In September 1954, after receiving a terminal diagnosis, 63-year-old Annie Wilkins decided that a big change was in order. After living on the family farm in Maine her entire life, and with all her relatives gone, she decided to hit the road. When a coin toss came up heads, she took it as a sign. Wilkins sold homemade pickles and mortgaged her rundown farm to buy supplies and a … [Read more...]

I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.”  Psalm 55:6. There is a scene in the 1997 movie The Wings of the Dove in which a gentleman at a party confronts his glamorous friend Kate (played by Helena Bonham Carter) and playfully accuses her of having far too much going on … [Read more...]

For two weeks, author Gregg Braden had acclimated his body to altitudes of over 16,500 feet above sea level. Along with 20 other seekers, he had crossed an icy river in hand-hewn wooden barges and hiked up the steep, jagged peaks of the Himalayas to a remote monastery, with one burning question in mind. As he knelt on the cold, wet stones of the temple, Braden posed, through … [Read more...]

Mrs. T, the Welsh wonder tortoise! A 90-year-old tortoise named Mrs. T made world headlines in 2015 after her front legs were gnawed off by rats while she was hibernating in a garden shed. Owner Jude Ryder of Pembroke, Wales, rushed her beloved pet to the vet, terrified she might have to be euthanized.  Though Mrs. T recovered (after a very expensive vet bill), the poor old … [Read more...]

Things can go awry, often when you least expect it. You lose your job or your 401K through no fault of your own. Someone you love gets deported and ends up in a foreign detention center. The politician you voted for, believing that he would make things better for you, ends up doing just the opposite. Challenging things are happening lately, many of which are simply … [Read more...]