Dear Friends,

I have started 2009 with hope and anticipation of what I could put in place this year. I have felt our teamwork so clearly! Many of us are on a similar wavelength and I want to thank you all to be so forward, positive and loving. Embracing this Ox-year is a formidable challenge. I believe that we need each other to go through more storms and opportunities to pour out more love and understanding for each and everyone of us as the times ahead are full of movements and decision-making for so many friends, family and others we know and don't know. The turbulence of earth, water, air and fire has given us a bit of a lightshow early in the year! This is surely how we are getting prepared for our own show and we will be perfectly ready to perform it. We have our friendship for support, our teamwork and love for courage in troubled times. Unity brings strength, politicians repeat it all the time, but imagine what it does when we unite spiritually. No politics, no religion can beat that, for each one of us is allowed to be completely independent yet associated with the same faith and perseverance that makes us go ahead no matter what the difficulty. Love doesn't only move mountains, it makes non believers believe!

Cathy - I thank and love you for your teamwork in the little yet important things
Andrew - I thank and love you for challenging me
Sal - I thank and love you for your gift of love
Dominic - I thank and love you for offering your help and presence
Jane - I thank and love you for your bodytalk
Heini - I thank and love you for your caring attention
Elmarie - I thank and love you for introducing your friend to me
Angelo - I thank and love you for taking me to the airport
Francesca - I thank and love you for your rediscovered love that you shared with me
Ricardo - I thank and love you for your tears
Dani - I thank and love you for sharing your art
Steven - I thank and love you for sharing your truth
All of you out there - I thank and love you for being who you are because my life and my work are so much more fascinating with you in it.

THE STORY
The Haves and the Have nots - A story of perception (supplied to me by Eloise in Berlin)

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 'How was thetrip?'
'It was great, Dad.'
'Did you see how poor people live?' the father asked.
'Oh yeah,' said the son.
'So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?' asked the father.The son answered:
'I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.'

THE PHOTO
From my friend and photographer in the South of France, David Huguenin, it's called Rosace

May we all have plenty of opportunities to meet and cheer this year!

In love and light

Mariana
www.mariana-amar.com