Keeping the Dream

There’s a lot of ugly things happening out there…and sometimes not so out there, but right here, right in our own homes, our own families.

But no matter what you see or what may happen to you, don’t fall into despair or cynicism, or worse, apathy. Whatever may happen, it does not define who you are.

I am a daughter of a pedophile and some things just can’t be fixed. But you know, it doesn’t matter. It matters, because bad things shouldn’t happen to people, but it doesn’t matter.

When you light the lamp of who you are, it doesn’t matter if the frame is bent or the glass is cracked or shattered. That light in you shines just as brightly as any other. And that is what matters.

When you let yourself be lifted through compassion, love and grace, when you let yourself fly, when you allow your spirit to soar, what difference does it make if you have a limp when you walk? None!

You might be impacted by what happens to you, and your life may never be the same, but you decide what that will mean.

You decide *how* it will be different. You decide what you will do with your pain or what it will do to you. You decide whether you will get up – in the time that is right for you – or stay down. You decide the direction you will go, even as you’re knocked totally off course.

You decide what this experience will, ultimately, mean to you.

Don’t try to make sense out of it – there is none. Give it meaning.

Decide. No one can take that away from you. This is your power. This is your right. So make the best and most loving decision you can for you and those around you.

I am the daughter of a pedophile and his victim, but I don’t come to you apologetically – or silently or without power. Because I acknowledge not only the crime and the wound, but the light within me that connects me with all humanity - I am not alone.

And I choose - I choose to let that light shine as brightly as I can – even through a bent frame and broken glass.