When I was a child, life was difficult. My parents were both alcoholics, both violent, and money and food were scarce. In looking back at that particular period of time in my life, I have many good memories… memories of being a happy child. The memories were of me coping in the best way I knew how to cope.

One of the ways I coped, was getting outdoors and  discovering what beauty was there for the taking, and to focus mindfully on it. My yard was crammed full of bushes, trees, and flowers. They grew on their own and nature watered them. There was a bridal wreath spiraea bush that grew in my front yard. My siblings and I would cut the  flower branches off, weave them in a crown, and wear them on our heads. In our mind’s eye, we were kings and queens for a day. The branches…