Truth and Cliché

        One of my favourite quotes from Maya Angelou is “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
I am thinking about it particularly today because it is the seventeenth anniversary of the day my father made his transition back to the non-physical dimension.
      When I delved into my photograph file for something to post to FaceBook and mark the day, I discovered this shot of him sitting in his Santa Claus suit, and a cascade of memories flooded my mind.

      Taken in 1987 at the Oak Bay Golf Club in Victoria BC, it is from the early years when owned his own Red Suit. He wore it to all sorts of events every year until 2002, which was his last Christmas.
     I did not live nearby, and rarely experienced my dad as Santa, although weekly phone calls kept me up to date on the activities of the household.
     In 1989 I travelled from Toronto to Nanaimo to celebrate the holidays, and saw him, all dressed up and  heading off to assorted hospitals, service clubs and private homes. He called it Santa-ing, and having learnt to speak in the north of England, it would sound more like Santa-ring.  I returned in 1993, and while I was aware of Dad having a busy schedule, I didn’t pay it much attention. The next time I went to Nanaimo was to attend his memorial in 2003.
     One of the people who spoke that day was the daughter of a family we had know in the 1970s.  I was a teen when she was born, and once I had moved away I had limited contact, the odd Christmas card from her parents, was about all.
     She stood at the lectern and spoke of her memories of Santa visiting her, at home, as a little girl. How exciting it was, and how special she felt, and how this was a memory so dear to her heart. Over the years she had learnt who was her Santa, and so good were the memories and thoughts of how she had felt, that she arranged for Dad to go to her home, and visit with her own children as soon as she could. 
     As she spoke to honour my father, she had nothing to say about the gifts that Santa delivered. She named no stuff or product. What had mattered, and still mattered was how she felt. She and Santa had a connexion. She was receiving a special treat, that she had been chosen for this, singled out for exceptional attention, because she deserved it. She remembered the laughter, the anticipation and the thrill of his visits, and she celebrated having had the chance to see her own children equally delighted.
     The idea that people remember how they felt may have become something of a cliche, and that is because it is true. No matter the people involved, no matter the circumstance, it is true.
      
     This morning when I first looked out of the bedroom window, I was greeted by a black capped chickadee
 bouncing at eye level in the limbs of a naked, winter-ready tree.
     Chickadee symbolism calls in positivity, cheerful nature, flexibility, courage and social behaviour. Chickadees come into the lives of those who surrounded by laughter and joy. I often acknowledge Dad’s presence close to me, with the chickadee this morning I felt him even more present.

     There are many truths stored within a Numerology Chart. They can help you to access Sacred Intentions, and focus on your own Cosmic Wisdom. 
     I have been practising Numerology and supporting clients through life changes since the 1980s.
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