Family dynamics are changing.  Through divorce, adoption, remarriage, long-term committed partnerships and many other avenues, relationship structures are evolving, and with them, our concept of what "family" means.

This past September, I was given a gift from the Universe to spend my birthday on the Big Island of Hawaii.  There I attended a healing retreat with a wonderful facilitator named Anita Casalina, and a group of powerful and incredible women with whom I was blessed to share an amazing, healing experience.  And adding magic and awe to the meaningfulness of our human time together were over 200 beautiful, joyful dolphins that came out to play with us one day in the ocean.  

On my final night there, Spirit woke me at 4 a.m.  I made my way up to the kitchen in the dark so as not to awaken the rest of the house.  I brewed some coffee, and took it outside in the quiet, shining moonlight that looked so close to me, I wondered if I could reach out and touch it.  As I began walking, listening to the words my guides wanted to share, I was reminded of the request I'd made long before: "God, please send me a tribe that will nourish my soul"; and suddenly, having an A-ha! moment, I realized that this request that I had made so many years earlier had been granted--not only here on this extraordinary island--but that it was actually being given all along.  I recognized that, just like here, I'd connected deeply with other loving souls on previous wonderful trips I'd taken...and even on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter!  

Sometimes I've been a bit slow to grasp when I was receiving a gift I'd requested.  They don't always arrive in the form we expect or in the shape we think we want.  I have come to understand that, even though I thought my request was for a permanent tribe or family, that may not reflect the way life will be.  Like those heavenly bodies shimmering above me as I walked in soft ocean breezes, some people may shine quietly, not quite within our reach, but always there, blessing us with their presence and their caring.  Others may appear even more intensely before us for a short time, thrill and honor us with their brilliance, and then remain for us not in body but in the gift of learning and memory.  Still others, ones that we can't even see yet, will cast their light our way from a great long distance, to reach us when we need it.  

So, as I look ahead, I know that we might not always be together in the same state, or even at the same holiday table; but through the true gifts of life, these connections made from a place of love, each and every one of my tribe members will be with me--even at my Thanksgiving dinner, wherever that may be this year.  (I'm praying for the beach.)  

Back in Hawaii, as the retreat came to a close and each of us prepared to make our way home, I looked in the eyes of those with me.  I could feel lightness, and the tremendous amount of healing that had occurred within each of them.  I have always found it easier to see the healing in others than in myself; but a small, wise voice told me, "Allow them to provide the mirror for you."

To Anita:  thank you for teaching from a place of Love; and to all the other powerful, amazing women, thank you for the laughter, joy, tears and oneness that we shared. To the Island Guardians, especially Tianu, your loving presence was felt in every step along the way.  With a loving and very grateful heart, I give thanks.