and i still whisper thank you...

today is the first day of the second half of 2015.

we all start the new year with high hopes.  the mystery is...   you never know what will be in store.
this has been a very difficult half year.  i am a pretty upbeat person.  i like to think i am a half full kind of person but this year so far has been met with a lot of challenge.  i know this is part of life. part of growing up and knowing that with love comes heartbreak, with change comes challenge, and with death comes birth again.  sometimes you just get really tired.  sometimes you just get really sad. i bet if i went through the calendar all the days would equal out, there would be as many happy days as hard ones.  but some times the hard days feel so heavy.   there is so much beauty still -  and although i know this to be true you can still feel not so great. right now so many of my friends are really in the trenches. some of us have lost parents this year, or siblings, or children. some of them are fighting for their life some are going through divorce, or preparing to say goodbye to a friend, or trying to find the right nursing care for an elderly parent and so many other life altering things.

i know hardship can take us away from joy but i also know that it also brings us closer to love.

when i look around at my friends and all that we have gone and will go through i see things i couldn't have imagined. life brings us so much unpredictability. but i do see one thing - when we are in this transition time life seems to slow down, it feels weighted and long, but the learning speeds up.
we are forced to see what really matters, who really matters. make the emptiness a container for intense growth.
in times of transition it's normal to feel defeated so it's important to choose wisely. spend time with people you adore, surround yourself with optimistic people, people who really care about your well being.
i see my closest friends and their faces have been softened by tears and tiredness. we are far better to each other for what we have all been through.

 i feel so blessed to have this kind of friendship.

love sent, xo