Heart To Heart From Danny

I want to share with you all a post that Danny made today on his FB. He's currently in the Philippines for a disc golf event and to teach a workshop on disc golf. I felt this post was too beautiful to not share with you all here. We talk a lot about mental health and making a safe place to express ourselves, so I thought I would open it up to you.

He gave me permission to share this:

"While I have been here, I have been feeling so many emotions. Both from the present and the past. From joy to sadness and everything in between. Joy for where I am today. Sadness for where I came from. The rollercoaster of emotions in between. I have had a hard time holding back tears during this trip, thinking about those I care about the most that aren’t here today.

I miss you Mommy. I miss you WahWah. Not a day goes by I don’t think of you and not a thought goes by that doesn’t make me so grateful for the love you both gave me. At the same time I cry harder than I ever have before. You both, and so many others, are always with me and I feel your presence in everything I do. You will continue to inspire me to be the super hero I always wanted to be when I was a child and help everyone around me to know that they are not alone in their own pain and feelings of loss and regret. We all share a piece of our experiences together, whether we know it or not. Pain and sadness is the biggest connection we have and I choose to see it this way because it is simply inevitable that we will suffer something in our lives.

If you feel like you need to cry, cry harder than you have ever in your life. Let pain inspire you to survive. Make your happiness spread like wildfire.

Feel, just feel, everything! And be ok with that. Use it to inspire others to do the same.

—————

To quote my favorite poem…

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness

That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves

Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small

Does not serve the world.

There's nothing enlightened about shrinking

So that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine,

As children do.

We were born to make manifest

The glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us;

It's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,

We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we're liberated from our own fear,

Our presence automatically liberates others.”

————-

I’m not a religious person. I believe in the possibility. And, within my own experiences, I have created my own higher power that helps me wake up everyday and do what I do.

My prayers lie within what I give back to this world before I pass. My successes live in the people I help. My joy is born from your smiles. My pain, hugs the heart I wear on my sleeve.  My tears are for the memories of those I’ve lost. And my rage is for anything that wishes to destroy passion for life and living.

Seems weird to share this after such an amazing trip. But these feelings are just as important to say as anything else. Possibly more. If you EVER feel like you have no one to talk to, know I am here. But never be afraid to put it out to the universe. I know for a fact that I am not the only one that feels this way. It’s statistically impossible.

So much love.

GangGang!