feelings, your body, and your spirit give you the ability to experience the grace of God as love and to interpret the energy of love as the guidance you seek. The spiritual energy of love is arising from the divine Presence and raises you to the status of inspired mortal and wise healer of other living things.
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I don’t know how everything is going to unfold in all of these situations. We do know we can choose how we view LIFE. For example, Abraham Hicks’ take on Alzheimer’s. Listening to that may bless you, too.In the meantime, remember the truth: We truly are, as Ram Dass says, all just walking each other home.
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Jeremy’s Baptism
Today, I am attended the baptism of a young friend. Jeremy Charles is delightful!
Jeremy’s Yaya is one of my dear friends, and I am so moved by her deep love and delight in him. He is thriving in the environment of her love, and I am thrilled for them to have found a spiritual community that welcomes and loves them.I confess to having some reservations about the traditional language often used in Christian Baptism, with a focus on the ritual as necessary because of “original sin.”
Last December I wrote a contemporary ritual of infant baptism:
Life is not immortal only for Christians. Immortal life for Christians is known through the Christ but it is not limited to any single religious path. In the traditions of the world religions this nature of the more of life beyond the body is common. Life goes on. To the Christian it is immortal life in Christ. To the Native Indian, to the Buddhist, to the indigenous peoples around the planet, it is expressed in different ways. But the fact that it is expressed in different ways does not mean that the reality is different.
Life springs from that which is eternal and life is created in the image and likeness of that which is source to all of life. That image and likeness we are created in is spirit and spirit is eternal.
In Roadside Assistance for the Spiritual Traveler, Rabbi Rami Shapiro, writes: “Where does an ice cube go in a tub of warm water? You are the cube, God is the water. For a while you seem separate from the water, but eventually you melt – you die – and discover that you, too, are water. Have fun being a cube; just don’t forget that all cubes are water, and everything is God.”
Baptism is a recognition of the true nature of our existence. We are part of that stream of eternal life. We come from God, and we return to God. We exist before birth, we exist after death. We ARE that I AM.
Baptism has power, it is affirmative, it is positive. It is the most precious gift of God and comes to us because we seek first the kingdom of God, because that kingdom is our true home.
In the September 2016 Beyond Mastery Newsletter, I share this quotation from a talk Pope Francis gave in Poland that was recently reported in our local newspaper: “People may judge you to be dreamers, because you believe in a new humanity, one that rejects hatred between peoples, one that refuses to see borders as barriers and can cherish it’s own traditions without being self-centered or small-minded.”
Oh, this is a dream my heart shares…
This morning, I recorded a short video of this hand puppet, a gift to Jeremy:
The inspiration for the video came from a story Yaya shared with me recently. She and Jeremy had been talking, and he told her she was in his heart and he was in her heart. A few days later, driving past my new office, Jeremy announced, “That’s Debra’s office.”Yaya was amazed. Jeremy had only been to that office once, briefly, weeks earlier. She asked him, “How do you remember where Debra’s office is when you have only been there one time?”
His precious response: “Because Debra is in my heart and I am in Debra’s heart.”
You certainly are in my heart, Jeremy Charles, and I am honored to be in yours. And as our beloved puppet friend shares with you in this video, we are all also in God’s heart. We always have been. We always will be. That is just the truth about God.
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You Cannot Lose Him
This post was started a couple of days ago as a tender musing around Wednesday evening’s passing of my dear friend’s 42 year old son. Out in the field, watering his beloved drought-stressed trees with his father, Kalvin was stung by a bee or wasp. Known to be very allergic, Kalvin hopped in the truck and took off to the house to get his epi pen. He made it to the house, and he used his pen, but it was too late. His father, having had to walk in from the field, found Kalvin unconscious on the kitchen floor. They tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Wednesday, at 10:35 PM, Kalvin’s mom had sent me a text message with three life-altering words: Kalvin is dead.
Driving from Kalamazoo to St. Joseph early Thursday morning to be with Linda, I listened to the talk I had given at Unity on the Lakeshore October 25, 2015—the morning after our family had completed the family-run estate sale for my mother-in-law, who had passed just three weeks earlier. The title of that talk was “Celebrations of Life.”
As the mile markers counted down from 72 to 27, I had a felt sense an expanded theology was stabilizing in my broken heart and my swirling mind. I had a sense, just as Linda would never be the same, nor would I.
Saturday, a wonderful friend, who often receives sacred messages from those in spirit, sent this message from Kalvin, to his mom:
Hi Debra – Would you pass on a message to Linda, if you think it’s appropriate. Kalvin wants her to know that he made it “Home” safely and she can stop worrying. He would also like to thank the large contingent of loved ones that bid him “Bon Voyage” and to let everyone know there was an even bigger group waiting to welcome him Home. “It was quite the party.”
He says that he is so grateful having Linda watch over him all these years and now it is HIS turn to watch over her and the rest of the family. Please let Linda know that even when it appeared that he was in pain, he was able to” remove himself” from it.
He would have her know that he had a great time while he was “here” and he wouldn’t change even one experience including his method of transition. He would also have her know that he is no more than a “whisper” away and to be on the lookout for him. She will “know” when he is around.
He is very insistent that I get this out right away. As a matter of fact. I had to stop in the middle of cleaning the garage so he would leave me alone. He’s a bit pushy when he wants something done………just kidding………….Love & Peace, Mike
Linda’s response to my having sent Mike’s words to her was significant, “Oh Debra. Thank Mike for me. I heard Kalvin say ‘I love you Mom’ already.” I may need to remind her of this truth again. I will remember…
Sunday, the church was filled with co-workers, neighbors, friends and family, and Wiley—Kalvin’s faithful four-legged companion. Love poured out from the eyes of many. Pastor David Stout gave everyone permission to cry, and he asked us to be faithful in providing ongoing care for one another. I will remember… He said we wont get over the passing of Kalvin, but we will get through it.
At the service, Linda’s dear friend, Kathy Zerler, shared this poignant guided meditation she wrote as a tribute to Kalvin.
A Guided Meditation for Kalvin K. Higbee
You are invited to settle in for a moment of meditation in Kalvin’s honor and memory…please close your eyes and relax, as you listen…
Imagine that you are walking in Higbee’s orchards, the trees are heavy with fruit and so fragrant that you slow down and stop to inhale the sweetness of fresh peaches. Nearby, plowed fields are ripe with cantaloupes and watermelons.
It is a warm summer day in Millburg. Sunflowers are blooming next to cockscomb in Kalvin’s flower garden. The contrast of yellow and black sunflowers bring to mind Vincent Van Gogh’s painting of sunflowers, at once reclusive and joyful, impressionistic, lasting forever in your mind. The soft magentas and reds of the cockscomb give you pause, and you stop again to admire Mother Nature’s magnificent color palette that Kalvin crafted into a lasting legacy of growth and renewal. You feel the warmth of sun on your face as you appreciate the delicate efforts that Kalvin made in planting and nurturing God’s perfect flowers, knowing that they worked together with angels to make Higbee Farm a place of blessings and everlasting peace.
Beyond the orchards and fields you gaze at the sky; it is limitless, one with the soil, part of our earth. There is no end to the sky and the soil. Like the generations of farmers before him, Kalvin was drawn to this. He spent endless days caring for fruits, flowers and vegetables that give us sustenance. Kalvin planted, fertilized, watched and waited for sweet corn knee high by the fourth of July, sweet and hot peppers, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, bountiful beans and squashes. Imagine Kalvin walking barefoot in the warm troughs between the rows, see him now enjoying the gently swaying flowers, the fruits and vegetables thriving under his care. Farming is a generous gift, one that Kalvin delighted in sharing with his family and friends.
You feel grateful for having Kalvin in your life. You open your mind now to what this day may give you. The many gifts that Kalvin gave you are in your heart now and forever. If only for a moment, all of your sadness is washed away. You do not chase after your sadness, but allow your grief to come and to go as long as you need it; you understand that Kalvin’s ending on our earth is a new beginning for him, and for you.
In Kalvin’s honor and memory, you decide to live like a flower. You make a conscious decision to be colorful, to smell good, to stretch toward the light, to hydrate yourself, to allow yourself to go dormant once in a while, to open your petals in the morning and to wrap your leaves around you at night. You are as necessary as every flower; and when you grow together with others, your world becomes a garden. Please say a silent prayer for Kalvin K. Higbee.
Kathy Zerler August 14, 2016
Sunday morning, I opened my email and read this powerful message from Aaron, channeled through Barbara Brodsky:
Your loved one is not dead,he has only left his human form.
He is now expressing himself through you,
through your growing open heart that can allow itself the experience of grief
and allow that grief to become a catalyst for compassion.
He is expressing himself through you in all the ways he spoke to you in your life,
the joys and the sorrows.
He is expressing himself through every human that he touched in this lifetime.
And he is in the soil and the stars and the rain and the sun.
You cannot lose him.
~ Aaron
Yes, our lives are deeply affected by the passing of Kalvin from this world to the next, and our lives are deeply affected by knowing that he is in the soil and the stars and the rain and the sun. You cannot lose him. RIP Kalvin Kenneth Higbee. I will remember…
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The Gift of Distance
I will love the light for it shows me the way,
yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.~ Og Mandino George loved doing woodworking in his shop. He had been in an assisted living facility for the past couple of years. Tuesday, when I attended his funeral, George’s sister, Betty, had brought some of the last items from his shop. She was offering friends to take something as a loving remembrance. I was delighted to select the last of his simple plaques, crafted brilliantly using the contrast of light and dark to create a very significant an optical illusion.
I had one of these years ago, but when someone in a challenging time of life greatly admired it, I gifted that person the plaque. Now that George is in spirit, having this one has even more significance in my heart.
When you get some distance from the plaque, and you let your eyes relax, by paying attention to the light rather than looking at the dark, you can see the deeper message George created by gluing simple light wood strips on the dark wood background:
What a powerful metaphor for all of life. We can get so tied up in our problems, we can miss the gifts hidden in plain view. A little distance, relaxation, and focus on the light brings resurrection!
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Three Days without Anxiety Medication!
In September, 2014, I quoted John Lennon in my Wholesome Thought: “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”
His words are still true today.
Since the first of May this year, I have been on a wild ride triggered by the intersection of an impending life insurance physical, and my having participated in the 2016 Listen to Your Mother Southwest Michigan.
Tonight, I am very thankful for each of the steps along the way. Yes, grateful for the spike in my blood pressure, for the EKG and the CT scan. For sure, grateful for Brandi Smith, the Nurse Practitioner who has been patient and trusting with me—helping me be more patient and trusting with myself.
“Discovering Our Capacity to Love” in Mindfulness in Action (page 11), Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche writes:
We shouldn’t discount our willingness, that potential, that powerful seed of gentleness. That element of gentleness exists in every being. We don’t have to be embarrassed about it or try to hide it. We can afford to acknowledge and cultivate gentleness and, first of all, to treat ourselves better. If we don’t appreciate ourselves, we have no ground to work with ourselves.
After the insurance company reported that my blood sample had been corrupted, questioned details in my records from 2012 that had not been followed up on with approved Western Medicine, then offered me a high rate without waiting for the results of the follow up tests, I asked the agent to contact the company and ask for a reconsideration. They offered me a good rate. I am grateful about that.
I fully agree with Joseph Conrad’s words in Heart of Darkness, “One can’t live with one’s finger everlastingly on one’s pulse.” Three months have gone by quickly while feeling like a lifetime. One quarter of one year. A third the time it took me to develop in my mother’s womb. It is a brief time compared to what some people deal with. For now, it is the end of this dance with anxiety. For now, everything is okay.
I have learned a lot of valuable things about myself, about fear related to medical procedures, and about the importance of being mindful what I am thinking and how I am breathing (or not).
From Three Steps to Awakening A Practice for Bringing Mindfulness to Life, by Larry Rosenberg with Laura Zimmerman:
Minutes can you go by until you realize you’re lost in mind. One advantage of the whole-body approach is that although there’s a gap between breaths, the body is still there, sitting. You’re aware of this until the next breath emerges. It gives the mind something tangible to hold onto in the present moment.
Using whole-body awareness, you’re learning to become intimate with the raw, naked experience of bodily life. As you do that, you’re emphasizing the first foundation of mind, “the body in the body.” (p. 32)
It felt as thought I was facing the human fear of death. We know we will die at some point. I know I am a soul (eternal) temporarily housed in a body (temporal). I recognize each moment as precious. Every day you have to enjoy this amazing event called LIFE is a blessing.
I have learned to notice grasping and aversion—being aware that I consider some things uncomfortable, unpleasant, unwanted and other things comfortable, pleasant, and desired. I may even call them good or bad. It is vital to be able to relax into whatever is happening. That is what mindfulness practice is all about.
I wonder if I have been able to navigate this process more gracefully because of my yoga and meditation practice. Of course, there is no way to prove that.
Say only, I am now three days without anxiety medication…. Grateful, grateful, grateful!
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The Three Injunctions
The thee injunctions, by Brugh Joy, have been trying to come to my mind. Joy’s Way: A Map for the Transformational Journey. An Introduction to the Potentials for Healing with Body Energies was required reading when I was doing my training in Healing Touch™.Out for my bike ride this morning, I just had to stop to search for it. That feeling was so urgent, I stopped at the top of a hill, under a tree, and put in “Brugh Joy release the need to.”A blog post with the reference to the three injunctions came up.From the blog:In the third chapter of the book, Brugh describes a cosmic experience of a woman who came to talk with him about her challenges in life. A few months earlier, she had been walking along a beach, saw an iridescent light, and heard a booming voice deliver three injunctions. She thought she was going mad. The voice said, slowly and repetitively, “‘There are three injunctions for you. Pay attention to them. Make no comparisons; make no comparisons. Make no judgments; make no judgments. Delete your need to understand; delete your need to understand.’” (p. 59)Make no comparisons. Make no judgments. Delete your need to understand.
No wonder my soul wanted me to remember the three injunctions!
This is the heading on the home page of that blog:
OMG!
Diagnosed with gallbladder cancer?
OMG!
A rare and aggressive form of cancer with a poor prognosis?
OMG!
Information hard to find?
OMG!
Physical and emotional implications?
OMG!
Exploring the spiritual implications of receiving a life threatening diagnosis?
OMG!
Yesterday morning I underwent a CT scan of my gallbladder because of a notation about an 8mm nodule on my gallbladder in the records the CT scan I had done in 2012, prior to having a hysterectomy to remove an abdominal mass. I just found out about the CT notation in the records last week, related to an on-going application for a life insurance policy.
Today, I am feeling anxiety about the test results.Now home from my ride, I open today’s Loving Reminder from Betty Lue:
The fear or anxiety we feel tells me that something is not quite “right” about what we believe.
The peace and calm we feel tells me that I am “on purpose” and expressing what I want to believe.
The guilt we have about being separate from the highest Good, is often the anxiety we feel.Intentionally receiving all the abundance of love as I wait….P.S. This evening I received the CT results – nothing to worry about!
May all beings come to the end of suffering….
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End to Violence
Two days after my Insight’s Article was published in the Herald Palladium (See “Unthinkable”), violence shattered our usually serene hometown, Saint Joseph, Michigan. This concert was held overlooking the bluff, less than a block away from the Berrien County Courthouse where two bailiffs died yesterday. Our community does not suffer alone. Dallas. St. Louis. Sandy Hook. How do we make sense of such violence?
This morning I listened to a TED talk by David Steindle-Rast, the Catholic Benedictine monk who founded Gratefulness.org. Today is his 90th birthday and the 19th anniversary of my ordination as a Minister of Reunion.Brother David’s words words echo the thoughts in my own heart: “If you are grateful, you are not fearful, and if you are not fearful, you are not violent.”
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Tune In
Listening to an audio of Abraham-Hicks, I was shaking my head at the guy’s question about where his inner being has gone when he is not in alignment with it.
Patiently, Abraham responded that was like asking when you have your radio tuned to 89.5 where does the signal for 101 go. It goes nowhere. It is there, constantly broadcasting, waiting for you to tune in.
As I continue to navigate the waters of well-being along this path sprinkled with insurance, pharmaceuticals, meditation, yoga, etc., I could ask the same thing.
I have successfully passed the hurdle of the medical records regarding the postsurgical aFib event by having a normal sinus rhythm on Friday’s EKG.
Where had my peace of mind, my trust in the Universe, my love of life gone when I slipped into fear so very near the cliff of sheer terror? This round is because when I had the CT scan in 2012, the results reported a nodule on my gall bladder.
I now am scheduled for another CT scan on Monday, July 18, 2016.
When I was in yoga class today, I could not catch a whiff of that fear pattern I am clearing karma around. I am so grateful for that. At least I know peace is possible.
I appreciate the Nurse Practitioner, Brandi Smith, listening to me, offering encouragement, making suggestions. I especially appreciate her patience with me when my inner guidance does not lead me to do everything she suggests.
In the midst of all of this emotion about my health, a friend sent a blog post by a woman adjusting to having her first born grandson move away. I now have a lump in my throat as big as the state of Texas reading It’s Summer, the Season for Grandparents.
Oh, my… my own first-born grandson is anticipating a move to North Carolina.
This day, a mother just a few blocks from here is cleaning out the home of her only daughter, who was shot and killed by her husband as their children slept in their home.
Another mother has just gone through the trial of the man who killed her son.
A lot is happening. I am noticing when my thinking is creating tension. I can be kinder to myself than that.
Thank goodness for yoga.
This morning, I read, “The biggest disease of the mind is over-thinking, especially too much thinking about others. Thinking too much is like eating too much. The heaviness makes it impossible to remain light and flexible.”
Asking friends, guides, angels, readers to help us tune in.
May all beings come to the end of suffering….
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Dreams Really Do Come True
The idea of dreams coming true has been very much on my mind and in my heart the past few weeks as we enjoy the amazing blessing of our new office suites here in St Joseph, Michigan. See my previous post: Welcome Home.
Yesterday afternoon, I had a wonderful girls night out with my sister, Janis. We were guests of our friend and colleague, Jana Serbenski, at the Paw Paw Michigan Young American Summer Camp show.
I was moved to tears by many features of the event: a special time for my sister and me (we both shaved our legs for it), the talented and enthusiastic performance by the Young Americans, and the equally talented and doubly enthusiastic performance with the 200 campers ranging in ages from 8-18.
If you are not familiar with Young Americans, check out the information about them online. They are an amazing organization that promotes a better world through music and dance. Be sure to read about their educational mission.
That cast of forty young adults made every single child believe he or she can perform! Most remarkable is that they did this in just four days. These kids’ lives are transformed.
The performance was inspiring, delightful, and it has a positive financial impact as well: At the end of the show, Paw Paw High School Performing Arts was presented with a check for over $11,000. In the five years since Jana held the first camp, over $80,000 has come back to their school. So much costs, but this event pays. Amazing….
Jana was a Young American. She had the dream to make this happen in her community. It was a worthy dream. Her dream offered benefits to everyone involved. The fruition of that dream took teamwork, but it was fun, and this is only the beginning.Those same elements are woven into our new space at 815 Main Street Suites. No wonder I was so emotional through so much of the evening.
As I was congratulating Jana, she said, “Every school district should have a Young American Summer Camp.” I agree wholeheartedly. Jana is dreaming again, and I can see that dream coming true.
This is a magical time of our lives. Take some time to open up to what you can dream into our world. Dreams really do come true.
