I want to offer my deepest compassion and prayers for all victims of war - veterans especially included.

On this day let's be reminded that our ultimate spiritual call is to create a world built on a foundation of loving kindness where sustainable justice and peace are the norm:

It will be a world where the war ripped tear of the widowed spouse never again falls upon a human cheek;

Where a bullet never again sacrilegiously drills through flesh, muscle and organs in a bloody destructive wake;

Where the fire from battle never again violently burns off the visible humanity from a face that could once express the soul’s joy, longing and love;

Where explosions never again insult the wholeness of physical being - mercilessly ripping limbs from bones, sinew and flesh;

Where the hellish horror of battle never again forever scars, distorts and traumatizes a once intact mind - that forever will carry the unseen smoking, bleeding remnants of wars fought past and present –

It will be a world where never again will the word “war” exist, nor its ultimate outcome - which nearly always glosses over the horrific, dehumanizing waste of the carnage from which such conflicts feed.

Today I invite all – especially our veterans, who know the truth better than anyone – to help us build such a world.

©  David C. Bojorquez

Forty years ago, I remember an eight year old Mexican American boy consumed with dreams of one day exploring space. These dreams were fueled by a part of the cultural dichotomy that pervaded the collective consciousness of the 1960’s. On one side of that culture was the Vietnam War and the clash between generations. There was the elder establishment that viewed the waging of the war as a patriotic duty necessary to stem the theoretical domino effect of Communism. It stood in stark contrast to the rebelling high school and college aged baby boomers, who through music and protest created a societal revolution the repercussions of which we still live with today. And simultaneously another side of that culture hummed along seemingly oblivious to the mayhem that was the 60’s (the war, protests, riots, and the assassinations of two Kennedy’s and Dr. Martin Luther King). It was the culture that embodied the relentless forward motion of an American space program singularly focused on placing a human being on the lunar surface.

And so there lived that young boy in the midst of a most ironic cultural dichotomy.  Now he had heard of the Vietnam War, and had seen images of it and related protests on his family’s 12 inch black and white TV, during Walter Cronkite’s nightly news broadcasts. But the war and its repercussions held little relevance in his world. He simply was too young to understand what it was really all about, especially in light of the circumstances that surrounded him.

His father had just returned from serving a prison sentence and his family was very poor, living on food stamps inside a subsidized housing project, located in North Long Beach, California. Even at the age of eight, he instinctively knew that his place was one of poverty and racially driven marginalization. In what could be inferred from TV shows then, he knew that he did not live in a beautiful home in the suburbs; and his family life certainly didn’t conform to the idyllic images of the middle class mom, dad and apple pie family life portrayed by the media of that era.

However, he did have something he could embrace, and be a part of, without the perquisite of economic standing or proper racial identity. What he attached himself to was our nation’s unrelenting quest to conquer the reaches of outer space. And the boy even dreamt of one day becoming an astronaut himself and exploring other worlds. Yes, that’s how he could escape the gravity of his own world.

Every morning for each Apollo mission he awoke early to watch the countdowns and launches from Apollo 7 to 11. Each successive Apollo journey we came closer and closer to the moon. Our endeavor to reach the moon fired the boy’s hope and the boundless imagination that is the domain of all children. Because, our reaching for the moon was a collective journey that transcended all racial and economic boundaries, like so many others, that boy’s spirit rode along inside the capsules with the amazing and courageous astronauts.

From the age of six - two long years, which seems like an eternity to a child - the boy waited patiently for the moment. And forty years ago that moment arrived on July 20th 1969. It was 7:56 PM – PST – when Neil Armstrong spoke the words now eternally embedded in history, as he stepped on the lunar surface – “That’s one small step for man… One giant leap for mankind.” And like the rest of the people of the earth, that day was one filled with boundless joy, excitement and the knowing that a future rich with unlimited possibilities existed.

I was of course that eight year old boy, forty years ago. The space program contributed a great deal to my ability to break the dark, invisible gravitational pull of poverty. I didn’t end up becoming an astronaut, but as a modestly successful filmmaker I have been able to take starry-eyed visions and paint them on a screen for others to see. When a child can look at the stars, and know that they too can belong to us, and become our destiny (if only we believe), then there is absolutely nothing - nothing that can prevent that child from reaching his or her’s highest potential. The accomplishments and positive historic, technical and social implications of the Apollo space program can never be overstated.

Within eight years, we accomplished what no other civilization before and since could achieve in so short a time. Few people understand how woefully unprepared we were to go to the moon, when in 1962, President Kennedy challenged a nation to "go to the moon, not because it is easy.. but because it is hard." I urge everyone to visit the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and look at the last remaining Saturn V rocket… It is a wonderful behemoth… In my opinion it ranks as the eighth wonder of the world. And one day we will look at it with the same awe that we look at the pyramids and wonder how did they do it? How did they build a vehicle of such precision with slide rules and manual tools that was able to execute its task with the microscopic tolerances necessary to successfully transport human beings to another world?

The space program with the culmination of the Apollo missions taught us that there are no insurmountable challenges – only limited thinking… But when we expand our thinking to include possibilities never before considered, other horizons naturally become visible… and that is a foundational lesson of the space program. We were made in the image of ultimate divinity. Therefore, even as spirits bound in a human state, our potential is boundless.

I will always hold the Apollo program close to my heart. It was a part of my life, and the astounding accomplishments are forever embedded in my consciousness. I only wish that today, we could summon the same national will that inspired an 8 year boy, and God only knows how many other children - to reach for something greater than themselves. If only all children today were as fortunate as I was - to be there to witness humankind walk among the stars – they too could know with certainty that no dream is beyond their grasp.

©  David C. Bojorquez

To Sense the Infinite Worth in a Child and Act on That Knowledge Will Transform the World in a Single Generation...

To Act and Join - Go Here: http://www.2senseworth.org/2senseworth_lp02.html

This is a direct invitation for you to play a vital role in the positive transformation of this world. It begins by manifesting the desire already planted deeply within you for that better world.

There is a practical way to for this to happen. It happens by taking our youngest generation and insuring that they have the resources needed to attain their highest human potential. We believe that by doing this - in the span of a single generation - we can have radical, positive global transformation. This isn't change that happens overnight, but it's change that happens one child, one family, one community, state, province and nation at a time - perhaps in that order but definitely with that kind of reach.

Your investment in the positive transformation of this world will go towards "boots on the ground" efforts now underway to dramatically and positively alter the lives of children in need and at risk. Our commitment to you is absolute financial transparency; and via regular reports on our website, you'll see exactly how the totality of everyone's 2 penny contribution was used. We have established an operational efficiency that exceeds current non-profit industry standards. We're able do this because the founding board members of 2SenseWorth are composed of artist-entrepreneurs, business and science professionals. Therefore, you can be assured that your small investment of two pennies a day will have a maximum positive impact on the lives of children. What's more, our 501c3 application is now pending, and our law firm - that specializes in non-profits - has advised us that the IRS will approve our status, so your small contribution will be tax deductible this year.

But in the end you may wonder what can my two pennies do to change the life of a child? You'll be astonished at the power of small change to create great change. Two cents multiplied by millions of giving souls equals an amazing transformation – a transformation of magnitude that we will not fully grasp until it unfolds. Your intention to do something positive is as much a transformer as your two cents. Witness the power that two cents is worth:

* 3.90 (2 pennies a day for 195 days) equals a meal-a-day for 17 days and clean water for 6 months.

* $7.40 (2 pennies a day for a year and 5 days) equals clean water for a year and a meal-a-day for a month.

* $7.40 (2 pennies a day for a year and 5 days) equals 5 weeks of a meal-a-day or you will feed 5 children for a week.

* $22.20 (support 3 D.I.R.C. articles at 2 pennies a day each) equals a net for the bed of a child, plus a meal a day for two months.

* $22.20 (support 3 D.I.R.C. articles at 2 pennies a day each) equals 111 meals: Feeds 10 kids for 11 days.

* $22.20 (support 3 D.I.R.C. articles at 2 pennies a day each) equals clean water for a year, a mosquito net, and a meal-a-day for two kids for a month.

* $51.80 (support all seven D.I.R.C. articles at 2 pennies a day each) equals 259 meals: Feed 37 kids for a week or feed 7 kids for 5 weeks.

* $51.80 (support all seven D.I.R.C. articles at 2 pennies a day each) equals vaccines, 3 years of clean water, and a meal-a-day for 2 months

* $51.80 (support all seven D.I.R.C. articles at 2 pennies a day each) equals a mosquito net, 1 year of clean water, and a meal-a-day for 4.5 months

Donate 2 cents per hour for a year…$175.20 (Health, shelter, food, and water). And give a child vaccinations, a mosquito net for their bed, a year of clean water, and a meal-a-day for over a year (396 meals).

Donate 2 cents per hour for a year….14.60 per month (food and water) And give a child every month: clean water and two meals a day.

Donate 2 cents per minute for an hour a day for a year…$438 (health, shelter, food, water for a family) - And help a single mom and her two children by supplying vaccinations for both children, and for the whole family - mosquito nets for their beds, a year of clean water, and a meal-a-day for over a year (387 meals each).

Donate 2 cents per minute for an hour a day for a year…$438. And give 5 kids mosquito nets, clean water, and 1-2 meals a day( 380 meals each) for a year.

Donate 2 cents per minute for an hour a day for a year…(36.50 per month). And give 3 children every month: clean water and 2 meals-a-day.

Donate 2 cents per minute for an hour a day for a year…36.50 per month. And help a different child every month by providing for vaccine costs, clean water, and a meal-a-day.

Basis for Statistics: Go here:
http://2senseworth.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=14&Itemid=66

Let me tell you the true story of an at-risk little boy I know who grew up in difficult circumstances... the kind of child that 2SenseWorth was created to help.

This boy's father was an abusive alcoholic who had repeatedly beat his mother, even when she was pregnant with his brother and sister.   When the boy was three, his mother, Maria, made the decision to leave her husband's abuse.  With no where else to go she took her children and fled to a relative's home.  The father tracked them down, and while the boy's mother, infant brother and sister hid in a closet, the father in a violent rage, brutally stabbed the boy's uncle to the edge of death... Just as his father was about to open the closet door ready to further wield a blood stained knife on an innocent family, the police arrived.

With the father in prison, life didn't get any better.  The boy's mother was disabled from a near fatal illness and could not work.  With three children Maria was forced to accept public housing in a crime ridden, inner-city housing project.  They struggled greatly.  Food Stamps were not enough to pay for the basic subsistence needed.  There were often days when meals were missed.  In their first Christmas, with bare cupboards, Maria contacted The Salvation Army, who literally saved them.  They brought food, clothes and insured that the little boy and his siblings had their first real Christmas.   Still, the most formative years of the boy's childhood were spent witnessing drug deals, child abuse, gun crimes, assaults and people being beaten bloody and unconscious.   Almost every day at school the boy found himself in a fight.   It was a childhood colored more by the stress of survival than the embrace of security.

At the age of ten the boy and his family were given further housing assistance and were able to rent a small one bedroom home in a better neighborhood.  Because of the strength of his mother's love and guidance, the boy stayed in school, graduated and was offered an academic scholarship to UCLA, and even earned his Bachelors Degree in Television and Film production.   He went on to become an independent filmmaker successfully creating hundreds of film, television and multimedia productions that focused on the most meaningful aspects of our human journey. 

I can now humbly say that boy was me. 

With the help of my business partner, Keith Myers, and a talented board of directors, I founded 2SenseWorth because I know that if we are to truly transform this world, no child should have to endure what I experienced and witnessed while growing up.  And yet, I was very fortunate.  I had a strong mother who resolved that what was happening outside our project's apartment wouldn't happen within me.   For those kids at risk, who didn't have the guidance I had, they need someone out there willing to do something meaningful and effective on their behalf.

And doing that something is what 2SenseWorth is about.   2SenseWorth gives virtually everyone and anyone the opportunity to play a vital role in the positive transformation of this world - by first transforming the lives of children in need.   And all it takes is a basic commitment of only 2 pennies a day.  That's it!  No matter who you are, employed or unemployed, we are talking about the ability for everyone to participate in giving 2 pennies towards positive global change that is attainable.  

Go to the NEW, www.2SenseWorth.org website and commit your gift of 2 pennies per day to change the lives of kids who are now enduring what I experienced, and even much, much worse.   Take the time to read what we're about, and especially learn what the power of 2 cents per day can do... You will be amazed!  If you, like millions of others, have a spare 2 pennies lying around, I guarantee there's no better way to put that small change into action - for lasting positive change in our time. 

David C. Bojorquez
Founder
2SenseWorth.org

On Christmas Eve of 1968, Apollo 8 was the first manned spacecraft to ever orbit the moon.  James Lovell of Apollo 13 fame, was the command module pilot for the mission.  Apollo 8 was also famous for bringing us the ubiquitous image of the earth as a blue and white shimmering sphere, a celestial jewel seemingly alone in the vastness of space.  It was the first time we ever were able to look at our planet in that way.   

As Apollo 8 orbited the moon, it came to the sunlit part of the lunar surface. The crew of Apollo 8 then sent a greeting to earth, and spontaneously took turns reading a portion of the biblical creation story from the Book of Genesis.  It was an awe-inspiring moment.  Remember, at that time, man had never ventured so far out into space.  It is breathtaking to embrace that realization. 

Imagine yourself, in 1968, never having been exposed to the Internet, or today's widely available computer technology... Imagine what it was like for an audience with access to only three television networks all tuned in to this broadcast.  The grainy black and white video image is primitive by today's standards, yet it bears a certain mystique representative of an era, where thousands of engineers and scientists pushed their available technological capabilities to the very limit.   It's amazing to consider that an inexpensive flash memory stick with 1 billion bytes of memory - has more than 125,000 times the memory that was available on the lunar module's guidance computer, a piece of technology that was considered a huge leap for that time.      

I remember watching this live broadcast as a seven year old boy, being raised in an impoverished housing project by a single mom, captivated by the idea that we could leave this planet and reach for other worlds.  An old 12 inch, black and white, Admiral TV set was my window to the realm of possibility.  The lunar space program was the inspiration that always stayed with me... an inspiration that spoke to that kid 40 years ago stating: Anything is achievable.  Nothing is impossible.   

Because of the mind set I adopted from watching the lunar program, and a very courageous mother who would not allow me to give up, I was able to break that cycle of poverty.  That era was something very special.  It also represented a fascinating dichotomy in what was occuring in our nation and the world at that time.

Keep in mind, 1968 was a year of great turbulence...  Our national psyche had been severely traumatized.  First, the Tet Offensive took the Vietnam War from bad to worse; then the assasinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy;  unrelenting riots in the streets culminating with the infamous uprisings in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention - there were many who even doubted that our nation could remain united and viable.   Ironically, all this served as the backdrop for a space program that was elevating mankind towards the exploration of new worlds - a collective striving to achieve what poets and philosophers had only dreamt of since the dawn of our existence.   Less than eight months after Apollo 8 orbited the moon for the first time on that Christmas Eve of 1968, Neil Armstrong forever placed the footprints of humanity on the lunar surface. 

In consideration of all we confront today, we have to keep in mind that despite all the seeming darkness that had enveloped an era a generation ago, we still managed as a people to not lose sight of who we were... what we're made of... what is possible.   And as spiritual beings having a human experience there were and are no limits to what we can achieve, even in the face of the most daunting circumstances.   2008 with all its issues, has nothing on 1968!   We will overcome and triumph over all the challenges we face today. 

And something greater than me, inside of me - believes and even knows that despite all we confront in this generation, we can and will find that drive again, dream again and this time create a world worthy of all children.   It's Christmas Eve, 2008.   Let's decide to birth the miracle and magic of the divine child within us, and make love manifest - as the gift that can truly save this planet, making all dreams possible.  

I wish you the most blessed and wonderful Christmas of your life thus far.   

To quote the closing words of the Apollo 8 broadcast from the moon: 
"God bless all of you... all of you on the good earth."

David C. Bojorquez
December 24, 2008

It's 2:42 seconds of joyful bliss representing some of my favorite productions over the past two decades....  Although only a fraction of the more than 300 productions I've created are represented here, it is the culmination of a month's work of editing and special effect work carefully choreographed to Jet's Rip It Up.  

Go here to watch it in a YouTube High Quality format:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul6JZtjLsOk&fmt=6

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0092526/

WHY I AM A CONSCIOUS FILMMAKER^TM

I am that I-AM...  At some point in our development, whether through pain, or gifted awakening, the hazy fog of ego lifts and begins to reveal that awareness.  It is singularly the greatest truth we can ever grasp.   And all of it is rooted in absolute consciousness.   All the great divine teachers from Christ to modern day prophets like Tolle, recognize this state as our authentic home and deepest, eternal state of be-ing.  It is "the kingdom of heaven" within - a kingdom that's not simply an afterlife reward as a result of religiously following a prescribed dogmatic path; but rather it is a "kingdom" accessible and applicable in the here and now.   Such Consciousness that manifests this kingdom, when filtered through the density of human experience in our "chosen task", absolutely transforms - and transforms those awakened to it absolutely.

And what is this "kingdom" like?   It is the kingdom where proverbial swords are beaten into plough shares, the lame walk, the blind see, abundance abounds, only tears of joy are shed, there is no discrimination between races, origins, and types of people on any level.  Quite simply put:  The law of love is the only law that is freely accepted and practiced - never having to be enforced.    

The entire world could experience such a kingdom today simply through awakening without fear to the consciousness of knowing who and what we really are...  My task here, though honestly not one that I necessarily believe was chosen by my ego, is that of a filmmaker - a storyteller who uses the tools of media.   But my ongoing awakening to consciousness calls me to see my role as a filmmaker, as not simply a job, occupation nor career, but as a vocation - truly not unlike a priesthood.   (I also often kid that I do what I do because I have no other marketable skills - that also is true...  :-)   But I digress. )  

And being not simply a filmmaker, but rather expressing my work as a Conscious Filmmaker^TM is my life's task.  It is what I know, and without any choice on my part, it is what I do best.   Honestly, if I had to choose, I'd rather make my living playing in a rock band... well, perhaps that'll be my karmic reward in my next life.   :-)    However, those of us who work in media, and have enough realization of both our conscious selves, as well as the power in what we do, bear a responsibility to deliver the truth and "good news" we know in the world.    But, we don't have to be dogmatic about it.  

We don't have to beat people over the head with the truth that has come to us through awakening awareness... Rather, we can continue the work of teachers like Christ -  telling the truth in benevolent "Trojan Horses" packaged in the form of modern day parables.  Such films and television programming are either intentionally or inadvertently made every day.  

I celebrate the ongoing revelation to each viewer whose thought processes actively participate in the message of stories - that are one more tool Consciousness uses to awaken the world. 

Copyright 2008 - David C. Bojorquez

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0092526/

WHAT IS A CONSCIOUS FILMMAKER^TM?

The Conscious Filmmaker^TM  is an artist who creates film, television or interactive media that either intentionally or unintentionally motivates, persuades, and/or provokes transformative thinking in the viewer or user - that will result in the enrichment and conscious evolution of society and the world. 

An enriched and evolved society is one in which loving kindness and compassion are the norm, and practiced both individually and culturally, while guiding all legal, civic and governmental structure and policy.   It is one that is inclusive.  It is one that is kind, respectful and tolerant of all people, regardless of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, faith tradition, social class, economic status, spiritual belief or non-belief. 

Some Conscious Filmmakers^TM can be said to be "awakened" and committed to a higher purpose.   They sense themselves "called" to work towards manifesting an enriched, evolved society locally, nationally and internationally.    In the awakened Conscious Filmmaker^TM this stems from a "conscious" awareness to leverage his/her gifts, talents, technical and aesthetic capabilities in a purposeful manner.  

Not all filmmakers who can be called "Conscious" are necessarily awakened to such purpose.   For them the "conscious" aspect of filmmaking is not so much a state of being as it is a state of flow, and execution.   In other words, the conscious work just simply "happens", and that filmmaker has served as a creative (sometimes serendipitous) "conduit" for the production of such media.

An "awakened" Conscious Filmmaker^TM embraces and accepts that there is a deeply meaningful foundation to life, and the majority of his/her productions in some way will reflect or communicate such meaning.   And the awakened Conscious Filmmaker^TM also accepts that there is a definitive qualitative aspect to the "Conscious" nature that inspires such films. 

This awakened "Conscious" nature is defined as the recognition of a deeper "presence" within.   The "presence" can be defined through the lens of any faith tradition or spiritual orientation as either God, Christ, Christ Consciousness, Buddha Consciousness, Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, Atman, Sophia, Higher Self, Ground of All Being or any number of other names ascribed to an assumed, existing and conscious, all loving power or source that spiritually oriented people inherently recognize as transcendent, eminent, immanent, eternal and infinite.  

Being "Conscious" in this definition is the awakened recognition of one's inner purpose, through an experiential sense of belonging and oneness with that divine, deeper or higher presence.  Such awakening guides individual growth and transformation that causes not only spiritual evolution, but a desire to work towards the evolution, transformation and enrichment of society and the world.

Copyright 2008 - David C. Bojorquez

Below is a real-life example of a Conscious Filmmaker^TM approach to a simple PSA I created.   A very intentional message of transcendent actualization was embedded in this UCLA spot aired nationally during PAC 10 games.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0092526/

Two years ago today my mother passed away.  She was and is an extraordinary woman.  Like all who have crossed over before us - I know she still loves and is in fact more alive than we are in this dense reality. 

One of the greatest conscious truths is simply this.  We don't die.   Knowing that however, doesn't minimize the pain from the human grief that ensues from the loss of anyone who is beloved to us.  Our humanity touched by their love, aches from the part of us that bled when death tore them away from this life.  For me, my acute grief has passed, but the scar will always remain; and on occasions like today, the wound opens a little to remind me of the love that is and always will be.

In celebration of today, I'd like to share the eulogy from two years ago that I delivered at the memorial service for a very special woman.  She's someone I'd like all of you to know:


No amount of words, no matter how poetic, no matter how poignant, no matter how articulately or powerfully delivered can define the life of Mary Louise Bojorquez.

Words are merely the spoken ideas, verbal symbols, but without experience they lose their meaning.  And it is in understanding and knowing through experience that we stand here today celebrating the life of an extraordinary woman.  So for those of us who knew and loved her - we understand... we know...  and cherish something deeper... much deeper about the truth of my mother's life.

For Mary, words or "palabras" were no where nearly as important as one's actions.  Mary didn't define herself by words, but rather... by actions.  And she used words to parent and teach us the most valuable of life's lessons, but always... always reinforcing the mere words with actions...

She was a woman of great faith...  She believed in God... a just God who reached out and helped the poor, for she herself was not a woman of great means... And it was her faith that allowed a single mother in 1964 to courageously raise a family in the midst of poverty, within an inner city housing project.  Not one of her children succumbed to a life of crime or desperation, because she taught us that we could... and would... be better than that. 

She was born on June 11th 1926, a twin.  Her sister died soon after which made her a surviving twin... For the betterment of the world, Mary survived... and she endured and persevered. 

Her father died at a young age in the midst of the Depression.  She was confronted with bitter poverty and a society intolerant of her Mexican descent... yet she endured....   As a young mother her body was racked with a life threatening illness, so serious, that the physicians at the time expected her to die - and yet she endured...  Mary took on a difficult marriage and the challenge of raising three children in the midst of poverty and despair; and yet no matter the circumstances around her... she would never despair, she never gave up, she confronted hopelessness, she persevered, until the end, when I know... I know she felt her work here was done and it was time for her to go....

Mary Louise Bojorquez was a mother, first and foremost... and I believe that she best defined herself as such... She later added to that definition the role of a very loving grandmother to her four beautiful and sublime grandchildren.   Today she leaves a legacy of four children, one deceased and now with her, four grandchildren, and four great grandchildren...  Upon her leaving this earth, her legacy has been born into the 12 of us...  I find that number significant... 

Those of us who are honored to be her legacy here on earth, will carry on the best of what she gave us.  Speaking as her son, I know all that is good within me today, and the choices I make are a result of what she taught me; and as I said, she taught not just with words, but with actions - noble actions...  She taught all of us courage in the face of adversity, tenaciousness in the face of dire circumstances, perseverance in the face of obstacles, hope in the face of despair, and most importantly love in the face of hate...

And all of us who knew her, know how our mother loved... She loved people...  Mary had an amazing God-given ability to become your best friend in 30 seconds flat... 

And, to this day, I know no one who can surpass her intution.... She knew if someone was hurting, if we were in trouble, or if we simply were not making the best choices in friends... One of my mother's favorite sayings, which has been foundational in guiding my life was, "Dime' con quien te andes y yo te digo quein eres."   Tell me who you walk with and I'll tell you who you are.... And my mother of course applied those words, making them actions within her own earthly life

And if we are to define my Mother, Mary Louise, by her own powerful wisdom - as to who she is today... We merely need to reflect upon whom she now walks with... the angels, the saints, Christ himself...  So beyond words, Mary too is defined by the company she now keeps... and such company has transformed her. 

My mother suffered a great deal in her life, but she suffers no more... In the last three years she lost her sight, but she is blind no more... In her last days she was unable to breathe, and now she breathes the life and breath of God... and every one of us, her children, her grandchildren, her great grandchildren - our breaths are one with hers, for it was her breath that first gave us life...

At this moment she is more alive than any of us... present to each of us...  loving us all... and waiting by the heavenly entrance to one day welcome us into the kingdom she's inherited...  And mom, we walk with the certainty that we will see you again... Yes, it may be a long time for us here, but we will hold on to that certainty for the rest of our lives... as Mary always said, "Don't give up...don't ever give up...  if there's a will there's a way..."  We find that will through Christ who is our way, our truth our life, and there once again we will find Mary Louise waiting, smiling and embracing us when we too, one day, journey to that next stage of a most glorious life.  So this is by no means a final goodbye, but rather a celebration of her new life, in anticipation of when we will see her again... And we will see her again, and walk with the company she now keeps....  

We love you, Mom, yesterday, today and forever...