In life we always need guides to help or coach us through things especially when we find that we lack the answers to a particular problem.  These could be called mentors and if you happen to have one or two in your life, you may consider yourself quite lucky to have them.  My younger sister calls me her spiritual advisor and I always tell her that is a big title for someone that just listens to her and repeats what she just said.  I was reading a magazine article on my flight home from a business trip a couple of days ago and it spoke about famous people and who their mentors were.  Among them Gloria Estefan, the international singer spoke quite eloquently about her grandmother who left a lasting impression in her life as she was her greatest mentor. I as well had the great privilege of having my grandmother who also fulfilled a mentor type role in my life.  Interestingly, during the course of her existence I never thought about her with a title of a mentor, until after she passed away and then I realized how much she really had taught me while guiding me in her own maternal ways.  I remember very fondly that we could laugh about anything together, we would listen to music and she would tell me stories about her youth that would captivate me for hours on end.  From her I learned what strength and determination looked like, as well as, how a kind heart and a big smile could attract so many people to gravitate towards you.  My mentor taught me to not take myself so seriously at a very young age and to love nature enough to take care of it, as it took care of us.  I also learned the meaning of respect and to be compassionate for we never know when we need someone to bestow that upon us.   This particular great mentor in my life provided me with a great road map on how to proceed through my existence.  I just did not realize it until much later in my life that this was what she had carefully planned and executed.  If you have a mentor in your life, take the time to acknowledge them and tell them how much they have meant to you.  Conversely, if you have the opportunity to be such a role model for someone else, then give freely of yourself and allow yourself to be the guiding light to someone that will one day be filled with gratitude that you fulfilled this role in their life.