Loving Liz

Preston and Liz Palmer

When I introduced Preston and Liz to each other at our favorite restaurant some years back, I didn’t realize I was setting in motion an epic love story! Liz recently posted this letter from Preston and gave me permission to share it.

BONUS: Click here to see the secretly spectacular and spectacularly secret wedding of Preston and Liz Palmer.

Here is what Liz wrote:

This morning I woke up and found an envelope on the shelf next to my toothbrush … It contained a letter from my husband and these earrings. The letter said:

Lizzy, I went for a ride after my meeting last night. Driving aimlessly for a while, I ended up at Hard Times Cafe, where a sweet, wrinkly old Native American Indian woman with a braid in her hair approached me with a small collection of earrings. Her husband was sitting outside on the curb making more by hand. I told her I didn’t really see any that I thought my wife would love. She asked in a way you can imagine an old Indian woman in her wise voice would ask, “What is it your wife loves?”

I thought for a second and responded with reserved pride in my cleverness, secretly hoping to stump

A Very Good Day in Chelseaville

We all know people (or are people) who have struggled mightily just to keep their head and hopes above water until something breaks their way. It’s always heartwarming to see someone who is deserving of a break to get one.

Well, in the above video, a waitress named Chelsea had a very good start to her shift . . . and it kept getting better and better! The best part about stories like this is that

A Thank You Letter to a Grocery Store Angel

This blog post from Andrea’s blog, True Stories of a Midwest Yankee, powerfully illustrates the impact that a simple act of kindness can have on the lives of strangers. Let it serve as a reminder to stay alert for opportunities to help others. You are quite literally surrounded by opportunities to be somebody’s angel for the day; all you have to do it is hold the intention that you wish to help and stay aware for the right time to step forward.

 TO THE WOMAN BEHIND ME IN LINE AT THE GROCERY STORE

Dear woman behind me in line at the grocery store,

You don’t know me. You have no clue what my life has been like since October 1, 2013. You have no clue that my family has gone through the wringer. You have no clue that we have faced unbelievable hardship. You have no clue we have been humiliated, humbled, destitute.

You have no clue I have cried more days than not; that I fight against bitterness taking control of my heart. You have no clue that my husband’s pride was shattered. You have no clue my kids have had the worries of an adult on their shoulders. You have no clue their innocence was snatched from them for no good reason. You know none of this.

What you do know is I tried to buy my kids some food and that the EBT machine was down so I couldn’t buy that food. I didn’t have any cash or my debit card with me. I only had my SNAP card. All you heard was me saying “No, don’t hold it for me. My kids are hungry now and I have no other way of paying for this.” You didn’t judge me. You didn’t snarl “Maybe you should have less kids.” You didn’t say “Well, get a job and learn to support yourself.” You didn’t look away in embarrassment or shame for me. You didn’t make any assumptions at all.

What you did was you

What a Gift! What a Miracle!

The next time you sit down with a loved one, challenge yourself to appreciate them like never before. Here’s how.

Imagine that earlier in the day you got the news that your loved one had passed away suddenly. If that had actually happened, you would have given all you owned to sit with them like you’re sitting with them right now—to hold

In the Difficult Are the Friendly Forces

Though adversity may scramble the puzzle pieces of your life, it arrives bearing a gift—a shift in consciousness that deepens your understanding and appreciation of Universal forces.

In every crisis there is a message. Crises are nature’s way of forcing change—breaking down old structures, shaking loose negative habits so that something new and better can take their place.
Susan L. Taylor

The value of adversity has long been the stuff of legend. In the Bhagavad Gita, Kunti, mother of heroic

The Majesty of a Falling Leaf

In time, viewing every moment as a gift orchestrated by divine intelligence becomes ingrained in your consciousness. No matter where you are, no matter what is in front of you, you see the hand of God at work.

Whoever does not see God in every place does not see God in any place.
Rabbi Elimelech

Look at the world through God’s eyes and the beauty and majesty of a falling leaf will leave you breathless.

We look too much to museums. The

Growing Happiness Under Your Feet

Fulfilling your desires can produce occasional bursts of happiness, but the pleasures of the material world are both fickle and fleeting. Getting exactly what you want may make you happy today, but it may be the opposite of what will make you happy tomorrow.

More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.
Saint Teresa of Avila

Instead of fretting about having what you want, you will be happier and more peaceful if you focus on wanting what you have.

The foolish man seeks

The Gift Is to the Giver

Are you more comfortable giving than receiving? By definition, what is given must be received. Turn down a well-intentioned gift and you inadvertently break this circle of divine energy.

To receive a present handsomely and in a right spirit, even when you have none

Chocolates at Christmas

A week ago, after the Sunday service at the Self-Realization Fellowship temple in Encinitas, my friend Laurie Baum was looking for two little chocolate-loving souls she knew from Sunday School who would appreciate the little transparent bags of Christmas goodies she had assembled to commit random acts of chocolate. Spotting their parents, she approached the family as they exited the temple. When Laurie offered the three-year-old boy a bag, he lit up like a Christmas tree. Accepting it joyfully, he raised