The boy who changed the world

Our darling Alex,

I'm sitting here with coffee in hand, watching the airport slowly come to life all around me. There is a little truck filling up the plane, and directly above, a half-moon shines dimly behind drifting clouds. 
The sun is not yet up, but already I've thought about you a hundred times. I feel you everywhere; you never left us. 
I turn my head just in time to see a plane rumbling noisily down the runway and gracefully lift off into the early morning sky - it is your daddy. 
Suddenly, a memory flashes into my mind. I'm back in the church, with you by my side. And as the Lord's Prayer wafts gently out over the pews, I close my eyes and say a prayer of my own...a prayer for the little boy with a gigantic heart. 
You taught me that we can be much stronger than we ever thought possible, and frankly, my darling, I've never met anyone braver or stronger than you...and doubt I ever will again. 
You are bigger than your body gave you credit for, and because of you, I now believe in angels and tiny miracles. 
You laughed when they gave you an hour, and you laughed at a week, a month, a year. Only now, I realise that you had something else in mind; that defiantly cheeky smile of yours said everything we needed to know. The smile that lit up a room will light up my heart, forever! 
We have been changed by you, and will never be the same again. 
The world is just that little bit brighter, that little bit warmer, and all because of you... 
Wherever we go, and whatever we do, you will always be carried in our hearts, safe and warm inside. 
Thank you, little bird, for being the sunlight in our dawn, our angel in the snow. 

Always...

Wheels and wings

Everything slowed down as his body catapulted through the air. Memories of childhood dreams, first loves and lazy holidays flashed in front of his eyes faster than the speed of light. A life lived condensed down to a movie of seconds.
Was this it?
Back broken, he fought with every single breath that could be mustered through punctured lungs, completely unaware of the most incredible feat he would bring to life in a few years.
The tiny engine spluttered into action as some pre-flight checks were made. A couple of minutes later his microlight lifted gracefully into the sky and the 12,000-mile airborne adventure began.
Through buffeting winds and torrential rain, he continued on his quest over shark-infested water and never-ending deserts.
Looking down from 5,000ft, with nothing but space all around, he soared high above the limitations of his wheelchair and was as free as a bird.
Cruising gently over 19 countries, he took every single binding belief, tore them into a hundred pieces and used them as fuel for his epic journey.
When we take our bodies for granted, we forget what truly spectacular things we can achieve if we only put our minds to it.
Dave Sykes is living proof that the only restrictions we have are those we choose to believe in.

Don't forget to comment, share and follow. Much love.

10

You have seen me before, I’m certain.

Turn on any news channel or spot me on YouTube. If you look closely enough, I am gently floating down towards the earth. One by one, each of my four white corners lift up and flip me over. Every now and then the reflection of bright red flame illuminates my side, causing me to momentarily glow like a star.

All around me is a deafening sound of glass smashing, steel breaking and sirens screeching.

The last thing I remember was lying on a desk in a non-descript plastic in-tray waiting to be filed later this morning….Then everything was turned upside down.

As I am slowly carried along by the breeze, I can’t help but wonder why.

I am surrounded by heroes and angels.

Fluttering down I realise that just as I can be recycled and change form, so too can love. Love is energy, and energy never dies. It will always remain and fill the Earth, forever alive.

On this, the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, I pray for peace. And to all the heroes and angels, I give you my heart.

Bricks and brooms

Missiles were launched, glass was shattered and blood fell to the earth. Energy was thrown out with such ferocity, everyone watching felt the fallout. The fires burnt a hole in my heart.

I must have watched hours of footage until that 30 second clip flashed up and gravity sent a tear rolling down my face towards my jaw which was now uncomfortably resting on the floor. Being helped up off the cold pavement, I felt a sense of relief and hope for the bloodied boy. Compassion shone through….then as his bag was unzipped and became a free-for-all, the questions began to escape.

Was there really any hope left? Did everything I believe about human beings really exist at all? Where was the love and brotherhood that I so vehemently champion on a daily basis? I was as dazed and confused as the pixelated face on my TV screen. This really can’t be our fate, can it? I went to bed that night with a deep sense of disillusionment and hurt…completely lost.

Enter stage left, hope.

People began piling onto the streets carrying nothing but brooms and compassionate love. Members of the community started pulling together to help others in any way they could to rebuild what was broken. It was time to support and heal, to connect and grow.

Things have calmed down a lot and the dust is slowly settling. Out of all the craziness of the past week, I am left with one thing. Light will always shine through. Love is the strongest weapon on this planet and we are all fully armed. That’s where hope lies.

To every individual who lost something this week, my love reaches out to you. That is what family is for after all.

Blue Spandex

‘With great power, comes great responsibility’

Uncle Ben – Spider-man

There is that beautiful scene in Superman where our hero flies right up out of the Earth’s atmosphere and using all his incredible strength and speed, circles our planet to reverse its spin. This turns back the clock and he is able to get to his beloved Lois just in time to save her life. She never finds out what her true love did for her on that sunny afternoon.

I have always been captivated by the power of love and what it can force us to do whether we like it or not. It makes mothers lift up cars to save babies and people run into burning buildings to rescue a perfect stranger.

Heroes come in many shapes and sizes and even in the absence of blue lycra or a truth lasso, we are amazing. We can use our super-powered hearing to really listen to someone who desperately needs to be heard, and tune our X-ray vision to look right into the heart of someone who is hurting and needs a hug. Hell, we can even use our super strength to push through limitations and knock them right out of our way.

None of us are bulletproof and at various points in our life we feel the impact of emotional shrapnel crashing into us, sometimes unexpectedly. Sure, they leave scars, but the wounds remain skin deep. We are stronger and more heroic than we give ourselves credit for.

And sometimes the change from zero to hero can happen faster than you can run into a phone booth and spin around.

Now, more than ever, this planet needs superheroes.

So what is your special power?