Reciprocity is a single word meaning everyone receives something of perceived equal value based on building a strong relationship. Take the earth for example. If we give it care, respect and gratitude in return we get food, beauty and peace. Sure, there are times she has a mind of her own but for the most part she gives and gives and gives.

Peace doesn’t arrive all at once, it travels across the bridge we collectively build, one step, one person at a time.

The question for today is all around asking ourselves, when do we stay silent and when do we speak up? Speak our truth. Sometimes softly, and sometimes with all our might.

I was thinking this morning about Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit and the mischief he seemed to always find himself in as he broke the rules by playing in Mr. McGregor’s garden. At one point he gives himself a strong shake, regrouping after nearly getting caught before jumping on to his next adventures.

To be your authentic self is a phrase we all most likely have heard. The question is do we always have the capacity to let go of the many filters that can stop us from getting to that authentic place inside of ourselves?  

I was thinking this morning about Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit and the mischief he seemed to always find himself in as he broke the rules by playing in Mr. McGregor’s garden. At one point he gives himself a strong shake, regrouping after nearly getting caught before jumping on to his next adventures.

While on our recent journey to Seattle, Ed and I took the time to visit the Chihuly Glass and Garden exhibit. And, as can happen when looking at beautiful art or creating something new, something in me shifted. An inner voice (perhaps my Inner Girl) that told me that I needed to allow my creative powers to expand in new ways.

In a world that makes you want to never listen to the “news”, living your purpose with passion makes the sun shine a whole lot brighter each day.

As I have shared on the pages of this Victory Letter for the past couple of years, I have been digging deeper into my 40 year passion with gardening in a whole new way. Using my love and experience in the coaching world to discover how to inspire others to open their hearts and minds to all that is waiting in the dirt of the garden.

Tomorrow, we step into the Lunar New Year and the year of the Fire Horse. And I must say it rings a truth deep inside of me of how horses represent courage, freedom and independence that take me back to my childhood.

When I was just about 8, little did we know that a family visit to Missouri would end with us bringing a trailer full of pony’s home with us to California. 5 ponies to be exact. On all of our stops on the way home, my siblings and I would jump out of our station wagon and run back to check on them.

This morning many thoughts and words are churning through my head after the energy that came with last night’s Super Bowl. The music is continuing to ring with the promise that the words in Spanish represented. Most especially the final words on the video board everyone could clearly understand:

Love is more powerful than hate.