During one of the most difficult times of my life, the death of my husband of 35 years, I was given a wonderful opportunity to write a weekly column "Following the Spiritual Soul" for a small South Carolina newspaper. Sparkly Bits of Spiritual Wisdom is a collection of those monthly columns. After my husband's death I was lost, I was alone, and I was heartbroken. I had lost my high school sweetheart, my lover, my best friend, and my heart's inspiration.

You see, joy in life was but a distant memory. I struggled with my grief, and I tried desperately to put the pieces of my broken heart back together. My writing was the only thing that kept me going, it gave my life meaning and purpose. An amazing thing happened as I wrote my column, I felt closer to the spirit world than I had ever felt before. It seemed that his death had opened up a spiritual portal of wisdom, and a new way of looking at life. This hidden miracle helped me to survive, grow, and continue on my journey without the love of my life. I truly believe that my longing to stay connected to my husband after his death played a huge part in the spiritual revelations, insight, and wisdom, which I received. Writing my column, "Following the Spiritual Soul" gave my life a much needed purpose. As I wrote I realized that the spiritual is all around us if we only look and consider all of the wonderful possibilities and insights that are right there for us to embrace.