Wow, well said! Thank you for your insightful reply, it reminds me of an afterthought I had regarding trust. Can I trust myself to place my happiness and well being in my own hands? Forgiveness and acceptance, as you've identified are only the beginning, it's with rigorous discipline that I feel a tremendous need to be reminded that to have faith is to allow fear to dissipate. This is where I am at, a balancing act between having faith and being afraid of suffering. As acceptance is the first step, I'm curious to explore what follows and what I can do to maintain serenity as I venture forth throughout and beyond this existence.