It's been a while. I hope you are well. I think of you often, every day, in fact.
The stained glass angel in this image has been a touchstone for me since 2000, when I bought it in a little shop in Sedona while undergoing chemotherapy for advanced lymphoma.
Something about her—simple, handmade, quietly beautiful—stirred my heart.
She hung outside
our bedroom window, swaying through storms and seasons. I often watched her from bed, holding on, like she did.
She reminded me of hope, protection, and the quiet courage to keep going. I still treasure her—and the hands that made her. That artisan never knew how much her creation would mean to someone. But it did. It
does.
We all matter more than we realize. Our small acts—a kind word, a handmade gift, a gesture of help—can heal and uplift.
Like my friend Marsha, who brought a soda to a stranger who helped her at the laundromat. That moment mattered.
The kind things you have done ripple on and on.
There’s a story about heaven and hell. In both places, people are given long-handled spoons—too long to feed themselves. In hell, no one helps anyone, and all go hungry. In heaven, they feed one another, and all thrive.
Einstein said it matters
whether we believe the universe is friendly. I choose to believe life is on our side. The question is: Are we on the side of life?
Let’s feed one another. Let’s choose to make things better.
With love,
Charlene
THE ELEVENTH GIFT IS LOVE.
It will grow each time you give it away.
from The Twelve Gifts of Birth