Janice at the Eiffel Tower concluding The Graceful Energy Retreat in the south of France

Cathedral in Bordeaux, France

Honoring my Father and other loved ones who have passed at a Cathedral in Bordeaux, France...praying while Mother Teresa lovingly watches over the candles.

The Graceful Energy Retreat took place in the south of France...this image was quietly taken while I was lighting a candle for my Father who passed away suddenly in 1988...he was only 56 years old...way to young to be gone. His memory lingers with me wherever I go he's there in my heart and soul. He was one of if not the greatest teacher I have ever know. This Cathedral in Bordeaux was incredibly beautiful and while I prayed the quietness of the moment washed over me...I cried with joy and sorrow at the same time because I realized that when we lose the ones we love so dearly they may be gone in the physical sense but they never leave us in the spiritual sense.

(lyrics from a song I love) "And when you're with me I will smile and when you're not I will smile too...for the love inside you always is...it never leaves it's deep down inside of you"

We have all been touched by someone that we may have lost somehow...through death or it was simply time to move on to the next chapter in life without them by our side. But what I have learned is that even if we are moving on to the next chapter in life they still remain by our sides whether we like it or not...we remain tied with bonds that are sometimes never meant to be broken no matter how hard we try, these type of bonds never break or fade away. I recently experienced trying to break a bond with someone I love deeply...I told a friend of mine that I have never tried so hard to get someone to dislike me. For some reason I did just that with this someone that I still love deeply...I even told snipits of untruth to this person knowing they would discover the truth and therefore knowing they would be deeply hurt and walk out of my life...I still can't explain why these things happen or why I behaved the way I did...it was as though such a deep love was unbelievable to me and through mountains of my own insecurities I did my best to create what I thought would be a dramatic ending or event. It did just that, it created a dramatic event not an ending at all...and to this day my heart still feels shattered. My friend listened to this irrational reasoning I had just told her about and she said this to me..."you will live your life with a shattered heart if you choose to do so...or live your life putting your heart back together with only the pieces that work...leave the shattered pieces that are beyond repair and reconciliation behind to rest peacefully." Every day since then I have chosen to live my life putting my heart back together to create only the best of my soul and spirit so that I can be a better person for those loved ones that surround me. It is the only way to live...giving of yourself to those who may need it the most, when they need it the most...this philosophy has helped me to understand how flawed our thinking can be and how unexpected our own behavior can be, even at the moments when we think we are doing the right thing to help...it can turn out to be not so right. To be human, to carry within us what we think is the only broken heart in the world, to understand that it isn't. We allow our heart's to break when we love...the risk of love offers the risk of a broken heart. Let your heart break and take the risk of love. I know when I take my last breath on this earth what I will be thinking of is this...who I loved, how I loved, who loved me and that the opportunity to love did not go unnoticed...that I took the risk to love with an open heart. Without the pain we have nothing to measure our joy with. May these word's from my heart to your heart help you to


FIND YOUR PEACE

Janice

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Janice ~ the train from Paris

PHOTO SHOOT FOR FRENCH LICK RESORT SUMMER OF 2009


Great memories with my 2 daughter's horseback riding on the beautiful country trails through the wood's...This image makes me stop and think about how just a few year's ago my life was so very different...riding the trails on these gentle horses was like a spiritual meditation for me offering relief from the worries of the day and the stress of life...Think about something that could do the same for you and relieve the stress of the day, offering you a spiritual moment to reflect on your life and keep it going in the most positive direction possible to 


FIND YOUR PEACE