The smoke is as heavy as our hearts here in the Okanagan. I've been quiet these past few days as friends, family of friends, and 20,000 people have been evacuated on the west side of Okanagan Lake. There is a provincial state of emergency in BC. Please take a moment to pray with me for all the people, homes, and animals affected by the wildfires in BC and in the Okanagan, and just south of us in Washington and Oregon. I pray no more homes and properties are lost ... 230 in the Quilpituk Creek Wildfire (west side of Vernon), and they are not yet able to access the loss in Summerland due to the Bald Range wildfire. I pray stillness in the air remains and rain falls gently. My family is safe and while life is uncertain and our hearts are sad, life does goes on even amidst the chaos. I was able to spend time with my son and granddaughter yesterday, go shopping and attend a baby shower for one of my best friend's daughter. And since I was in West Kelowna, I visited another best friend. (West Kelowna is directly across the lake from me, and the fire storms are raging out of control North and South of the their community). The lay of the land is hard to wrap your head around. Before I moved to Kelowna and worked in the Toronto office, I was so confused by all the colleges in the Okanagan. They were all named Okanagan College ... Kelowna Campus, Vernon Campus, Penticton Campus, and Salmon Arm Campus. The Okanagan Valley is a region in South Central BC where Okanagan Lake is surrounded by mountains. It is a four hour drive from Kelowna to Vancouver with two high mountain passes between us. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts. Praying your Sunday is peaceful. Some of our smoke is from the wildfires in Washington and Oregon. Where are you in the world? Are you safe? Let us bring you into our awareness and prayers.

Sometimes the simplest practice is the most powerful. When life feels overwhelming or your mind becomes busy, pause and return to your breath. With each slow, rhythmic inhale and exhale, your nervous system begins to settle, your heart softens, and you reconnect with the quiet place within where creativity naturally emerges. Take a few moments today to breathe in the frequency of love.

When we gather at our family reunions, we share memories, tell stories as we remember them, and others fill in the gaps. And sometimes I make up stories, like telling my cousin that my biological father never came to visit us after we came back from France. And she said, "Oh no, honey, he came to see you girls when you lived with us in Chase." I was three and spent my life thinking he never once cared enough to see us again. Family reunions help us gather the truth with older cousins lovingly sharing their versions of stories our younger minds skewed up. My grandparents had 16 children from 1909 to 1934 and now there's 432 descendants. I kid you not. My cousin, Gwen, has done an incredible job tracking, researching, and systematizing our family tree. She told us during our last reunion that Fred Astaire was a distant cousin. I asked again, and Gwen told me he was a cousin 10-times-removed. It's no wonder I love to dance. I can't sing or play an instrument, but there's lots of musical talent in our family. We had about 45 family members representing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cousins. My one remaining Aunt Muriel wasn't present as she's about to turn 100. She was born on September 1, 1926. Imagine. Her daughter, my cousin Donna and her husband, drove from the east coast to join us and visit her Mom. 5550 km from her door to where her mom lives. The oldest picture is my Great Grandfather, Wm Benson, and Great Grandmother, Amelia Thankful Ball (our lineage connects us to Lucille Ball, a cousin 7-times removed). I laughed when I first saw that I had a Great Grandmother with the middle name THANKFUL. Next is my grandparents with all 16 kids, and my Mom is front and centre. In 1976, my Mom and I flew out to Chilliwack, BC when I was 18 for our first family reunion. My mom is in the dark blue dress with her remaining brothers and sisters. And finally, the 1st cousins. One of my younger cousins kept insisting that I didn't belong in the photo, as I wasn't a first cousin. I assured her I was and she was surprised I was her Dad's cousin, not hers. My Mom was the youngest and had nieces and nephews older than her. I called them Aunt and Uncle when I was little even though they were cousins.

This prayer emerged from a reflection on identity, transformation, coherence, and the remembrance of truth. May it serve as a doorway into stillness, listening, and embodiment. My invitation to you is to record this in your own voice, or create an Abundance Prayer that resonates with your language and voice, and reflects your truth. 💜🫶💜 Divine Light of the Creator, I pray I become still in Your Presence. To open my heart to the wisdom that already lives within me. And trust the process of releasing, receiving, and embodying my truth. Guard my heart, for it is the gateway of transformation. As I enter this sacred space where my heart becomes coherent with Your Light, I choose love before fear. I choose coherence before action. I choose to listen before speaking. I choose to trust the intelligence that moves through all life. I release the need to force, strive, fix, or figure everything out with my mind. I release every belief, thought, memory, and agreement that is not in alignment with the Light of Truth. Where I have harboured stories of lack, separation, fear, unworthiness, or limitation, I offer them into Your Light. Not to fight, judge, or make them wrong, but to dissolve in the presence of a greater truth. To illuminate what is real. I remember who I am beneath every condition, wound, expectation, and inherited story. My false identities fall away. My thoughts are in harmony with the wisdom of my soul. Every place within me that has forgotten its wholeness awakens once again. My words become an expression of truth rather than fear. I remember that abundance is not something I must earn. It is the natural expression of the Divine Light of the Creator. I welcome abundance in love. I welcome abundance in peace. I welcome abundance in joy. I welcome abundance in creativity. I welcome abundance in meaningful connection. I welcome abundance in health, vitality, and purpose. I remember the truth I have always known. I receive it with love. I embody it with grace.

Quick reminder for our writers and serious DOERS who love to get stuff done in a sacred space, whether it's evening for you or you're across the world. @Elizabeth O'Carroll @Justin Yip @Ben Sherry @Ryan Clark @Rebecca B @Rayna Scott @Patricia Wagner @Rena Nicole @Jessica Rose @Zor Zen Den Terence James @Arlana Tanner @Frances Scully @David R @Liz Lemarchand @Lisa Black @Karin Davis @Luana Bossetti @Krista Brea @Janice Kyllo @James Bansbach @Leanne Kerr @Melvinia Ford @Ires Aponte