beautiful moment #3: love, regardless.

unplayed pianos are often by a window,

in a room where nobody loved goes

sits alone with a silent song

somebody bring her home.

My volunteer placement in St. John's has been an absolute joy and blessing to me. I have met so many beautiful souls who have broke my heart with their stories but inspire me daily with their courage. They have all impacted me in a unique way but one young lady's strength and grace has engrained itself in my heart. One day, as I was walking by the music hall in the studio's drop in centre, I heard the melody of "Beautiful" by Christina Aguileira playing from the piano. Following the tune, I walked in the room to find a stunning young lady sitting at the piano, humming along, her fingers dancing on the keys. I started to sing along, 'You are beautiful in every single way. Words can't bring you down." She opened her eyes, smiled and stopped playing. I told her she should keep playing but she said she felt to shy because she had never had professional training or lessons. This shocked me because she sounded so well-trained, but as it turns out, she only plays the songs by ear. I introduced myself and we began to talk. She told me about her childhood, living with an abusive family, being taken from them to live with foster families. As a child, she felt like a burden and outsider as she was juggled from home to home, enduring molestation, abuse and neglect. At 12, she ran away from it all, living on the streets and selling herself to survive, afraid to let go of so many unhealthy and manipulative relationships with men who took advantage of her. Now she is clean, living in a women's shelter and getting back on her feet. I could tell by the bruises on her arms and legs that the journey had not been easy for her and there had been some stumbles and falls along the way. But she got up, brushed herself off and pressed forward.

All along, she used music as an escape to release her emotions, muddle through her thoughts and get herself back on track. She told me that singing "Beautiful" helped remind her that she is beautiful and she was created to be that way. We began to play and sing together and it reminded me that we cannot determine or fathom how precious we are. Not only are we beautiful, we loved more than we could ever possibly understand, regardless of where we come from, have been or are going. And that's what I remind myself of daily: love, regardless.

........

"I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being." - Hafiz