Today is Christmas Day 2019 and, with this note, I send holiday greetings to Irma, Elizabeth and Laura. May the three of you enjoy all the peace, love and joy that you deserve on this special day and in the coming year 2020. I just re-read my old 'Tango Dance' post and it still sums up my core belief. We can all learn to 'lean into our discomfort' (as Brenee Brown writes) and see that the world is much more about abundance than scarcity. And that we must all love more and fear less. The traumas we all experience as children can make us afraid (or unable) to love deeply as adults. Our challenge as adults is to confront those fears and self-doubts head-on and make them dissappear. Love is the answer. To trust in the power of love even when there are no guarantees... or even when the recipient of your love does not believe it. Roosevelt was right when he said 'we have nothing going to fear but fear itself' I watched the first two episodes of ANNE WITH AN E yesterday. See how Anne's childhood trauma as an orphan shaped her thoughts and actions, and fed her fears. She did not feel worthy of loving and being loved. Yet she was deeply worthy... as are all of us. All of us. As we grow as adults, we have innumerable opportunities to try to reach beyond do ouselves and 'help those in need whenever we can'. As the founder of L'ARCHE says in BEING HUMAN, it is when we help others that we help ourselves. My father AUSTIN 'TED' NUNAN U understood that type of loving and living. He embodied it daily until he died in 2004. So that is my CHRISTMAS message today. An invitation to make baby steps in order to lean into you discomfort and trust that you and another person are worthy of loving and being loved. While we can go through life without confronting our childhood demons so that they dissapear, we miss out on the best part of life when we do that. So why not simply love another, trust that they are basically good, try to u del stand their childhood hurt (through open, honest dialogue) and work through the difficulties with a great deal of love, understanding and empathy. That is the skill I have been honing these last seven years. It has been a difficult journey but a rewarding of one. On DEC 25, 2019, I invite you gentle reader to do the same. The chains that bind us are for the most part self made. Fortunately the way to break the chains is also self made and love for self and another is the answer. See the power of the words of the father of ANNE WHEN HE FOUND HER IN THE TRAIN STATION WHERE SHE WAS DELIVERING POETRY TO EARN PENNIES, AND HE SAID 'SHE IS MY DAUGHTER... I AM HER FATHER' it was those words that allowed ANNE to banish her self loathing and sense of worthlessness (and overcome her anger at be I got falsely accused of stealing) and run into her father's arms. That cinematic moment is possible in real life. Try it and you will not be disappointed. You have nothing to lose nut your fears... and the status quo. Trust me. I know, since I have been there during my 7 year journey of self discovery. And a Merry Christmas and HAPPY NEW YEARS, IRMA, ELIZABETH AND LAURA.

Laura turns 23 today, December 23, 2019. It is a special day today as it was on December 23, 1996 in Alta Vista, Ottawa. The General Hospital was just a few blocks down the road and the succession of three nurses assisting with the delivery went from sweet to a bit less sweet to tough as nails was it just cool coincidental? Or did they send us the nurse they thought was needed at every step in the process. I never knew the answer but that is how it seemed at the time with each nurse getting tougher as the process got tougher. Until a wonderful little baby namex Laura burst into the world exactly 23 years ago. As a toddler, she would distinguish herself from other kids at the Canterbury Community Centre playtime by her rare ability to speak in clear, logical, well formulated sentences from an early age. Her raw intelligence and reasoning power were evident much earlier than with most children. It was always a deeply satisfying pleasure to communicate with little Laura since her sentences would emerge fully formed. "That child is very bright", her grandmother would marvel. Her precocious communications skill-set allowed the adults around her to talk with her in ways that were not common Those early years were very good ones indeed And so on this very special day, 23 years later, the message is a clear, simple one Happy birthday Laura. As you continue to hone your skills and talents, know that you are still bringing joy and happiness to everyone around you. Just as you did as a precocious toddler and child. That is your gift. May the next 23 years bring you all that you so richly deserve as you sit on the cusp of life at 23. All the best to you.