The other day , after reading through Viktor Frankl’s writings on Logotherapy I took a break and went to see a movie called ‘Cowboys and Aliens’…and I was inspired. And whilst watching actors Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford do their thing ..I kept hearing a sentence being repeated in my head over and over again…. filtering itself into my (‘logotherapized’) consciousness despite the MSG heaviness of cheese and chives flavoured popcorn . And the line was ’Try and remember where u came from.’.

Now one of the reasons why this phrase was so spookily, beautifully, poignant for me is because of something that happened when I gave birth to my first son. For all intents and purposes I was lonely in my marriage. And not solely because of external circumstances but because I was lonely within myself. And when I fell pregnant with Sebastian I was consumed with a warm and fuzzy feeling that I was sure was not just the onset of maternal hormones. The moment I looked at that pregnancy tester kit and saw the blue lines signaling a miracle, I was struck with a feeling of wholeness and joy. And the joy came with the knowledge that this little being was inside me and for nine months I would not be ……alone. What is even more significant was that when I gave birth, I whispered something to my son. Now you have to understand this , back then, I was a lost lonely soul.

Entrenched within my own self inflicted narcolepsy. Sleepwalking through my life. But as my newly birthed son was taken from me and cleaned , I felt this surge of connection. A connection to ‘Love’. Within seconds of him being placed on my chest, as his skin touched my skin…his crying stopped. And I whispered words to him that I did not understand…until now. And the whisper was this:

‘ Welcome little one …try not to forget where you came from.’ 

Now after watching a movie where aliens come and visit a cowboy infested planet and their world domination ambition, drives the most unlikely of characters to ally together..one can only ponder at my inspiration. The movie starts with a dusty cowboy waking up and not knowing who he is and where he has come from. We then learn that aliens have been kidnapping people to experiment on them like lab rats. These captives are held in a deep pit. They stand in a motionless huddle like a bunch of cowboy zombies, staring up hypnotized by a large blue bowl of light. They make no effort to escape…they offer no resistance. They just stand trapped , ensnared by this blue light. And once they are rescued they are confused as to who they are and where they have come from.

I Have this book called  ‘The Key’ by Linda Solomon. It’s byline is :’Celebrated people Unlock their Secrets to Life.’ I just wanted to share some of them …with you. Enjoy!

The Key to a Legacy.

….is to leave one.

My legacy is manifest in my children,

Just as I carry my father’s legacy

And he carried his father’s, and so on.

If my children merely echoed me,

Then I have failed.

My purpose in life- my legacy- is to

Lift them to the next level.        –Edsel Ford II

Elsje decided that she would go for her first mammogram just before she was 40. But it was too late. She was diagnosed with having grade-2breast cancer. What followed in her life was a lumpectomy, 19 lymph nodes being removed, six chemo and 33 radiation treatments, tiredness, losing her hair, and her whole family trying to pull together during an incredibly difficult time.

On dolphins and platypuses
… Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end. ~ from Peter Pan by JM Barrie

Wow! “When is the next book?” … “Do you know what you are going to write about next?” I nod enthusiastically, like one of those dogs with the bobbing heads that sit on dashboards, smiling inanely.