One person's belief in my gifts and greatness can set miracles into motion. - cw

2008 has been a year of so many surprises and so many wonders. As I look back, I am struck by the people who have supported me, believed in me, and who, in a variety of ways, have chosen to play with me.

Here is one example:

There is this amazing woman who I have known in some measure for years. She and I experienced life as southern girls/women in Birmingham, Alabama. We've walked unique paths, trail-blazed our way through the world in off-beat and impassioned ways, and we've seen life through the lenses of two different generations.

I have come to admire and adore this woman because of the courageous way she shows up in her life, because of her passion for life-long learning, growing, and evolving, and because she has that special something.

When I first approached Marilyn about my wild idea to write my first book, The Woman's Field Guide to Exceptional Living, she was able to see clearly past the unpolished writer and straight into the heart of a woman passionate about helping others. She said just the right words at just the right time to both encourage me and make me step up to the plate.

That support at a critical moment helped me to move forward rather than to shrink back. It truly set miracles into motion.

I pause today to appreciate the impact of wonderful people in my life, like Marilyn McGuire, and to set my sights on being that kind of person, that kind of miracle-maker, for others in 2009.