Fostering Growth

By Miles Patrick Yohnke

© 2017 All Rights Reserved.

On the night of Tuesday, March 15, 2016, she was there listening to her brother Case take some of his last breaths. His eyes fully open, though previously closed for all of that day, she didn't know when his time would come but she would be with him. She was close to him during all of his life and was there, in Northern California where he resided, far away from her own home in Waterford, Michigan, for those tough last weeks, those last hardest moments.

My story with Marlene Blaszczyk began one bitingly cold winter morning in February, 2010. It was early and the sun had yet to appear. I was eager to have her publish my articles, poems and quotes. I had been carefully emailing them to her, one at a time, but before I could get all of them sent she phoned me.

My family up until that time had consisted of my Mom and my two older brothers. Within the comfort of her voice, compassion was found, wisdom bestowed and by the conclusion of that first call, it was quite evident that not only did I have a publisher, I now had a sister.

In 1997, Marlene Blaszczyk (a humanitarian visionary ahead of her time) saw the internet (a very complex and revolutionary invention) as a new platform to empower wellness worldwide and thus started MotivateUs.com.

It didn't matter if you were from Love, Saskatchewan, Canada or Cape Town, South Africa. With just one click of the mouse, you could make your anxiety, self-doubt and depression scamper like a frightened mouse under your bed.

Marlene wanted to make change. Marlene wanted to foster hope. Marlene wanted to foster growth. Growth in people. All people. She wanted to create a place, a community that would foster change. Change within everyone. To see everyone at peace. Happy.

Marlene Blaszczyk is a deeply caring person who is strongly compelled to helping others (and all of her fellow authors). Her love has neither boundaries nor limits. She isn't interested in making millions off of the internet, but she is simply content with making other people think, grow and prosper; for people to be comfortable inside their own skin.

Looking back now at what she did for me in those first few months alone is astounding. Through her deep devotion to my work, she has been the bridge connecting my writings to all peoples of the world, reaching areas that even hard-copy books cannot. Therefore, through her gentle nurturing hands and her website, I have been able to help give millions of people the one thing they need above all other things. The one thing we all need. Hope.

She wants everyone to have hope. We both do. It is a shared passion we both foster. Hope is an optimistic attitude of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes related to the events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large.

She wants every person to walk large.

In the years since we first met on that frosty fateful day, she has shared the joy of marrying her long-time partner Hank Janicki, on May 16, 2015.

Like his wife, Hank carries himself with a beautiful spirit, has endless patience, cast-iron reliability and a massively warm heart. He has been by her side right from the beginning. His invaluable knowledge of computer software and the devotion of his own time have not only helped my own work, but everyone else's at MotivateUs.com.

There has been great sadness also.

I had just finished the first draft to an article titled "You Are Valuable." The main theme of that story is about proper parenting. That first draft came with the utmost ease, like it was written from a higher power.

Marlene and I share many similarities, including being forceful at times, to break down mental resistance in others and the common love for our mothers.

It was an historic and moving moment when the heavenly skies parted as the angels led Marlene's Mother, Mary Irene Blaszczyk, from the basement floor to the big room with the best view on the very top floor, on September 12, 2015.

I got word of this occasion shortly after writing that first draft. I've always felt Mary Blaszczyk wrote it for me through her.

Like her daughter Marlene, Mary Blaszczyk's kindness and generosity was always felt. At the age of 91, she still lived independently, taking care of her disabled son Marty, or at best, the two of them took care of each other. She was strong and courageous.

No matter Marlene Blaszczyk's own personal circumstances, she has always had an undying energy, day in and day out. She has never taken nor has she ever been interested in luxury vacations.

In fact, the luxury that we all have had is that she is always there for us, motivating others and bringing out the very best in people.

She wakes up early every morning. She doesn't have to do it. She wants to do it. It's a drive and passion she has.

In my early years with Marlene, you always would find "Love" on the end of an email. Love was found on everything, for everyone. I have to admit, I didn't respond in the same manner back then. There was resistance and an uncomfortable feeling with it all.

I didn't hug either. My family weren't huggers. For the people that knew me before 2010, knew I'd support them in any way, but to say "I Love You" freely or giving them a hug, just simply didn't take place. My close inner circle of friends (which has grown rapidly since then), would be shocked, but that was truly the case. She told me to hug my Mom, to begin a new, fresh cycle in my life.

Marlene Blaszczyk wants everyone to grow. That is why she created her website in the first place.

Growth refers to a positive change in size and/or maturation, often over a period of time. Growth can occur as a stage of maturation or a process toward fullness.

Saying, "I Love You" freely and hugging anyone and everyone, has nurtured my own self and has brought forth an unexpected joy and peace within my being. It has brought a wholeness and fullness.

Marlene Blaszczyk wants every single human being alive to be utilizing their every breath in the most positive way possible; to break down their own resistance, to be there no matter want, however uncomfortable it may be. She wants us to grow in every facet and to have a most rewarding life: one of serving others.

I am deeply indebted to Marlene Blaszczyk and am overwhelmingly grateful for her pushing me every day to be all that I can and should be, by fostering my growth, every step of the way. It was a growth that I had never foreseen coming.

To my adopted sister Marlene (through the love she gave so freely to an unknown stranger in me), I love you and thank you from the bottom to the very top of my heart!

Miles Patrick Yohnke (age 54) photograph by Jenn Diehl for Scarlet Rain Photography.

To learn more about Jenn Diehl, and to contact her, visit: https://www.ensoulimagery.com/