There are lot of things I should be writing about at the moment, the garden, the birth of piglets (I will, I promise), homeschooling…the list goes on.  But what I find is on my mind, is just the people that surround me.  I am struck time and time again by how darn lucky I am in my life.  I don’t know if I’m just fortunate or if I just have some kind of awesomeness radar but I know a lot of terrific people.

It is easy in this world, where things seem to be going to hell in a hand basket somewhere in the world at any given moment, to become disheartened.  We can easily forget the good and be overwhelmed by the hatred, horror and just plain stupidity that human beings are capable of.  If we look at environmental destruction, or political corruption or the general apathy of a numbed population that would rather look away from the larger issues and shop for shoes instead.

But it is easy to see that the world is a beach littered with diamonds.  People I know, in real life and through online connections, people I’m friends with, people I went to school with, people I’m just plain related to,  are doing all sorts of wonderful things.  Every.  Day.  They are running businesses, building gardens, growing food, making medicines, making art, making music, protecting children, guiding people into new lives, loving their families, teaching, learning, sharing ideas, innovating, making cakes, building houses, shaping lives.  They are living simple lives of goodness, making changes and living honestly, holding their values close and their loved ones closer.  They are living by their principles, creating community, supporting friends and just trying to be better people.

They are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, lovers, children, guides and mystics.  They are dancers spinning eternally on a stage of their own making, unaware of how incredibly beautiful they are.   Each one is a shining light to me, a little beacon in what could be a world of darkness; they lift me up, give me hope, inspire and delight me, make me think.  They see me for who I am, a desperately obvious tangle of flaws and obsessions and still, bless their hearts, they reach out a hand to me.

Some may rely on the kindness of strangers, but not me.  I rely on, thrive on, live by the kindness of those I love and who love me in return.  Who take time to call, write, pop over for tea; those who share my passions and those who don’t; those who make me laugh and keep me going.  Those who reach out to me from oceans away and remind me of who I am.   Those who bring me cake and let me share their thoughts, the secret space of who they are.  Because what greater privilege is there than that?

It can be fleeting, any kind of love can go away, fingers tangled together separate and drift apart.  The only thing certain in life is change.  But there are those that endure, that inspire, that love and laugh and dance along to the crazy beat that only we hear.  They don’t just forgive my fire and passion, they like me because of it.  They are the ones who know me to the core and show me a reflection of someone I can be proud to be.  When I look around at those who surround me, my family, my friends far and near, I believe that I can’t be too bad after all.  Because all I see around me, is awesomesauce.