Why?

Her Godmother is a story that adults who have had an alcoholic parent can also relate to. Allie is a young girl whose father is an alcoholic whose drinking and irresponsibility result in the break up of her parents. While her mother makes plans to relocate, Allie stays with her godmother who helps her find her own path to healing. Allie's stumbling blocks to moving forward are guilt because she could not help her father and the question "Why?" With her godmother's help Allie comes to terms with this question but for those of us whose childhood is more than a glance behind us we may still have many questions about the turns life can take.

Why, for example, did my mother have to have that debilitating stroke when I was nine. Why did she have to lose her speech and why was my childhood markedly different than other children as a result?

Why did a parent die of cancer? Why was a brother a drug addict? What do some families seem to have more than their share of loss, heartache and suffering? Why did my mother-in-law's father and young brother have to go to Auschwitz?

Why do some people seem to be successes at what they do and others always failing no matter how hard they try? Of course failure is a subjective word for failing is all in the mind as I have often written. But for now, let the standard definition suffice.

The magic I describe in Her Godmother is real magic to me because I live my life with non-traditional Pagan beliefs and so all that is in Her Godmother is authentic. But, that is only part of what I believe. I believe we in essence spiritual. Energy that is "recycled" into lifetime after lifetime. But in each lifetime perhaps we were not "perfect" and left a lot to be desired in terms of compassion or other dubious acts.

Many have heard the term Karma. I do not believe Karma is a punishment for past life deeds necessarily. I do believe that karma can also be a choice to experience often extremely unpleasant things to exercise our spiritual muscle life after life until we have experienced enough wisdom to come back and empower the world we inhabit or to remain spirit.

Choice. We choose those we will call family and friend. We choose our positive experiences and those experiences that will truly test our mettle. And, it is not that we have to be gracious about how we get through our heartaches but that we merely get through it.

There are tools in life to help us along the way: that marvelous friend I spoke with yesterday and shared here, a special pet that was more than a pet, a teacher that instilled confidence and yes, the magic of a rainbow or a squirrel tapping at the window!

Whatever we have been through or those around us for that matter, we owe it to ourselves and each other to carry the banner of those we have lost in a place that we can look up to becuase no matter what they may have gone through, they would want us to move forward and strive to be as happy as we can.

There is nothing wrong with finally letting go of the guilt, of the why? There is only the challenge of learning how....

For more of my articles on 'life", you can find me on SelfGrowth.com

To see my book trailer for Her Godmother: