Revelation

Chopping the carrots,

laughing and chatting with

my new best friend,

I suddenly realized :

I am standing beside

a man,

and, for the first time, ever,

I feel safe.

At Real Toads, Mama Zen would like us to think of the safest place we've ever been, and write about it in 53 words or less. My mind zipped right to this moment. 

After walking through the Siberian wasteland of the heart, which had been  traumatized and then abused for three decades, I had walked in the door of the coffeehouse and found Home. 

Brock Tully (now a sought after motivational speaker and founder of the World Kindness movement in Vancouver, B.C.), and the wonderful alternative folk who frequented Brock and Friends, accepted me with warmth. They loved me gently until I was ready to love myself. My life turned onto a kinder, gentler path because of them. It was one of the most significant turnings of my life. My most cherished friends date from those days in the early 80's, when I finally found the members of my tribe.