This morning finds me with the old coffee in hand; sitting on my lanai watching the four-leggeds engaged in their morning ritual of racing around the pool with wild abandon; barking and running, running and chasing each other with absolute joy doing my exercise for me! They are so good in that way, I feel energized and skinnier just watching them! Today my thoughts are centered around the upcoming Compassionate Friends Candle Lighting event being held around the globe on Sunday December 13, 2009. I will participate again this year... honored to be doing a reading there and ending the event with words of "Visions of Hope through the Lights of Heartache" to parents, grandparents, siblings and others as they remember the children who have died. Krumpled Kleeenex'es will be clutched in hands; scattered on tables; hearts will tear again as they gaze lovingly at pictures of their children are shown on a screen and names are read while their candles are lit. Music will be provided by our friend Paul Frederick and he will perform at no charge because since the first time he was asked to come and play, his heart was filled with the spirit of love and the compassion of caring. The chapter leader and my dear friend Jean Limongello will hug him and thank him another year and she will officiate the evenings events; welcoming those with heavy hearts, but ever so glad to be welcomed there. Jean's son Duke was murdered; a vibrant handsome man he was... in the prime of his life. Others there will be at different places along their journey's; some are new to the pain of loss, for others it has been years and they are there to honor and remember, but more importantly they are there to demonstrate the power of support by their very presence... they are to stand and to show those who are so raw that they will in fact survive this most horrendous loss.
This will be the thirteenth Worldwide Candle Lighting, and it is an amazing visual; communities across the globe gathering; clocks synchronized for the lighting of candles. Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting unites family and friends around the world in lighting candles for one hour to honor and remember children who have died at any age irregardless of how/why/when. These candles are lit at promptly at 7 p.m. local time the event creates a brilliant light, with hundreds of thousands of people who commemorate and honor their children in a way that transcends all ethnic, cultural, religious, and political boundaries. The interconnectedness brought together through grief; the Universal connection of communities, individuals and countries standing as one.
Believed to be the largest mass candle lighting on the globe, the Worldwide Candle Lighting, is a gift to the community of hearts across the world from The Compassionate Friends. Those bright and gentle flames create a powerful 24-hour Vision of Hope in Healing Heartaches; and in Community Love and Remembrance; as they streak across the sky from time zone to time zone. Across the planet humankind and those who love purely will gather for the formal candle lighting events for a peaceful remembrance of children who are no longer here with their loved ones, and they will never be forgotten…"that light WILL and DOES burn brightly within and for all to always see. And it is powerful. It is healing. It is a reminder to all that are open to receive its message and its message will never be more clear than on that night:
"HE DOES HAVE THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS"
"HEARTS THAT ARE CONNECTED EVEN BRIEFLY IN LIFE CANNOT BE SEPERATED BY DEATH, DEATH IS NOT THAT STRONG"
"THERE IS NO DEATH, JUST A CHANGE OF WORLDS" (Chief Seattle"
On December 13, 2009 if not able to attend – please light a candle at 7pm for all the children who have left us too soon and are missed. Whet your breath and send your voice to the children; send a cry from your heart to the parents, the grandparents, the siblings and to all who love those children who have died as we remember them... Send messages of love, strength and healing so that they may have the vision to find hope, healing and strength during the holidays and all days while incorporating this loss into the rich fabric of their lives... Finding the grace to know that they were and are blessed, if only for a short time!
The Compassionate Friends, (TCF) http://www.thecompassionatefriends.org/ can help you find a chapter in your area to attend this event.
TCF was joined last year by chapters of several organizations including MISS, MADD, Parents of Murdered Children, and BPUSA and services were held in all 50 states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. People are also invited to post a message in the Remembrance Book which will be available during the event at TCF's USA national website. Last year, in that short one day span, thousands of messages were received and posted from every U.S. state and Washington D.C., every territory, as well as dozens of other countries, some in foreign languages.
Walk In Beauty
author of Healing Heartaches, Stories of Loss and Life
http://drsherryeshowalter.com/
See you in New Port Richie FL Sunday at 6:00pm
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