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My Blog|
moonpoppy's Blog
I would love to share with you a deeply-personal blog which was originally posted on BeLifeHappy today, where I am a guest-blogger . REMEMBRANCE - A MOTHERS LOVE Love, love, love . this blog is a little off my usual track this month as I'd love to share something very personal with you all. November is one of my favourite months where, as the leaves fall from the trees in readiness for a few months of nurture and growth, we too can pause and reflect in moments of stillness, offering our thanks and gratitude as we slow down for the winter months. Here in the UK we join in with wonderful harvest festivals to give thanks and appreciation for the bountiful harvest we have been blessed with - not just food harvests, but also our lovingly-cultivated friendships and relationships. In the US, the last Thursday of November is a day of celebration known as Thanksgiving Day, a time to gather with your beloveds. In the UK we also have another day in November where we offer our heartfelt thanks and gratitude - this time in memory of the brave souls who have died during conflicts. Remembrance Day is heralded by a two minute silence at 11am on 11 November; this timing signifies the signing of the Armistice on 11 November 1918 and the red poppy is a well-known symbol of Remembrance Day. I remember as a little girl being emotionally connected to the Harvest Festivals at school, where we proudly took our tinned foodstuffs in for display which - after a jolly singsong and a few prayers - would then be sent to those less fortunate. Remembrance Day was lost amongst the colour and energy of this festival, for me. As I grew older, I wore my poppy with pride, a way of showing my gratitude for those who had died in service to our country; although I am pro-peace I am also pro-Armed Forces, recognising that without their courage and sacrifice, we would not have the rights of freedom of speech that we are so blessed with here in the Western world. Three years ago my only son joined the British Army: his lifelong dream. A swirling kaleidoscope of emotions still resides within me - mums are born worriers! In March 2009 we heard news that one his 'brothers' - his best friend from his Army training college - had died in Afghanistan, having just turned 18. A freak accident had turned his family's lives upside-down . and also ours, too, as we tried to help my son deal with his grief. In July 2009, on my birthday, another of my son's close friends from the same section in Waterloo Company, died while trying to save a fallen colleague while under enemy fire. Sadly, he was just one of a number of men who lost their lives during that period of madness that day. It was a heartbreaking lesson for our 18 year old to learn that losing 2 of his friends so early on in their careers was the cold reality of life. I, as a mother, was devastated, torn between the relief that my son was safe and yet feeling the grief and pain of another mother's unbearable loss. But do you know what? From this gulf of sadness grew the most extraordinary tale . one of those grieving mothers decided to set up a charity which would be specifically with those members of the British Forces and their families who have been affected by the military operations in Afghanistan, now and in the future. All of the mothers affected by that dark day in July 2009, who met at the repatriation of their sons at RAF Lyneham, joined together and formed Afghan Heroes A Mothers Legacy. The charity was launched on 15 September 2009; Holistic Feathers took up Afghan Heroes as our chosen charity and set up a charity webpage to help raise funds: http://tinyurl.com/AfghanHeroesUK A mother's love is a force unlike no other - and with this in mind, continuing the theme of supporting the Forces and their families in the UK was a real ever-present tug on my heartstrings. I joined up with a fellow healer friend and set up http://www.poppieshealingnetwork.co.uk which we hope will grow stronger and stronger over the coming months. As a mother and a healer, I know that love and gratitude is a powerful healer. So I am thrilled and very proud to share that I am helping Afghan Heroes as a London volunteer co-ordinator a very small way to support their hard work, an act carried out with thanks and gratitude for their bravery a true mothers legacy. A positive and very powerful testament to a mother's love which knows no limits, only infinite love in remembrance. So how will you be sharing your thanks and gratitude this November? Gratitude is the memory of the heart Jean Baptiste Massieu Follow Callie on twitter http://www.twitter.com/moonpoppy Visit http://www.holisticfeathers.co.uk http://www.empoweredhealer.co.uk Find belifehappy on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/belifehappy Follow belifehappy on twitter http://www.twitter.com/belifehappy Links for today's blog http://www.afghanheroes.org.uk http://www.tinyurl.com/AfghanHeroesUK http://www.poppieshealingnetwork.co.uk http://www.britishlegion.org.uk |