Neither of you is yet awake
but I have been awake
for three hours--
my thoughts still with
the day's
first thoughts,
thoughts of how
I wanted
children
thoughts of how
thrilled
I was to know
you would be
two.

You each were
so very small
and beautiful,
so wanted,
so unconditionally
loved.

And with time
that love has
swelled,
become a
central force,
ongoing joy
and gratitude
not only that
you are
but also that
you are you.

Happy Birthday,

Mom

"When you fix, you assume something is broken. When you help, you see the person as weak. But when you serve, you see the person as intrinsically whole. You create a relationship in which both parties gain." -Rachel Naomi Remen

In the Service of Life

Serving is different from helping.
Helping incurs debt. But serving, like healing, is mutual.
Serving is also different from fixing. There is distance
between ourselves and whatever or whomever we are fixing.
Fixing is a form of judgement. All judgement creates
distance, a disconnection, an experience of difference.
If helping is an experience of strength, fixing is an
experience of mastery and expertise.
Service on the other hand, is an experience of mastery,
surrender, and awe. We cannot serve at a distance.
We can only serve that to which we are profoundly connected,
that which we are willing to touch.
We serve life not because it is broken, but because it is holy.

Adapted from Rachel Naomi Remen