An amazing weekend

People all over the world spend thousands of dollars on life seminars, motivational seminars, and various other life changing retreats.  Some come away ready to change old habits and with a renewed zest for life.  Others pick up one little statement that changes their whole way of thinking for years to come.  Others stay within the walls they have built to keep them safe and learn nothing at all.

I didn’t spend thousands of  dollars on a seminar or retreat; I just spent a weekend at my Aunt’s memorial surrounded by my extended family of cousins.  As the various versions of the stories we had all heard over the years about this side of our family began to unfold, so did some of the walls of the people in attendance.  The exchanges were filled with emotion.  Raw energy abounded.  Some old wounds were opened; others healed.  Some needed to feel that their version was the only right one, while others were just happy to hear various versions of old family stories.  Some wanted to be the center of all that was happening, while others either spent time on the perimeter or ran away from all the exchanges completely.

Everyone gave what they could and took what they could from a time of great emotion.  I’m sure that all the emotions of the weekend will settle differently in each and every person as they head back into their everyday lives.  The greatest beauty of all that happened this weekend was that all of the cousins in attendance got to know each other better.  New connections were made.  Older generations got to know the younger generations.  The legacy of my aunt lives on in each and everyone connected to her. Personally,  I just feel blessed to have had the opportunity to talk, visit and spend time with all these amazing individuals. 

The children of  my favorite aunt did an incredible  job of presenting a wonderful review of the life of an  amazing  woman.  They showed her many looks over the years.  They presented a great view into the life of a woman who survived so many hardships but never lost her zest for life.  They reminded us of a woman who loved with every ounce of her body, and filled a room with incredible energy.  They let us take all the love we all carried inside for this wonderful women and let it spill out all over each other in tears, hugs, emotional outbursts, and sometimes in just a quiet connection.

I hope the new connections made will continue to grow. I hope we will all take time to stop and reflect on the fact that we are an eclectic collection of human energy and we all have the ability to love and enhance the lives of those around us.