"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You." — Dr Seuss
There is no one alive who is Me-er than Me. I never read Dr Seuss as a child. Didn't know he was Theodor Suess Geisel, most often called Ted. Didn't know how many books he wrote, how many copies he sold or how many languages they were translated into. I spent most of my time out in the gully with cows, sheep, and horses, wandering the Sherwood Forest of my imagination and the jungles that Tarzan and Jane frequented. I would walk for miles up the gully crossing the stream, finding backswimmer, tadpoles and frogs, small birds nesting and hedgehogs snuffling in the bushes. Once old enough I would ride my horse for miles exploring the town I lived in.
I wish I had realised then that the struggles I had then were worth living through and I could have believed that the best was still to come. I wished that I felt loved, that I mattered and believed that there is always hope. It is only as I have got through many more years that I have learned to believe these things. Only as I have begun to celebrate my life have I come to know that I am my own light. Writing has become my way of shining my light, my way of encouraging others, of telling the stories that encourage and enthuse us to move forward, to enjoy our lives and to not take things too seriously.
My Angels encouraged me to surround myself with new types of friends. Friends, who as William Shakespeare put it, " ... knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow".
So my friends, for the rest of the month of October, this rainbow month, this Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) History month; where we care not what sexual orientation our friends or family members are. A time to show people we love them and support them for being themselves. With the book — Mission in the City — Hopes and Dreams written, printed and published, my life can move on. There is no one alive who is Me-er than Me. Arohanui.
Shirley-Joy.
belbarow@gmail.nz
