Maybe the Universe, Creator or God had me write this article just for you, whoever you are:  I have had a large scar on my head since I was 19 years old.  I don’t hide it nor am I ashamed of my past nor wish to shut the door on it.  I humorously call it my "Bacardi's 151 Scar".  I also have other scars on my face from when I had acne in my youth.  I generally pay these scars no mind, hardly even notice them and actually try to love them when I think of it. It’s mind over matter.  If I don’t mind, it don’t matter.

Scars are our Story of Living and anyone who doesn't understand scars' true meaning hasn't lived yet.

I was driving home through the Corcoran Hood and had a most curious feeling that maybe I have truly lived a good life.  Feeling it and knowing it we are two different deals.  This was the first time I felt it, or at least the first time I recall feeling it.  I probably have many years left for loving people, God willing, maybe even a great many years.  

But let’s rein in another idea into this beautiful prism:

One of the most beautiful sights I have seen was from a magazine of a woman who had a double mastectomy.  She had tattoos covering her torso that were quite expertly arted.  But the most beautiful part her photograph was not that she stood there, hands on hips with her naked torso showing off her mere physical beauty, but rather how her spiritual positively glowed.   She wore a smile which left an indelible mark upon my consciousness as a human being. I will always remember her and by so doing, I become beautiful, too.

I suggest to you, dear Reader, that NOTHING can stop your beauty from shining, if you would simply allow ourselves to glow naturally, scars and all.

Let me share with you how I awake many mornings thinking about what I heard so many years ago in recovery:  "Expect a miracle!"  I had mixed thoughts about it when I first heard it, as it seemed like everything was already a miracle to me, even the difficulties, so expecting a miracle seemed redundant.  

And "they said" expectations was the center of gravity for much sadness, so why expect a miracle?          Here’s why:  something FELT pure about expecting a miracle, like living on the edge of pure joy.  When such a decision is born, a star is born, too.

Feeling like a star is sometimes problematic as we might be seeking freedom from the storms of life. What to do?

I saw a plaque on the wall of a Healing Room which read that we should seek peace in the midst of the storms of life.  Many before us have walked on both stormy sea and upheaving land, seeing them as equal messengers on the pathway of peace which defies all worldly wisdom.  Go through it and show others who need you that it can be done.

Finally, I leave you with the definition of friendship:  Friendship is taking the time to learn someone’s song, so when they forget it, you can sing it back to them.

“You will face your greatest opposition when you are closest to your biggest miracle.” ― Shannon L. Alder