I'm a home body, for the most part. I can't help it -- I like to stay home, where I feel safe. However, I also like to travel and it's good to get away sometimes. Last month I drove over the pass to La Jara, south of Alamosa, to visit my oldest son Ryan, his wife Trish and my grandson Vorian, who is 2 1/2 years old. It was actually our belated Christmas (in January) because inclement weather made it difficult to get together for the holidays this year.

What a delight it is having a grandchild. Vorian is at the age where he talks constantly and we can actually carry on a somewhat intelligent conversation. He has grasped an uncanny understanding of life already for someone who is still a toddler. It blows me away.

Being 2 1/2 has its moments, for sure. There are times when he locks horns with his parents over daily concerns. He is an independent little soul and can wreak havoc when he doesn't always get his way. But he does live in the moment, and that is something we all need to do in order to stay balanced and present.

In the last few months I've come across the word "clarity" a lot, and every time I see that word I get the feeling I'm supposed to pay attention. Clarity means "clearness." To clarify is to make something clear ... to focus on it so that there is no question as to the meaning. Sometimes I think in order to have clarity, we first need to have perspective.

I gain perspective when I travel some place or can see something from a different point of view. Putting distance between myself and what I’m used to clarifies the situation. Distancing myself from home and what I’ve grown comfortable with often allows me to appreciate something different or to gratefully embrace what I take for granted.

Lately I have been gifted with new perspectives on a lot of things. My life is far more than the role you see each month as Star Beacon editor. I have experience in a lot of different things and new interests have come into being. I have started to look at the world in a different way than I used to.

It is important to have a wide perspective, to see things from a total point of view rather than just from one little corner of the universe. There are many ways of looking at things, and beliefs can change, or at least give way to tolerance of other people's speculative philosophies.

I have surrounded myself and my work with lightworker people, most of whom are the most loving, understanding people on the planet. I am so happy to have so many lightworker friends, and to live in an area of the country where there are so many of us coming together. It seems that as 2012 and 2013 approach at what seems to be an accelerated speed, our need to gather and bring clarity to ourselves and others is more important.

I brought my collection of wooden puzzles to Vorian's house when I visited him. He always enjoys playing with Grandma Ann's puzzles, which I made for my kids back in the mid-'80s. At 2 1/2, Vorian has become adept at putting the pieces together and making the picture "clear." I am so proud of him.

Life is sometimes a puzzle, too. We have all the pieces in front of us, but it's a challenge finding where to place them. I taught Vorian to put all the pieces in front of him, and to start with the "corners" -- going from the outside inward.

As we grow closer to clarity, it helps us find the meaning of it all. I'll be home now for a while, but once the warmer weather moves in, the travel bug might lure me out to get an even deeper perspective on life.

May all your travels be enlightening.

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