In her book “Big Magic”, Elizabeth Gilbert writes about how inspiration may appear suddenly and unexpectedly. She describes dreaming an entire short story while she was napping on a commuter train. She awoke, grabbed a pen, and wrote as if some channel had opened up and all she had to do was transcribe it. When I read this, my reaction was a bit skeptical – it seemed to fit a… Read More »Philosophy of Trees
Sarah was distraught when Paul died, worried about the consequences for him because he was uncertain about the teachings of all the world’s religions and never accepted Christianity as the eternal truth. A strange dream offered comfort.
What happens to us when we die? Paul had explored the answers offered by many of the world’s religions but found them all incomplete, somehow. Now time was up and he needed to pick one – or did he?
Childhood trauma can have an enormous impact on the choices we make throughout our adult lives. Alcohol and physical abuse are among the chief causes in our society today. This fictional story incorporates many real experiences and suggests how love, empathy, and the support of others can offer a path to a better future.
We all say “I love you” from time to time – to our spouses, our special friends, our children and our pets. But what does that mean? Ted, facing the imminent death of his long-term partner, seeks an answer in this fictional story.
The news seems particularly depressing these days. Have we lost touch with with our capacity to joyfully experience the miracles of our daily life? Here are three short stories where unexpected joy was discovered.
Paul thought he was going the visit his sister for a couple of months to help out when their mother died. It didn’t quite work out as he expected.
Sometimes your photography subject can be a better mirror than the one you look at to shave in the morning.
