Beautifully connected. I admit, I'm on a high -- not a hyper type high, but a peaceful high. I have just come from a one hour massage. I had received a check for my birthday from my mother and father in law, and I chose to spend it on a 1 hr massage (for which, of course, I had a 25% off birthday coupon).

What a good decision. After my post last night, I really slept well. And this morning, I awoke feeling refreshed and excited about the decisions I have made to make a better life for myself.

My masseuse, Janine, was amazing. I could feel the compassion and strength infusing me. I tuned into that compassion and peace and I soaked it all up. I think I spent half the hour just praying; thanking God for never deserting me, and unburdening myself of guilt for being so distant. And the connections I was feeling through Janine's hands and arms and upon myself -- it just made me so very aware of how connected we all are. You and I and all of us, and how those connections influence our decisions, our attitudes, our thoughts, and our actions.

I watched the movie Pay it Forward last week and it feels like an echo of that, what I'm feeling now: connections...connnections...connections

Your posts on my blog influence the way I feel, and react, and respond. Your posts on the threads have helped me save money, and time, and have inspired me to be more attentive to financial matters, and emotional matters; personal and family matters. You make me grateful for all I have, and hopeful for what I will have. Not the material goods, but the peace, and the security, and the knowledge that I can influence other lives.

I feel calm and resolute. I feel joyful in a quiet, whispered way. And I feel grateful. I feel grateful.