Faith, Family, Friends.

As soon as I started this blog, I planned on having something to say today.  I just knew I'd be inspired, inspired and ready to write.  I figured I'd have to edit carefully, making sure what I really wanted everyone to know and think, and what I didn't want people to know were carefully separated in the end result.

Instead, all day long, I haven't known what to say.  My mind has been blank, and my ideas. . . almost hollow.  Then I decided I would pop something up on facebook about how speedily time goes by and how much the world and our lives change in twelve months.

So I opened a new tab and went on to facebook.  As I was typing my status, I realized that not everything changes.  Some things, a rare few, do stay the same.  And so I included that in my status as well, how there were three things that endure. . . at least in my world.  Faith, Family, and Friends.

✳ Faith - specifically, I'm Roman Catholic.  The belief system I have makes me strong: I rely on my God for everything.  I find comfort and strength in the Traditions of the Church.  But that isn't all I mean by Faith - I mean my belief in the human spirit to rise, to endure, to overcome.  I mean my belief in myself - this time last year, that wasn't something I really had, though I thought it did.  This year taught me Faith in myself - I really am strong.  I am capable.  I am brave.  I am worthy of being treated right. 

✳ Family - Family is something that never goes away.  That doesn't mean family members don't leave, or disappear entirely.  But I believe in a more sociological definition of family - it doesn't just have to be what we as a Western civilization consider it to be (mother, father, siblings.  The closest blood relatives thereafter).  I believe "Family," is a group of people, people who love us most and know us the most deeply.  It doesn't always have any connection to biology, or who we grew up with (though both of those things can be huge influences).  Otherwise, no one would ever get married, because only people they grew up with and shared biology with would love/know them enough to share their lives with!

✳ Friends - You find who your real ones are.  Everyone talks about it, everyone knows that your true friends are the ones who stand by you.  The ones who, when everyone else fades into the background, seem to come forward, more vivid and true than ever before.  It doesn't always have to be a grand sweeping gesture a traumatic time when Friends reveal themselves, either.  It's the person who can always make you smile, with your tears still wet on your face.  Even if they don't know why you're crying.

So, even though so many things have changed, I take comfort (and find grounding) in these three things:

Faith. Family. Friends.