Posted in Humanity, Inspiration, Relationships, travel, What's on my mind?, Wisdom

Dear Human

Reflections in Nature’s Valley, Garden Route, South Africa

Many lifetimes, many lessons and many places. Put me near water and I’m in my true essence of love and connection to our Mother Earth. Beaches, oceans, rivers, streams, lakes and waterfalls make my heart sing. Water connects me to my true higher self and my most intuitive reflections arise. I’ve often been called a water baby! What’s your true element?

As I reflect on 9/11 and remember what I was doing in the moments the news hit our trading floor in London and the traders called our back office. The hit to the heart and stomach I can still sense. Shock! Followed by crisis management in the global financial markets. An event much bigger than anyone was prepped for. Being called into my boss’s office as we got on the speaker phone to start our incident response with other leaders in the financial communities. The unknown in our faces, a tipping point we all got through that made me realise at the time what’s really important. Not money, not the next task – but people. The rest is just a bonus. The moments and days that unfolded as we all pulled together to support our friends and colleagues in New York is a time that is always etched in my heart and mind.

Today reminds me of all the stories that unfolded, and are still being revealed years later; that today is all that matters and who we love. Truth and love go hand in hand. May truth always reveal itself because that to me is loving despite it’s messiness at times. Nothing needs fixing, we are not broken.

I wanted to share these beautiful words of love by Courtney A. Walsh in memory of every family and person impacted by the events of 9/11. They were sent to me years ago and I often read them as a reminder – we are all love, we are one 🌍❤️.

“Dear Human: You’ve got it all wrong. You didn’t come here to master unconditional love. That is where you came from and where you’ll return. You came here to learn personal love. Universal love. Messy love. Sweaty love. Crazy love. Broken love. Whole love. Infused with divinity. Lived through the grace of stumbling. Demonstrated through the beauty of messing up. Often. You didn’t come here to be perfect. You already are. You came here to be gorgeously human. Flawed and fabulous. And then to rise again into remembering. But unconditional love? Stop telling that story. Love, in truth, doesn’t need any other adjectives. It doesn’t require modifiers. It doesn’t require the condition of perfection. It only asks that you show up. And do your best. That you stay present and feel fully. That you shine and fly and laugh and cry and hurt and heal and fall and get back up and play and work and live and die as YOU. It’s enough. It’s Plenty.” – Courtney A. Walsh

There is only today. Have a beautiful love filled day!

With love SuitCaseCally 💜

Posted in travel

Innocence

Love matters

Years ago I was sent an email and it was one I kept as it warmed my heart when I was going through a challenging period of healing from grief and loss.

I don’t know who the original author is as I would give credit to them.

Kids often know the meaning of the word “love” better than adults.

“What Love means to a 4-8 year old…”

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds :

‘What does love mean?’

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

‘When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.’

Rebecca- age 8

‘When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.’

Billy – age 4

‘Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.’

Karl – age 5

‘Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.’

Chrissy – age 6

‘Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.’

Terri – age 4

‘Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.’

Danny – age 7

‘Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss.’

Emily – age 8

‘Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.’

Bobby – age 7 (Wow!)

‘If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.’

Nikka – age 6

‘Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.’

Noelle – age 7

‘Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.’

Tommy – age 6

‘During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.’

Cindy – age 8

‘My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.’

Clare – age 6

‘Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.’

Elaine-age 5

‘Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.’

Chris – age 7

‘Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.’

Mary Ann – age 4

‘I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.’

Lauren – age 4

‘When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.’

Karen – age 7

‘Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross.’

Mark – age 6

‘You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.’

Jessica – age 8

And the final one…

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbour was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. Whenever his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbour, the little boy said ‘Nothing, I just helped him cry.’

Keep the love vibrations flowing and return to innocence on those days when we are challenged ❤️.