Re-reading old favorites

Good Saturday morning to you all!
One of the joys of my life is returning to my bookshelves and retrieving the connection to words previously read, finding therein more understanding, more depth, more . . . well . . . everything that I had loved about that particular book in the first place.
Recently I started re-reading "Women Who Run With The Wolves" by Clarissa Pincola Estes, Ph. D.  The book was given to me as a Christmas present from a co-worker, Donna, in 1992.  When I opened it the other day, I discovered I had kept the card that had accompanied the gift, signed "I love you, Donna".  She and I shared a lot of experiences together - working for a property management division of a major corporation near the Orange County Airport.  She was our receptionist and such a conscientious and dedicated one, too.  We became fast friends and took trips to Ashland, Oregon, to attend plays presented by the Oregon Shakespeare Company.  (My devotion to this place and this acting company will undoubtedly be the subject of many of my posts.)  We didn't see much of each other after her employment was terminated except that I did attend her wedding which was a joyous occasion to be sure.  We exchanged a few emails and, thank God, I did write to her to tell her of the impact on my life of her generous gift.
And so, back to the subject, this amazing book.  Shortly after I started reading it the first time, my employment was shockingly and unexpectedly ended, just two months shy of 16 years of employment.  So I had many hours to sit, read, and wonder at the wisdom found on it.  In fact, I was so taken by it that I wrote to several of my women friends, asking them to attend a book-reading group at my condo in Irvine.  Amazingly, that group continued in various sizes and shapes for about nine months.  Each time we got together, we found another nugget, another morsel and sometimes, a huge piece of our selves, our women's lives, that we had not noticed or acknowledged previously.  I have read it many times since although not for probably 3-4 years.  So it was with special delight that I opened to the first chapter and started soaking it all in again. 
For those of you familiar with the book, you will recall that one of the first stories is about Bluebeard, the demon of a man, who ultimately is killed by the brothers of the young woman whom he has enticed into his castle.  As far as I can remember, my earlier readings focused on the situations in my life that had much the same feel.  This time, as she emphasizes in no uncertain terms, I came face to face with the reality that there is this "demon" within me who would entice me in, urge me to ignore my intuition and then threaten me with death. 
How does this show up in my life today?  Most recently, my hesitation and yes, outright fear in attempting to set up and start this blog.  Previously, when, after arranging for the publication of a book of my writings, prose and poetry, ("From The Inside Out - Living Life As Women Do") I could not bring myself to take the next step to actively market it and so copies languish in a box in the trunk of my car.  Before that, many, many years ago, giving up on singing.  (I don't have a huge talent and I have a huge love of singing!) 
And so, dear readers, I come to this morning, this moment in time, more aware, seeing with clearer eyes and hearing with wide-open ears, whatever it is that my soul's journey, this Life, has to offer me today.  I intend to be as receptive as I can be.  That is my goal for this day.
I close with deep respect and reverence for our connection to each other - to all living things - and trust that your day, too, will bring you joy, growth, outloud laughter and love, love, love!
Thanks for it all!