Finding Grace

If there’s no inner peace, people can’t give it to you. The husband can’t give it to you. Your children can’t give it to you. You have to give it to you.

Finding myself wasn't easy, the distractions came in full force.  I refused to get out of bed, wishing my life was over. One morning I gathered all my strength to get out of bed at four am, take a cold shower, and looked at myself in the mirror. What I saw shocked me! I was a skeleton, eyes sunken, dark circles around my eyes, and no smile.  I cringed with the fear of what I had become. 'a hollow shell with a mask'

Tears rolled gently down my cheeks and I hugged myself tightly.  The past came like a flash before my eyes. The final breakdown was to see what I was holding onto was negative thoughts and energy being wasted on the past.

My mind had to be set free. What happened in the past should stay in the past. No matter how negative it is, like something that someone said or did, you need to let it go. Accept the fact that nothing will change. Let that feeling and thought in instead of trying to push it away because when you do, it starts to lose power.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl named Grace. She lived in the country of South Africa. Grace’s home was close to the beach; she would often go down and watch the waves as they lapped at the edge of the sand. Grace was young and graceful. She had a beautiful face and a beautiful heart but there was always a sadness which followed her around. She was sad because she could not find a friend and without a friend she could not find peace within herself. This sadness took the shine out of her eyes and the glow out of her beautiful flowing locks of hair. The sadness broke her heart. Grace just wandered around aimlessly hoping that tomorrow will bring a new happy day for her.

As Grace grew older she started to travel. She wanted to meet new people in different towns. Grace was hoping to find her missing friend so her heart could feel better. But no matter how many towns she visited she was still very sad. So Grace decided to travel further to new countries. Grace decided to go to a country called Poland. She thought that she would find her friend there. But to no avail. All she became was an immigrant. Poland was not a friendly country. There were no friendly people there. There was no peace to gild her heart there, so she became even sadder. Her heart remained sad and broken. She could not find a friend there.

Grace decided to travel again so she packed her suitcase and climbed on a huge airplane. She traveled for hours until she came to the scenic country of England. There Grace found many people. They came from all areas of the country. There were many tourists as well. But Grace became an immigrant again. She wanted to stay in this wonderful country. Grace thought she would find a friend there and then her heart would be happy again. She would be able to find peace within herself. But, alas, there was no friend around.

One day Grace decided to go and look for a friend. She had to be positive. She knew in her heart that if she looked long enough she would find a friend. And then all would be well again.

She climbed in her car and traveled all around the city, then the town, then the country. She just went on and on until one day she landed up in a chilly place. She found herself in the highlands of Scotland. Grace decided to stop and buy herself a warm cardigan in a town called Inverness. There were many people there. There were too many people and too many tourists, so Grace left to travel a little further.

As Grace drove along the road, she came across an exquisite castle. She saw the most ornamented gardens and then the most magnificent mountain range. And as she went closer, there in the folds of the mountains, she saw the most beautiful thing of all, along lake which shined like a mirror. Grace was amazed at the beauty of the lake and she could feel a peace come into her heart as she walked closer to the lake.

But Grace still felt sad. There was no friend anywhere to be seen. So she stepped down to the edge of the lake and sat down with her feet in the water. She began to cry soft little tears. The tears flowed down her cheeks and looked like golden streaks on her soft brown skin. The tears grew bigger and the sobs grew louder until she was in a desperate state of weeping, shedding tears all over the place. Her heart had broken and she didn’t know how to fix it. She lay down on the soft green grass weeping and weeping.

Grace felt something soft and cold touching her feet which were still dangling in the water. She moved them a little. But then she felt it again. Slowly she sat up and there in front of her was the strangest most magnificent creature she had ever seen. She gazed at it in amazement. It looked at her from side to side moving its long slender neck and purring the softest most pleasing sound.

"Why are you crying?" it whispered. "Why are you so sad?"

"You need no longer be sad," whispered the creature, "I am here and I will be your friend for as long as you need me."

"But who… are… you?" asked Grace, the words staggering out between her lips.

"Why I am Nessie," replied the creature, "and I live here in Loch Ness."

"But I thought Nessie was just an imaginary creature from some story!" replied Grace.

"That’s what everyone thinks. I just prefer to remain so. I like to be a figment of everyone’s imagination. I like to be called a magical creature and I love all the stories that people make up about me" whispered the creature.

"So why did you come and speak to me?" asked Grace, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"I know you needed me, and I felt your sadness. I know how much you need to be loved and if you let me I will love you like that," he said.

Grace was still amazed she sat still for a long, long time. Then she answered: "You will be my friend! You will make my heart sing! You will help me find my inner peace!" Then her eyes began to glow, her hair began to shine and her heart began to sing!

"Thank you, Nessie", she cried with joy. "From here to the moon and back, who could ever love me like that!"