Happy Solstice!

Today is Winter Solstice...

In the northern hemisphere it is the shortest day of the year.

I remember this day vividly as one of my Dad's favorite holidays.

Today I was able to spend time with Nelson Garzon - the angel I recently blogged about and so many of you were so generous to donate toward his condition,  hemangioma.  His was more advanced,  and began growing again in his late teens,  threatening to take his eyesight and his mouth.  He was able to find surgeons to begin laser surgery to stop it from spreading,  and from growing.  It is working!  Success has begun!

Nelson is a writer and poet - and is writing his memoirs of his experiences in America,  getting treatment for this condition,  and the people he meets.  He hopes he will meet a publisher who would be willing to publish it.  I would think a Spanish publishing company that could translate into English would be ideal.

I will keep accepting donations on Nelson's behalf choosetohelpnelson@gmail.com

If you are able to donate $10 or more,  and leave a message via paypal with your mailing address, I will send you a copy of my CD  "Taking My Turn" as my thanks for your donation!

I think that having an opportunity to share your gifts with Nelson today,  on this Solstice, is so fitting and special.

Solstice allows for stillness,  for reflection,  for anticipation of the birth of new possibilities...

I wish you nothing but wonderful possibilities,  an opportunity to discover the stillness to reflect on your achievements,  and the chance to explore more of what you dream of,  pursue and work toward.

Work,  dream,  discover,  share,  love, laugh,  SING!!!!

Happy Solstice!!!  Imagine,  have courage,  and DO IT!

Nelson and me!!

Angels in our midst...

We all have our guardian angels,  or those people who give us perspective,  magic and simply give us hope.

In the spirit of the holiday season,  I want to share someone with you.

His name is Nelson Garzon.

Every Saturday he stands til 4 p.m. at the corner of 24th and 6th holding his sign with quiet dignity "Donations Gratefully Accepted" and talks about the physical disease he has. His name is Nelson Garzon. The condition is called Hemangioma: a benign self-involuting tumor (swelling or growth) of endothelial cells, the cells that line blood vessels. This happens at birth and often resolves itself by age 10. In Nelson Garzon's case, it did not. He has come to NYC from Colombia to get laser treatment. He has a surgeon, and I have had the privilege to see how the surgeries are making such a difference. He is one of the most beautiful souls I have ever met. He accepts any donation, asks for nothing. He has cards made up to offer to people if they choose to stop and offer him a donation or simply to talk. This is what they say:

Life is an Act of Courage!

Feeling life with its suffering is weakness; inspiring life is strength. The flower is the most symbolic visible form of that life is: Beautiful, Fragile, Ephemeral...Enjoy it! We are an instant that disappears in time; there is nothing to hide; and nothing to lose. Life is suffering becuase of its form; It is beauty becuase of its nature; and a mystery becuase of it its miracle. We have a mind so narrow that we evoke with more strength, a more insignificant offense than hundreds of received benefits. Enjoy a boy's smile and console an old person's tears. Ugliness is like the herb, beauty is like the flower, it one dries up the other withers. In essence they are the same thing.

"I Appreciate all the support that you can offer me" - Nelson Garzon

Meeting him changed my life. He is so full of courage and love and light. Today was cold, so I brought him a coffee. You would have thought I had offered him the moon.

And so, at this holiday season, I want to help him even more. I have set up an email account/paypal to accept donations on his behalf. ALL monies donated will be given to him directly. If you trust me, and can spare $1.00 would you donate it to Nelson? He has come to a new country, learning English, and has the courage to pursue what he needs. He is an example of the true human spirit. If you can, just "gift money" to :

choosetohelpnelson@gmail.com

I will make sure ALL of your donations get to him as early as NEXT Saturday when I know he will be at 24th & 6th again. His next surgery is scheduled for February.

Thank you. I have never had someone move me like this before. 
I have never asked for this before.
 He could be an angel...