Vows Of Active Hope

I moved out of my dysfunctional marriage to a new town with 3 daughters 6.7 and 13 years of age. In our new modest home, much smaller than what we were used to, I vowed - 'This home will be a happy home! It is up to me to nurture happiness in small daily moments. I was 37 then and am 64 now. This vow helped me find happiness in challenging moments, practice gratitude and pause for the simpler joys of life. The choices we made brought us closer to nature, pets and build a sense of community in our new home town. Starting afresh meant we had more discernment in our choices. We also paid more attention to moments of sadness as the reality of life and found ways to be together or give space as was needed with courage and vulnerability. We found that we could trust that the dark moments would pass and joy and ease would return. This was our journey from intergenerational trauma of seperation to intergenerational resilience! Making a vow helped to ground myself in possibility thinking and have a sense of autonomy in the interdependence we lived as an intentional community of friends, neighbours and extended family. The dysfunctional broken family is now a warm blended family where we have healthy boundaries based on shared understanding and mutual support.