Bottle #18, Davis Trail, Shovel Gateway, Davis, California, USA

My heart sings when I breath in fresh, cool air.

My heart sings along with the birds in the trees.

A very small thing that had a huge impact on my life was the polio virus that left me paralyzed from the neck down when I was 18 months old. Though I regained the use of some of my muscles, I never walked again; I use a power wheelchair for mobility. My life was changed for the better by this tiny thing that couldn't be seen by the naked eye. I have had opportunities and insights that I would never have had if I had not had this major shift in my realities. I consider it to have been a fortunate encounter, though there are many people who cannot understand this and might say that I am in denial. Nope, it ain't denial, but I'd have to tell my life story to explain further.

A very magical thing happened to me when I was 20. On a road trip, we stopped at the top of Look Out Mountain outside of Denver, Colorado in the USA. I met my doppelganger there! She was born on the same day and year as me. She looked like me. And she had also had polio, though not at the same age. It was a brief encounter and we were both so stunned at the event that we didn't think to exchange contact information. I think we were frightened by the idea of staying in touch, figuring that we'd magically bump into each other again if it was meant to be.

My gift to human harmony is a living example of riding change, rather than fighting it. Peace comes from floating a river in the direction that it flows, rather than swimming against it.