Thursday, 18 December 2008 - One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest. - Maya Angelou

This year has been a roller coaster of a year for me.  I am grateful to be living in a country that values human dignity and where the basic necessitities are available.  It has been a trying year for me with numerous changes in employment and times when despair seemed to crowd my life -  wondering where my next job would come in.  The courage to go on has been found in family, friends, talking to a trusted advisor and sticking to goals.  I have grown stronger in valuing myself as a person and learning to appreciate and respect the gifts and talents I have been given, in the face of resistance, cultural differences that lead to misunderstanding and heartache.  The love of little children, their trust and speaking from the heart never cease to amaze me and give me a reason to be stong.  To have courage and look for the good in life, believing in the seed of the rose beneath the bitter snow of life can only come when we love because we know we have been loved first and through that love find a reason to live, to care for our communities and value the world.  Taking time to rest when needed, act when needed and live for a better world.  May courage be your candle in a world that at the moment is facing tremendous darkness with the World Food Shortage and Financial Crises.  Hold on for the dawn, it will surely come.