You Are the Wind Beneath My Wings

“DITTO!” was all it took to bring tears to me eyes.

You wouldn’t think one word at the end of a tweet from someone you don’t “know,” retweeted by someone else you don’t “know,” would make you cry. But it did.

Actually, to be honest, it was the combination of the tweet, the “DITTO!”, and the tune to which the tweet linked that made me cry.

The solitary tears were joyful tears of gratitude for all the wonderful people worldwide (many of whom I’ve never met or even spoken to, some of whom I’ve known for decades, and buckets of them in between) who are part of my amazing life.

They support me in small and big ways, and bring smiles to my face. They read and comment on my rants, my writing, and my work. They share my thoughts and images and posts and pics and tweets and quotes.

They hold my virtual hand when I walk in darkness or over a cliff. They applaud my successes, and shout out my joys. They sign petitions and send me images. They follow my blogs, subscribe to my newsletter, and like my pages.

They wander around with me when I’m lost. Sometimes they point me in the right direction or show me the way home.

They ask questions, and explore answers.

They touch me. They challenge me. They reach into my heart and mind.

They see me, even when I feel invisible.

We laugh, cry, and create space for each other. They know my herstory. Or they don’t. They appreciate me as much as I do them. We amaze each other.

Some of them live in Turkey, Kurdistan, Malaysia, Greece, Sri Lanka, India, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, among many, many other countries. Some of them live just down the road.

They call from Calgary, Sussex, Ottawa, Dubai, New York, Tulsa, and more. Sometimes we don’t connect for weeks, months, or years at a time. It doesn’t matter.

They are of all ages, genders, occupations, races, religions, nationalities, abilities, and political stripes. They are multi-talented and multi-dimensional. They exist in a multitude of dimensions and spaces. Some are flesh and blood beings, others are angels, both long-ago and recently passed.

Most of them are not “famous;” a few are. All of them are critically important. Some have of lots of money; others, not so much. They are all wealthy. They are all rich.

We choose to be in each others’ lives in little and large ways. We fill each others’ hearts with joy, laughter, love and gratitude.

Thank you global, local and universal framily: you are the wind beneath my wings.