Rise Up!

Now is not the time for complacency.

Many are feeling worn out, ground down, and listless.

Rise up we say!

Rise up and reach for the heavens. Stretch. Literally and figuratively.

Stand with your feet securely on the ground, spread a few inches apart, brace and balance yourself and reach skyward. Extend your entire self and as you do so, exhale.

Make noise and feel the space in between you cells expanding.

Inhale.
Exhale.

Rise up and stretch. Read More


Appointment Not Necessary

Do you remember a space in time when appointments to call a friend or relative were not necessary? A space in time when you simply picked up your telephone and called whomever you wanted, whenever you wanted? If you wanted to chat with a friend, or tell your mother something, you did just that?

When did making an appointment to make a call become ‘a thing’ and better yet, why did making an appointment become the only way to make a call?

It feels counter-intuitive, in a society where everything is available in the moment, on the spot, by the click of a mouse or the touch of a screen to have to schedule a date and time in order to have a conversation with someone. And to schedule, you must text, email, DM, send up smoke signals or use Morse code.

When did we become this kind of society? Read More


Alive or Dead – You Decide

Many of you know I have been connecting and communicating with our loved ones in spirit for decades and many others are surprised, shocked even, when I mention that I talk with the dead. Why do I choose the word dead when those with whom we communicate are very much with us, very much alive, shall we say?

First, please know it is not out of disrespect – many of my favorite, most beloved, people and animals are among the dead. There are all sorts of words or phrases which are used to describe those who are no longer with us on this earth plane or with us in the flesh, such as “crossed over” transitioned or “gone to the other side”. I have chosen the noun dead, as in those who no longer have a life on earth as opposed to existence after death.

Spirit has made it quite clear that a physical form is not necessary to connect and communicate with those in physical form. Quite the contrary, as a matter of fact. Some of my most meaningful conversations are with those who have died and vacated their earthly body. Read More


Collective Sigh of Relief

The events of these past 16 months have tested our patience, resilience and faith.
The effects of the pandemic brought out the best in many and the worst in many.

Many rose to the occasion and achieved their personal best to make a challenging period of time more rewarding and beneficial for themselves and others while many contributed to the angst, frustration and negative newness of it all.

Family and friends suffered losses – of businesses, livelihoods, health and most of all loved ones. We as a collective suffered more deaths as a result of this pandemic than deaths during World War II.

As we approach Memorial Day, “the day of honoring and mourning the military personnel who have died in the performance of their military duties while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces,” I believe it is also fitting to honor those who have lost their lives during the pandemic. I am not alone in my beliefs. Read More


Return If Possible

While reading tributes for a friend’s daughter who recently passed away (and crying my eyes out as I did) I came across this sentence “I wish RIP meant Return If Possible.” That sentence got me to thinking.

The first thought I had was how comforting is that? I am used to seeing Rest In Peace, or Rest In Power but never Return If Possible.

How many of us would want our deceased loved ones to return if possible?

Then I got to thinking, well, they can, and they do. Return that is. We simply need to trust in that process and their ability to do so, and see it for what it is worth. Read More


Hope Springs Eternal

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;

Man never is, but always to be blessed:

The soul, uneasy and confined from home,

Rests and expatiates in a life to come.*

We are an optimistic lot by nature. We tend to hold on to our hope, though in some sobering situations, it may appear ‘things’ can’t possibly turn out the way we wish they would.

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Until We Meet Again

Sweetness and light, peacekeeper and heart of our home – Charlotte Mae GilpinFord.

You stole our hearts the moment we looked into your big brown eyes, twelve and a half years ago, an abused rescue mutt from Tennessee, without a care in the world. You had so much love to give.

“Cat magnet”, “chicken love bug”, and the “great protectress”, you saw to it that we all felt safe and cared for, without even realizing that is what you were doing. Read More


What Will You Leave Behind?

A new year, a new month or a new day typically represents a new beginning. It can serve as an ideal space in time to begin anew. However in order to begin anew you must be ready, willing and able to let go of that which no longer serves you ‒ leave it all behind. Bless it and move along.

While you may be ready and even willing to do that, you may for some unknown reason, be unable to do so. You may continue to repeat that behavior ‒ you know, the one which no longer serves you, but you cannot seem to let go of because you think “next time it will be different.” Albert Einstein once defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Read More


Love is the Antidote

The collective sigh of relief was felt by those around the world and by those in the afterlife.
Yes, we felt it. Yes, we shared it. Yes, breathed it in and exhaled it out, right along with you.

There has been an inordinate amount of pain and suffering, unrest and worry, divisiveness and distrust. And conversely, there has been a considerable amount of love, hope, belief and goodness.

We have been and will continue focusing on goodness, on the light penetrating through the darkness and on illumination giving way to love and fellowship. Fellowship in the sense of brotherly and sisterly love. Read More


High Hopes

We bid adieu to a year which has challenged and pushed us to dig deep within, within to the very best of who we are.

While we were digging in, we were also reaching out with compassion, generosity patience and love.

Congratulations – we’ve made it this far. Some more tattered and threadbare, others, stronger and more determined than they were when 2020 began. Of one thing I am sure, we are all wealthier for and better positioned because of the love we have given and received. Friendship, caring and camaraderie has overflowed throughout this entire year. And for that I am grateful.

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