Category Archives: head and heart connection

Polishing the Silver

I enjoy the work as a meditation of gratitude—which often begins around Thanksgiving week. It’s a reminder that our gifts—and talents—need to be polished so they shine brightly enough to be shared.
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Irritating Characters – Nemesis “Mrs. Lime” Debuts

Comic relief . . . dramatic tension . . . extreme contrast . . . she serves all those purposes. She had me laughing, then my editor laughed out loud, and soon my readers decided she was a “contrarian favorite”. See what you think of “Mrs. Lime.”
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Writer at Work, Otters at Play

So here was this cute, inventive, self-sufficient creature who was an “index species”—that is, one whose presence was a key to the ecological well-being of its own region. I was liking these furry, sweet-faced critters even more than I thought I would.
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The After Days

Projects have always been a way of life for the Purls. Sometimes a bane, sometimes a boon, projects define our time and express our various core purposes. That’s what I’ll miss the most, I think—that I won’t get to do the next project with Mom.
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Step-Mothering is All Heart

Amelia-Mara-cropOne of my favorite roles in life is that of step-mother. Any more than one can plan or train for motherhood, one can’t schedule the unexpected eventually of becoming a step-parent. The job comes with its own prickly difficulties, but also with a series of gifts that continue to leave me, by turns, breathless and grateful. Read more
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A Year for Mom: January Foreshadows

Purl family Xmas photo 2012 Broadmoor“A Year for Mom” is a collection of posts written during 2013, the year of my mother’s final illness and of her passing. Some of the most heartfelt and extraordinary communications I’ve ever sent or received took place during this challenging year. I feel I learned so much that ultimately it was as much a year of gain as of loss. Many of my friends and readers have expressed a wish that I share my experiences. These personal moments are shared . . . from my heart.

My family all had a fabulous Whirl-Purl of a holiday season. I’m sure you’ve had years like this.… Read more

Posted in AHA Moments, Authenticity, Family, Family values, Gratitude, head and heart connection, Heart, Intuition, Live Your Best Life, Love, Mara Purl, Personal Essays, relationships, self-growth, Transformation, transformation through AHA moments | Tagged | 1 Comment

Blog Tour #7 Novice Christian

Novice Christian logoThanks for joining me on the 2012 MARA-thon! This includes a national blog tour, as well as a physical book tour through Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and California. During the entire MARA-thon, please be sure to download your FREE prequel short story, When Whales Watch at http://www.MaraPurl.com/downloads. As of January 1, you’ll be able to find purchase links for all e-readers here: When Whales Watch.

This is posted from the road during my All-Indie-Bookstore book tour titled MAPPING THE JOURNEY OF YOUR HEART. Revisit the entire tour at any time by visiting http://www.MaraPurl.com/calendar where you’ll see event details, links to the bookstores, and soon, photo archives.… Read more

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Blog Tour Visit #4 – National Association of Baby Boomer Women

Mara Purl guests on the National Association of Baby Boomer Women blog site, where her conversation with Anne Holmes leads to recognition that NABBW issues and those of the characters in the Milford-Haven Novels both shed light on the lives of Boomer Women.
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Thanksgiving Fully Present

There are three things I love about Thanksgiving: the future, the past, and the present.

I think as a child I probably loved Thanksgiving because of the future—it meant Christmas was coming soon! It was also a holiday I anticipated with great joy because it meant we’d go visit Grandma Dorothy. She married my step-grandfather late in life—but just in time for my sister and me to adore her. The house she shared with “Daddy Bob” was a classic New England cottage in Waterbury, Connecticut. Cape-Cod-Blue with white trim, it stood erect despite the steep street that seemed to slice under it.… Read more

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Mile High Tea

You’ve heard of “Pie in the Sky”—an idiom to convey that which is so unlikely that we shouldn’t count on it, a kind of fool’s gold, a dream only a Pollyanna would dare to dream.

Well, if Pie-In-The-Sky describes what can’t come true, perhaps “Mile High Tea” should be the new descriptor for what can. Why? Because anything Judith Briles touches actually does turn to gold. Judith was my hostess this past weekend for a gorgeous, elaborate and delightful tea at the lovely home where she and her husband, poet and editor John Maling, love to entertain.

So what do I mean by “gold”?… Read more

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