Good morning!  Sometimes our world shifts dramatically without warning, as it did 8 years ago today with the events of 9/11.

I wanted to take a moment today to reflect on this type of unwanted and unwelcome shift in the world. Perhaps you have experienced other dramatic and unwanted shifts like the loss of a loved one, a job, a pet, a move. How do we keep our thoughts, minds and hearts in a positive place when things seem to be crumbling all around us?

This is not an easy question to answer, but I believe the answer has two parts. The first I believe is to remember what we still have in our lives and admire the courage of the human spirit. As we hear the stories of sadness and loss, we also hear stories of gratefulness and praise for a saved life--even if that life has lost everything within it. Why is that? Because no matter what we lose, our heart, our soul, our spirit, remains. Often shaken, sometimes broken--but within the pieces we can rebuild.

Second, where does that human spirit come from? It comes from our connection to something bigger than our world, than ourselves. This simple quote by Helen Keller, a woman who could have perceived life much differently, is yet another admirable show of the human spirit.

Your turn:
Today, I challenge you to take a moment of silence to reflect and pray for those who have suffered such great losses in the events we have witnessed on the news, and in the many events that we will never know about. Then reflect on your own spirit. Are you nurturing the spirit within? In one of my books I wrote, "Faith is the soul's food. One cannot live long without it--or live well on just a little." How is your appetite for faith?

Your affirmation:
I find strength in my faith.

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