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Reaching for love...

5/24/2017

12 Comments

 
by Gwendolyn M Plano
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​I’ll be traveling to New York next month, to my youngest son’s engagement party. He called last night to ask if I would feel comfortable if he invited his father to the celebration. I told him very honestly that I hoped he would do so.

We all face junctures where the past and present collide, where memories demand our attention and crowd our mind. Sometimes these collisions evoke fear or anger or revenge, sometimes they simply remind us of a forgotten part of our life.

I read a fascinating book recently entitled Journey of Souls. The author, Dr. Michael Newton, presents case studies of clients, who while in a trance, speak of a life before this earthly life. There is a great similarity between one client and another, which is even more intriguing for me. And, one of the similarities involves our purpose in life.

Often, we associate purpose with our jobs or roles. But perhaps, purpose has less to do with what our title might be and more to do with how we live that title – of mom or dad or director or professor or whatever.

I can identify myself as a mom of four, but such an identifier tells you little about me, for you don’t know how I try to live that title, which gets to my purpose, I believe.

Dr. Newton’s clients speak of learning to love, and I wonder if that is our sole purpose. If it is, then our circumstances are a means to reach that end. Tragedy and sorrows transform to a challenge to dig deeper into our hearts.  Could it be that through these hurdles, we are given the opportunity to go beyond our limits and in that stretch, become more than who we have been?

When my son asked if my past could step into my present, I paused for a moment, for I needed to retrieve that past. Strangely, I found that it was no longer there. When the past is depleted of its usefulness, all that remains are faded photos and the person we have become – through our reach for love, for joy, for happiness.  

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12 Comments
John Fioravanti
5/25/2017 06:23:12

This is a beautiful reflection about how one lives their life. As I read your words, it became very clear to me that you are right - it is in the living - especially in how we live - that we have our purpose and meaning in life. I hope your experience of your son's celebration matches your anticipation. Thanks for sharing these thoughts today, Gwen!

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Gwen Plano
5/25/2017 06:39:15

Thank you so much, John, for your good wishes and for your reflection. Blessings!

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Mae Clair link
5/25/2017 06:53:34

I love the line "When the past is depleted of its usefulness, all that remains are faded photos and the person we have become – "

The tag on the end of that line "through our reach for love, for joy, for happiness" is beautiful but I love it even without that for it speaks of growth, acceptance and change.

Enjoy the engagement party. I'm sure it will be wonderful. You must be so delighted!

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Gwen Plano
5/25/2017 07:17:40

Thank you so much, Mae. I am delighted...he's the last of my kids to take the leap. And, my eldest grandson is graduating from grade school a few days after the party. I'll be busy on this trip!! ♥

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John Howell link
5/25/2017 07:01:30

Wonderful post, Gwen. It is a reminder for all of us to dig deeply into our hearts and think more of others than ourselves. Your son does have a father and he should be part of his joy. You are amazing in your ability to freely accommodate that occurrence. Of course, the session in your book is about letting go. Well done.

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Gwen Plano
5/25/2017 07:32:00

Thank you very much, John. He and his bride-to-be deserve to celebrate free of any worries. It will be a wonderful party - no matter who is there. Have a great day!

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D.L. Finn
5/25/2017 11:26:07

Beautiful post, Gwen that touched me very deeply. I have done reading and attending lectures on past lives, although I haven't read that book, but will add it to my list. I have been coming to the same conclusion about love... It has been very healing. What a perfect description of a past with old photos, it is so wonderful to get to that healed point where that is all it is. You said it all so well here, thanks. Congrats on your son's engagement and I hope you have a wonderful time and safe journey.

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Gwen Plano
5/25/2017 19:40:04

Thank you so much, D.L....forever sisters, right? What a journey it is...♥

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Karen Ingalls link
5/27/2017 04:45:55

Dr. Newton's book will be one I will certainly read. I have always believed that there is more than this earthly life and we have two purposes: to learn and to love. Healing from the past is certainly a powerful and beautiful experience. As your book titles states it is "Letting Go With Perfect Love."
A wonderful post, Gwen.

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Gwen Plano
6/6/2017 06:54:17

Thanks so much, Karen.... I agree with your two purposes - to learn and to love. What a journey, right?! ♥

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Jan Sikes link
5/28/2017 16:25:16

Expressed in only the way Gwen can do, this is such a testimony of the spirit and its resilience. Love this!

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Gwen Plano
6/6/2017 06:55:58

My goodness, thank you, Jan. So much to be grateful for, so much still to learn....... ♥

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Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ―Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning


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