I discovered CBC  radio one day when my newly adopted kitten was playing with the station dial. One hour of Morningside and I was hooked. That was thirty years ago.
Last  September, while listening to “The Current”, I heard an excerpt from  “The Peter Diaries”. It was an interview with Dr. Peter Jepson-Young.  Peter died of AIDS in November, 1992, at the age of 34.

His mother, Shirley Young, also part of the interview, now runs The Peter Foundation (created to help AIDS victims have a better quality of life). She shared an affirmation Peter wrote while at Tofino Beach on the west coast of Vancouver, after he’d gone blind.

I thought it was beautiful and would like to share it with you.

I accept and absorb all the strength of the earth, to keep my body hard and strong.
I accept and absorb all the energy of the sun, to keep my mind sharp and bright.
I accept and absorb all the life force of the ocean, to cleanse my body and bring me life.
I accept and absorb all the power of the wind, to cleanse my spirit and bring me strength of purpose.
I accept and absorb all the mystery of the heavens, for I am part of that vast unknown.
I believe God to be all these elements and the force that unites them.
And from these elements, I have come.
And to these elements, I shall return.
But the energy that is me
Will not be lost.

Peter’s mother says this prayer every morning.