My Angels and Me

Foreword

Most people spend some part of their lives seeking inner peace, which, more often than not, entails figuring out their place in the world and the purpose of their lives. For many of us, a certain underlying malaise pervades our existence until we find answers in the experience of an unexpected adversity or trauma that connects us with something greater than ourselves. Through that connection, we discover some clarity, and at least a modicum of the peace we had sought.

Like Inez and Francis, my wife and I were gifted with a child who challenged our strength from Day One. Our youngest daughter needed heart surgery early in life and, like Inez, we had to travel to another city with our baby and stay there with her while she had open-heart surgery.

We waited, and waited for many hours, with only hope and faith to sustain us while surgeons stopped our baby’s heart for thirty-nine minutes in order to repair it.

Through it all, I came to believe that what we call “purpose” has much to do with living life as best we can in the moment that we’re in, not hedonistically, with no concern beyond one’s own pleasures, but through the eyes of an aware, silent witness, which I believe is our soul.

But “purpose,” or relating to the world through the soul, can be an elusive thing. One day you are as content as a pussy cat sunning in a window, and the next it seems the angels, if not God himself, have gone off for coffee and left you to struggle on your own. Why? Perhaps it is to remind us that struggle and adversity are a fundamental and necessary part of the human experience, often replete with gifts and rewards as well as challenges.

For me, the hardest times are those in which the ego takes over and rules the day. But I now know there are places I can go for respite, and rituals I can practice that will silence the ego and its petty striving for gratification, and put the soul, the silent witness, back in charge.

Personal peace is scarce, yet the need of it is so paramount. The world needs more people like Inez McPadden, people of compassion and respect, tolerance and appreciation, people who can subdue their egos and put their souls in charge.

Inez reassures us that, one person at a time, and with the help of our guardian angels, we can each find our purpose in the world, and through the inner peace that results, a wider world peace will emerge. She is, indeed, convincing!

This book was written from the heart and meant for the soul. Enjoy!