Just Breathe.

I must have started and stopped this entry 10 times now. I've been watching and reading about the disasters in Haiti and the colossal loss of life- the children being pulled out with bodies limp, those who managed to make it, now orphaned. If a part of you doesn't die inside from seeing that, you probably weren't alive to begin with. Leave it to such tragedy to put your own life in perspective.

Anyone who has experienced loss knows that the pain is real. They know it never goes away. It might subside, but eventually it all comes flooding back over you, like the ebb and flow of a wave. Anyone who has experienced loss knows that while the void is great, somewhere out there, someone is hurting more. Someone is desperately trying to fill an even bigger void. Anyone who has walked a mile in these shoes knows that to acknowledge the good in one's life is not equal to negating the bad. Quite the contrary. To do so means you feel that void every second but you know that cherishing the love that surrounds you is part of survival. You take pleasure in the quiet mundane of day to day life. You are grateful to be here, to wake to see another day. To hear the laughter of your other children. To come home to your soft place to fall. When you know bittersweet, 365 days a year, you learn to let the love come to the forefront of your world.

Anyone who remotely knows me, knows I don't think anyone says it better than Vedder. So I'll just cut this one short today and leave you with these words. What more is there to write anyway? I listen to this daily as a reminder to treasure all that I have in my life.