There are people in my life who love me and care about me and value me – more of them than I might ever have imagined to be possible. And each of them in their own way is a remarkable gift. I am a different person, a better person, a person more fully myself, than I would be if they were not in my life. There was a time, not all that long ago really, when I mostly did not notice this great gift, or if I did notice I would very often dismiss it or diminish it. The voices in my head would say things like, “If they only knew…” But lately I am making great strides in the direction of correcting the profoundly misguided falsity of those voices. There are times when the reality of love and caring in my life, and the immensity of that gift, overwhelms me nearly to the point of tears. I am no longer willing to continue down the path of delusion that I am not worthy of love or that I am not swimming in the ocean of love that surrounds me in every moment. Somewhere, somewhen, those voices must have been trying to keep me safe from some perceived threat, although I cannot now recall what the nature of that threat might have been. What I now know is that they no longer speak the truth about who I am or who I am capable of becoming. They are no longer serving me well, so I give them permission to stand down. My deep desire is to let go and allow my heart to open fully and completely to the love which has been there all along. To my family and friends, near and far, past and present, please know that I am grateful beyond words for your love. You have helped me to grow into the person I was always meant to be. It is an ongoing process and that will remain true until I take my last breath (and  probably beyond that as well). But my eyes and my heart are opening. I am coming awake. Love, in all its forms, really is the only thing that is real. Everything else is either a reflection of that love or a denial of that love. I am learning to recognize the Love, so that I can continue to choose it, allow it, embrace it, and allow it to embrace me. I can only begin to imagine where this will take me, but I occasionally catch glimpses of the possibilities, and just a glimpse is enough to leave me breathless. Thank you one and all. There is love in the air. May we learn to breathe deep!