connected

Thanks to so many for the incredible birthday wishes today.....from late last night and all through today, I've been blessed by messages from many friends.
yesterday I went to a funeral of a young man from Mission.  He was 20 years old and many, many people came to honour his life and support his family.  Maybe he never knew how many people cared about him or how connected he really was.  Many of us don't realize how many people care about us - and we struggle to let people know how much we care about them.  It was a good reminder - how connected we all are and how it is important to let others know how valuable they are in our circles of friendship.
It's hard to reach out sometimes and show our gratefulness - it's hard to also reach out and express our needs....but it is important, because we all need to know how valuable and needed we are in our communities and circles of friendship in the good times and the hard times.
Today someone brought me flowers.  Someone brought me a ring.  Someone made me a meal.  Amazing gifts of love and friendship that allowed me to see how I am a part of other's lives as much as they are part of mine.  So much to be grateful for.  Today was a beautiful day.