"People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life.  I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on a purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive. " -Joseph Campbell

 Note: weekend essay offered by guest contributor ~liz Sorensen Wessel

His words create connection, opportunities to see beyond the surface, to go deeper into a realm of thought that gives expression to what lives in our hearts. His writing provides a catalyst for traveling untried passages leading us to cross new thresholds and discover how Love's embrace dissolves the barriers of time and space. His is an authentic voice that shares his experience of blissful joy, unfathomable despair, rare courage. He creates a safe space for the intimacy of souls touching souls, as we seek to join with our “better angels.”

  We’ve become time travelers, able to explore the thoughts and hidden worlds of people today and those who lived long before us. His poetry is the language of Love. Here we are serenaded and bequeathed with sweet fragrances; flowerings of our eternal nature. We grown women swoon like school girls transfixed by the allure of romance. His heart offers some of the most brilliant colors, rich textures, translucent hues in agonizing shadows and pure healing light.

His music takes us to a land of immeasurable Beauty. As the butterfly, we shed the accouterments of our body to wing free. Here we are swept away on vibrant waves of converging notes to encounter exquisite vistas. He encourages us to soar to ecstatic peaks and willingly surrender to heartbreak, all for the sake of love.

His images hold mystery, and like his poetry, they reveal the deeper quest of his soul's journey. Through his pictures, he captures a moment in time that will inform memory for generations to come. As artist, he invites us to encounter loveliness, as we glimpse Beauty through his sacred eyes.

  In film, he tells the story of others lives, explores the meaning of suffering, uncovers social justice issues, as we wrestle with our conscience, and sort through life’s half-truths and contradictions. Whether award winning fictional movies, documentaries on end of life, sacred work, or healing hospitals, he inspires caregivers to breathe Love's spirit into their work; to live Love, not fear. A champion of Radical Loving Care he tirelessly encourages us to give our hearts to Love, to be compassionate,  to offer our humanity to others, and especially to ourselves. His name is Erie Chapman and he lives a life of passion.

 Happy birthday Erie (October 31st), as you live this one miraculous moment,  hour,  day of your precious life, may Love return to you tenfold…

With love from our hearts to yours!

Note: all photo's copyrighted, by Erie Chapman