How can we know where the road of life will lead?
How can we be sure what's down the unpredictable path of existence,
beyond the veils of light and darkness?
How can we see around the corner of uncertainty?

We can't.

Do we continue to venture into the unknown when the known has
hurt us terribly?
Do we keep going forward when our past is paved with pain?

We must.

We can't stop in our tracks and hurt forever:
We must allow the detours, wrong turns and back roads of our past
to serve as guideposts into the future...

and we do have a future.

We can't stop being mobile.
We can't stand still.
To stop is to give up on the promise of life;
the love, the laughter that might also be down the road.
Can we throw up our hands, rather than reach out for help?

We can't.

We can't because others have shown us that we can feel differently
than we do today.
We can heal. The tears can dry and the comfort of caring can once
again replace the emptiness inside.

The smiles can become real, the love sincere.
We can once again travel with confidence and reassurance,
if we discard the baggage of bitterness, self-pity, and self-destruction,
if we travel on with only love for ourselves and others,
and not dwell on the pain in our past
or worry about what adversity might lay ahead.

The road of life may be very rough at times
but if we don't travel it at all,
we chance missing some breathtaking scenery,
some moving moments...
people and places, sentiments and times to be remembered.

Sometimes beyond the roughest road,
or the most perplexing crossroad,
lays the smooth surface of understanding.

We must not stop or turn back when there is a breakdown,
a misfortune, or no clear route.
Sometimes we must travel blindly
until our direction becomes clear to us and others.

There are many weary travelers on the road of life.
Many temporiarily lost in the grief of passing.
The road to recovery is never easy.
But it can lead to insight, understanding and love.


*********************

From "A Healing Heart" by Susan White-Bowden

The author had a series of tragedies in her life beginning with the suicide of her first husband, followed by the suicide of her 17 yr.old son Jody and finally ending with a fire that completely gutted her family home.