Cage Free Family

A dear friend wrote to me today about walking without fear into the unknown, and her words reminded me of one of my all time favorite songs:

Fearless

You say the hill's too steep to climb,
Climb it!
You say you'd like to see me try,
Climb it!
You pick the place and I'll choose the time
And I'll climb
The hill in my own way
just wait a while, for the right day
And as I rise above the treeline and the clouds
I look down hear the sound of the things you said today
Fearlessly the idiot faced the crowd, smiling
Emotionless the magistrate turns 'round, frowning
and who's the fool who wears the crown
Go down in your own way
And everyday is the right day
And as you rise above the fearlines in the frown
You look down
Hear the sound of the faces in the crowd
-Pink Floyd, Meddle

I just love this song. The mellow tempo totally befits the uplifting words...
and as you rise above the fearlines in the frown...

Feeling strong and intrepid today.

I think we may have picked a charity as well. There is a battered women's shelter here in town which runs a store like Goodwill to benefit the shelter, but the kicker for me, is that the women of the shelter are able to take things, which they need for a new life, free of charge from the store.
Awesome.

When I was 8 years old my mother, sister and I lived in such a shelter during the literal coldest winter in Texas history. My sister did not have a winter coat and the shelter provided her with one.
I can also clearly remember the bliss of forgetting the pain when they took us to see a real live play! It was December, right before Christmas, and I will never forget it.

This feels so very right.

I spent many years running from whence I came. Head down, charging forward, throwing anything that I could between myself and that place in life. The fear was too great to see it clearly. I am finally living without fear and am realizing that I do not need anything (most especially material things) between myself and the world...past or future.
It feels so very right to unload that baggage, which now seems heavy to me, and pass it to one who does need it now.

This feels like a rebirth and who needs anything but their birthday suit for that?