No Roar, Yet Giggles: Today is our daughter’s twenty-second birthday. I called her this morning and sang “happy birthday to you” with some silliness added on. She exploded in giggles, which sent waves of joy through the phone line to me. Excited much? You bet. And today was to be her second “first day” volunteering at ROAR, but it was not to be. Cancelled. Why? Ringworm or power outage? No one knew. Despite these continuing disappointments, our daughter remains upbeat. She was off to the The Complete Cat Clinic whose power is on, to stroke, socialize and brush the kitties.

The Gentle Barn: Most of us know the personal pleasures and pain of living with animals. Some of us have witnessed the healing aspects as well. On November 1st, The New York Times covered a story that is worthy of your perusal. The Gentle Barn, in Santa Clarita, California, is a haven for abused farm animals and abused, troubled or disabled humans. Apparently Ellen DeGeneres is a strong supporter so this may not be news to most readers. However, the power of this type of story bears repeating. As with so many of the most successful philanthropic endeavors, one person’s pain gives birth to another’s healing. The healing loop: give and get back and all feel better.

Angels Out There: I am quite convinced that most of the angels in the world reside on this, our very imperfect planet. I have met many and though they may be different from their heavenly cousins, flawed and without the wings, they are here everywhere. As with the founder of The Gentle Barn, the path that lights the way for happiness in the lives of mortal angels rests in the act of giving. They are not without personal messes, at least according to my definition. An angel doesn’t mean a being without the usual panoply of divorces, addictions or annoying idiosyncrasies. None of that magical mythical mentality here. Just simply this: an angel is a person whose life force relieves the sufferings of others, brings the possibility of joy into their lives and for whom those actions alone make the sun shine, the blood flow and the heart beat satisfactorily each and every day of their mortal life.

Heaven Can Wait: There is quite enough work right here for our mortal angels. “Bless ‘em, every one.”

©Jill Edelman, M.S.W., L.C.S.W. 2011