By Michael Avery
Giving is not limited to holidays and birthdays. Every moment arrives with a potential opportunity to serve life and give from the heart. Some, as this short parable demonstrates, are willing to go the extra mile for love.
Category: Stories from the Heart Page 3 of 9
Reading Time: < 1 minute
Reading Time: 2 minutes
By Pichaya Avery
An unforgettable experience on New Year’s Eve in 2011 taught me a valuable lesson about the importance of carefully following the Inner Teacher’s guidance. After I kissed my children goodnight, I read a few passages in a book about love and retired for the night. I tossed and turned. Feeling restless, I was unable to sleep until suddenly, at midnight, a strong inner nudge prompted me to check my Facebook page. There was only one message, an urgent request from a friend in Jordon asking me to respond as soon as possible.
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Guest Post by Gloria Lionz
I love surprising friends with random gifts. I keep an eye out for small, spiral bound journals for one dear friend who has a daily spiritual practice of recording dreams and insights. They’re her “golden ticket” to self-reflection, growth and joy.
Gifts show up when they show up. Poems do the same.
Reading Time: 7 minutes
Guest Post by Sammie Thompson
It was January 17, 2023. Having enjoyed a lovely holiday visit with family in the midwest, I was now fully loaded with supplies and a AAA well-planned route to Austin, Texas. My destination was to attend another Clergy Retreat because the previous year’s event had been so spiritually enlightening and uplifting. The Trip Tik had information about interesting stops en route and I had extra days to allow for some exploring and smelling roses on the way.
Reading Time: 4 minutes
By Michael Avery (featuring Sharon Sheppard, an animal communicator)
Shadow’s Gift
I sometimes sing HU to the feral cat at the river where we feed jays and squirrels. Shadow, featured in the image above, loves attention as much as she loves the food people bring for her. I befriended Shadow more than ten years ago, when she was first abandoned, and fed her each morning while working at the water treatment plant adjacent to the park. Winters are especially difficult for Shadow. I grew to admire her survival skills and strength of will. She has been an inspirational teacher.
Reading Time: 4 minutes
By Michael Avery
At the age of twenty-eight, I moved to Honolulu where I lived for the better part of a year behind the International Marketplace in Waikiki. Seven years had passed since I’d read my first book on out-of-the-body travel, The Tiger’s Fang, by Paul Twitchell. I was about to learn more.
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Guest Post by Gloria Lionz
October 2024 was my 19th wedding anniversary. Eight anniversaries have come and gone since my spouse was able to celebrate it with me. Alzheimer’s changed our lives. This year was the first time since he was diagnosed with the disease that I decided to mark the occasion by dining out. It felt like it was “time” to openly share our love. My sister graciously agreed to accompany me and help create some new memories.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Guest Post by Dennis Ernst
& Song by Michael Avery
Walking or hiking in nature has been my passion for many years. I learned early on that it was one of the healthiest things a person can do to improve health and well being. It doesn’t matter what your beliefs are, everyone can recognize and relate to the beauty of nature and feel uplifted by it.
While hiking in or near the Navajo Reservation, I became aware of one of their fundamental beliefs—”the Beauty Way”. Here are some words from a tribal elder:
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Guest Post by Dennis Ernst
The seasons of my life were passing quickly and I found myself late in fall. Days, like leaves blown from their tree, let go and followed the wind as it gusted and swirled into the future. Gone was the healthy image I had embodied, and the robust outdoorsman I once was had become a shadow of the past.
In the present moment, I had become a well-grayed senior with an unsteady gait, rambling along. Even the cool morning air seemed different now. As I scanned the surroundings, I noticed that things were changing fast.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Guest Post by RJ McBride
The story behind this entry goes back to 1985 when I was living on Orcas Island in Washington State. I had the honor of meeting and talking with Richard Bach, author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
Our conversation centered around my desire to become a published author and his devastating experiences with literary agents. His famous book was also rejected by eighteen publishers before being accepted.