All is well in the world today

Has creation a final goal? And if so, why was it not reached at once? Why was the consummation not realized from the beginning? To these questions there is but one nswer: Because God is Life, and not merely Being. F.W.J. Schelling, 1809

Last night C.C. and I went to see my eldest daughter perform in a play she and four other young actors have been rehearsing for the past three months. It was funny and fun. What a joy to watch your child who is now an adult excel. Afterwards, C.C. took his daughter and her boyfriend home and Alexis and I stopped into a wine bar down the street from the theatre for a glass of wine and a nice long chat.

Long ago I could never have imagined being a mother. Today, I could never imagine not being a mother.

You don't know what you don't know.

Who would have thought that becoming something I could never imagine being would have such a profound effect on my life and be so fulfilling?

Yup, definitely don't know what I don't know.

As we sat across from each other, talking about life and stress, and dreams and fears, I was in awe of the beautiful young woman in front of me.

Since last fall, she has been working with a program for at risk youth in schools. Every week, along with three other actors and a core team of counsellors, they work through 'life issues' using drama as the context upon which they teach healthy life skills.

Every week, she has become more and more committed to her belief that to make a difference in the world, her future does not lie on the stage, but in creating opportunities for youth to take centre stage of their own lives and live the best that they can be.

This fall, she will be returning to university to work towards her masters in psychology. She is on fire. In the fire. Burning up with her desire to add value to a world sorely in need of healing.

The youth Alexis works with are all in high risk environments. Families where violence, addictions, poverty create a powerful cocktail of abuse. Like the young man she mentioned last night, many are struggling, at the young age of 14 and 15, to stay clean and sober. To rid their bodies of addictions to drugs and alcohol.

In Alexis' eyes, they are not hopeless. They are filled with possibility.

In her eyes, the path that led them to where they're at is nothing compared to the possibilities for new directions. The path that lead them into violence and abuse can end here, once they learn there is somewhere else to go other than that place called re-enacting the pain and turmoil of their family of origin's history.

I admire my daughter. She is compassionate and passionate about creating a better world. About creating lasting change that will open up the world to possibility and open up spirits to the truth about their wings -- we are all born with wings, we lose our ability to fly when we fall into the belief, life is a daily grind of repeating everything we learned yesterday, over and over again.

What we learned yesterday is simply the information we needed to get us here. It is fodder that fuels our learning to be more than the negative belief that we are meant to crawl in the muck of living in the past.

Last night I watched a group of young actors create laughter in a room. To create their performances, they had to work together. They had to be committed to do what it takes to have what they wanted to create -- an evening of stellar entertainment that lifted up the spirits of everyone in the room.

Last night, I chatted with my daughter and was touched by her essence. Touched by the joy of knowing, this child of mine is a beacon of light. As she illuminates her path, she casts a mighty glow that lights the path for others to follow.

All's well in the world today.

The greatness we are capable of is far greater than the darkness we fear will consume us as long as we each keep our light shining brightly. As long as we illuminate the path with the best we can be, the universe will evolve into all it is meant to be.

The question is: Are you shedding light on your path so that others can follow you home to love?