I was reading an online newsletter today http://www.stonecircleonline.org and paused to ponder. Who are my people? Who are the people that have influenced me and have been my partners on this path to my present person?

Of course, in my early life, family influenced my early morals and convictions. As I sprouted wings and soared on my own, many others along the way made both positive and negative impacts on my direction.

Right or wrong, all those life experiences are part of who I am today. I do not have regrets for the harder lessons, for they’ve contributed to my compassion for others who experience those same challenges. We come out on the other side, eventually.

In my present life, some stand out as models, folks I’d like to emulate. There’s Gloria, who teaches me integrity and stick-to-it-iveness. How I longed to birth the book inside of me that begged to be born, yet I wrote nothing. Then Coach Lorraine suggested that one who wishes to be published must apply a pen to paper. Can you imagine the pride I feel as my second book nears completion?

And there’s my sweet husband, David. He retired four years ago and employs balance in his life. Chores take up no more than one and a half hours a day. He has two ‘fun’ part-time jobs. He sleeps until nine, unless something prevents that. His philosophy of ‘no matter where you go, there you are’, inspires me to stay in the moment, where I used to hurry to be somewhere else, other than where I was.

And who are YOUR people?