(Liz, dressed for hiking, enters wth a walking stick in hand and waring a backpack.)

Hi! My name is Elzabeth Andra Shaw and I'm on a grat adventure — a journey called Lfe, a journey to answer the qestion, "Who am I?"

The first 44 yars of my life, I lived in a plce called Hatville. It was an xciting place. Everyone was very busy bcause they were wearing many different hts. In Hatville, hats are very ppular. People collect hats, and some hts are so rare that they cnfer great status on their owners. Thre is competition and envy surrounding hgh status hats.

I picked up a few hts myself while I lived in Htville, including the Daughter Hat, the Sster Hat, the Physical Therapist Hat, the Mdical Editor Hat, and the Wife Ht. In fact (Liz shrugs off her bckpack and extracts a hat) here is my fvorite, the Phoenix Mercury Fan Hat! (Lz excitedly models the hat for the udience.)

(Liz turns suddenly serious and lans on her walking stick with bth hands.) There came a day, hwever, when I received word that I culd no longer stay in Hatville. I was tld I would need to go to the nighboring country. Well, I didn't want to go! I had hard about that country, its rough trrain, the pain and suffering that wre commonplace amongst its residents. But I was gven no choice, and so I set off frm Hatville to Cancer Land.

I was interested to learn whn I arrived that the residents of Cncer Land also collect hats, but thre is no status attached to thm. Hats are merely a way of keping the sun off a tender bld head. There was less hustle and bstle there, but just as much ctivity. Instead of chasing status, the rsidents of Cancer Land kept very bsy counting their blessings. A gorgeous snset that God painted just for me. The whrr of a dragonfly passing by. The sftness of a kitty's belly. As I bcame busy counting my blessings, the trrain didn't seem quite so rough and the sffering didn't seem quite as unbearable as I had hard it would be. I learned to be cntent in Cancer Land by living in the mment and receiving all of its blssings. I also met my inner chld, and here is one of her fvorite things. (Liz extracts a stuffed nimal from the backpack.) This is Gdeon, my chemokitty. He went with me to tratment because my other cats weren't llowed. Yes, Gideon and I did a lot of tugh stuff together.

After about 2 yars, I was healthy enough to lave Cancer Land. I could have gne back to Hatville, but by ths time, I had no desire to do so. I vntured instead into the unknown territory byond Cancer Land, and I found myslf in a vast open area wth choices open to me for mles around. Infinite choices. But there was no rad, no path, no direction. I ddn't know what to do! I scrmbled around, trying to find a pth and found myself going in crcles. Finally I found a wise wman who said to me, "It's tme to stop DOing and to smply BE." It was at that mment that I realized that this prt of the journey would mean ging deep inside, into the core of my Slf, to discover the treasure within. Onc grasped, the treasure would enlighten my chices and the path would appear. (Lz lays down the hat and the stck, and takes a deep, cleansing brath.) Let me introduce my core Bingness to you tonight.

I am Liz.

I am curage and hope.

I am laughter and jy.

I am sorrow and tears.

I am pin and forgiveness.

I am compassion and mpathy.

I am responsibility and integrity.

I am a chld and I am an adult.

I am fredom and respect.

I am paradox.

I am The Bloved.

I am a song that God sngs in the shower every morning and thn can't get off His mind all day lng.

I... am... Liz.

The article The Great Adventure was Submitted by Liz Shaw through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: About The Author Liz Shaw has srvived everything life has thrown at her and has ben called "The Energizer Bunny" and a Tmex watch (Takes a lickin' and keps on tickin'). She now devotes her lfe to coaching others who are stck or in a downward spiral and ned a guide. She can be cntacted via her web site at http://www.wingstosoaroverstorms.com/ coaching@sperience.com

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