she let her light shine...

and it bounced across the water.

"I have a painting that Kyle did for me of a fat angel and over the years she, in my mind has become me and her joy is infinite and shining, she's my hero." - July 21, 2007

A friend painted this for me many years ago. I remember when I first received it; it was not what I had been expecting, it was not love at first sight. As someone who doesn't keep many things, who passes items on easily and thrifts constantly, this painting has remained, it has lived in buses and vans, in falling apart houses, by the ocean and in the forests, it has moved with me more times then I like to count. But it has stayed.

I have come to love and cherish this piece of art. This painting has become a part of me, it has been my rock, it has kept me alive, it has given me hope, it has spoken softly to me in my darkest days. This angel has really gone to hell with me, and been a huge part of bringing me back to life. And these days; I am doing better then I have in years, I look at her and realize how far I've come. How I've learned to flow, to swim up stream, how I lived through the grand ugly finale of my previous marriage. How I've grown and grown and grown and found Spirit and surrendered and received. This angel is me, the fish is me, the ugly explosion in the corner is me, the water is me, the light is me.

In honor of me surviving. In honor of five years having past. In honor of my trauma, in honor of my process, in honor of entering counseling. In honor of healing. In honor of so many beautiful things in my life. Let it be forever known.....
~Aho~