Staircases go up and down. This is the staircase to my health care providers. A spiritual counselor. A massage therapist. Today, in massage, I felt fear and sorrow lift up out of my chest, out of my heart and leave my soul. It was wonderful. I never imagined it before.

The mystics called one another to wake up, to not be cowed by the dwindling expectations or limitations of others. Not to live in fear. To answer the call to life, in whatever form it took. This was God to them, waking up and living their lives. Wake up, I tell myself every day, every hour. Wake up. And live.