ITEM #1 - READING FOR MAY 5, 2021

Today's reading comes to us from legendary actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn. Since I found out late yesterday, that her birth date was May 4th (1929), I asked her if she wanted to come forward today and provide us with a universal message. I honestly was not sure if she would say yes, but she did, and I was happy to experience her warm and graceful energy.

When I was working for a renowned Children’s Hospital, I met Audrey's son, Sean. Sean and his brother had created the “Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund,” a non-profit charity to continue their mother's humanitarian work for children. The Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund and the Children’s Hospital I worked for, entered into a partnership to establish a program in Audrey's name that would fund the medical treatment of children who were victims of abuse and neglect. Sean and I worked together to produce several fundraising events for the program, and since that time I have felt deeply connected with Audrey.

Audrey was born Audrey Kathleen Ruston in Brussels, Belgium. Her father, a banker, deserted the family when she was only eight years old. While attending school in England, the Germans invaded Poland at the start of World War II. Audrey's mother took her to live with relatives in Holland, thinking they would be safer there. The Germans soon invaded Holland, though, leading to one of her brothers being taken to a labor camp, an uncle and cousin being executed, and forcing her and her mother to struggle just to stay alive. Audrey suffered from malnourishment, acute anemia, and respiratory issues during the war, which impacted her health in later years.

Audrey had her first starring role in Roman Holiday (1953), playing Princess Ann, a European princess who escapes the reins of royalty and has a wild night out with an American newsman, played by Gregory Peck. I loved this movie! Audrey won her first and only Academy Award for her performance. Her other famous movie roles included, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, My Fair Lady, Sabrina, Charade, Funny Face and Wait Until dark.

After she filmed Wait Until Dark in 1967, Audrey stopped acting for a while. She chose to spend her time with her two sons and work for the international children's relief organization UNICEF. She attributed her work with UNICEF to her childhood experience of hunger and fear during the war. She was named the organization's goodwill ambassador (representative) in 1988 and she worked in the field, nursing sick children and reporting on the suffering she witnessed. Audrey traveled to Somalia in 1992, and her account focused worldwide attention on the famine and warfare that would eventually kill thousands in that West African country.

Audrey made her transition back into The Light on January 20, 1993, at the age of 63.

For our reading, Audrey asked me to use my Angel Guide Oracle deck and she drew the “Composure” card. One of the first things I noticed about the card was the sword (only partially seen here) laying on the ground in front of the Angel. And, this is key to Audrey’s message to us.

She says that it is important to maintain our composure. While there are so many life-altering events happening in the world, she says it is vital to keep focused and calm. She asks us to tend to our lives, tend to our emotions, and tend to our health. We cannot be our best, nor do our best, when we do not first tend to our needs.

Yet, she sees that many of us are not fully focused on our lives for we are investing valuable time and energy into what is happening in the lives of others. We are distracting ourselves away from any pain and/or fear we are feeling in our own lives.

In particular, Audrey sees how the lives of the politicians that are being scrutinized and analyzed on the world stage are infiltrating our minds and hearts. She asks us to be conscious witnesses to the unfolding political turmoil, but to not engage. It may be tempting for us to want to hold up our swords of judgement and anger against the politicians, but our swords add to the turmoil, and create a larger energetic imbalance on the planet.

Audrey encourages us to sit down on a regular basis, compose ourselves, and pray for the highest and greatest good to be granted to us individually, and collectively. And, she reminds us that when we tend to what lies within us, we put forth our best in the world.

Thank you Audrey!

FACT: Audrey Hepburn’s final film role was as an Angel in the Stephen Spielberg movie Always (1989). It was a role in which the character's grace and serenity reflected the image Audrey had maintained throughout her 40-year acting career. She was paid one million dollars for her performance and, in true angelic fashion, donated every penny to UNICEF.