"Ho-nim-myo" - From this Moment Forth...Each Moment Begins A New Life

My heart is filled with appreciation for you. 

Yesterday I felt the spirit of "Ho-nim-myo" (meaning "from this moment forth") the Buddhist phrase our practice uses to signify that this moment is the decisive eternal moment. The past does not matter. The present and the future are all now. Each moment begins life anew. Each moment can be full of hope, vibrancy and energy.   

Yesterday, all day long, I could feel the Daimoku you have chanted for my son Ben and me...and I felt as if all of you who have written me were right by our sides all day long. Many of your emails came to me in times when I needed them most, when the way seemed impossible and my heart was so full. Each and every one of you are forever embedded in my heart.

Isn't it amazing really? Every day I chant to write a blog that touches your hearts...that will be exactly what you need to hear so you can get back in front of the Gohonzon, connect even more deply to Sensei and the SGI, wipe the tears from your eyes and say "YES. I can do this! NOW I can do this!" And your words come to me and touch my heart in exactly the same way. 

Yesterday was the first day in more than six months that Ben and I were able to spend time outside in fresh air.  

He is now living in the town where I was born, Evanston Illinois. My family moved from there when I was a baby, but I have always loved this liberal gem of a town on the shore of Lake Michigan. Together, we drove the beautiful blossom-filled streets, and explored this new world. 

It was a warm, breezy sunshiny day. I took him to a place I've loved since I was a child, right by the lake, and we sat together taking in the beauty. 

I looked up and every cell in my body rose together in gratitude for the life of this boy - this boy who can feel the sun on his face and the breeze on his skin - this boy who can write, and learn, and laugh and love. And I could feel your Daimoku. I could feel each and every Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. And in the silence I let tears of appreciation roll from my eyes. 

And we went to the beautiful Evanston Art Center - on the lake by the lighthouse -  where they were having a show on Art Therapy - of all things. 

We wandered outside and found ourselves in the garden between the building and the dunes and the lake. And we just sat on the bench looking at the water - two sunlight and warmth-starved souls soaking it up for the first time in forever. It has been a long winter. But as we know, "Winter always turns to spring."

Next we headed to the beach and soaked in the energy of the earth while laying in the sand ~  with nowhere pressing to go and nothing to do...just us and the sky and the birds, the water and kite-flying children...on a Sunday before memorial day weekend (the official start of summer in America) - when all is quiet and calm. I felt that all is possible - everything is possible - I can touch my dreams. We can all make the impossible possible. 

The day was winding down and we followed it. 

And we found ourselves again outside in the sun at a restaurant called, I think, "Lyfe." Where we had food that tasted like the best food we'd ever had. Ben says Evanston is like Disneyland, only better. Everything enchants him. Imagine - bike lanes painted green that cars can't drive in - and public garages with plug-ins for electric cars...and street signs saying "You are beautiful." Here he can have a fresh start towards a beautiful future. 

So I thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and kind, kind words. We truly are a Gakkai Family. We are fortunate beyond words to all have each other. 

If I can be here today writing these words to you today - YOU can achieve whatever happiness you wish. 

Thank you my friends.