Showing posts with label heart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heart. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Two Deer Staring into My Headlights … by Delsora Lowe

 Spooky? Yes! Prophetic? Maybe!

Driving home, up Route One around 8 p.m., two deer walked right out in front of me…and stopped. Another vehicle was a few car lanes ahead of me, and no one was coming in the opposite direction. That vehicle was oblivious to my visitors emerging from the darkness. As, was I. Until the deer stood right in front of me and stared.

DEER – Photo or Image

It was as if they dropped from the sky.

I slammed on my brakes and swerved partially into the oncoming lane—the direction from which they came. The car’s front end was a hair’s length away from the 2nd deer’s back flanks. And yes, I cursed.

Neither deer fled. They stayed right where they stopped. I couldn’t really see the first deer well, but the deer I was inches from merely gazed at me. Like spirits in the night, their color was ghostly. Of course, my headlights were on. But they were shining behind the tail end of the last deer, aimed off toward the woods on the opposite side of the road. Of course, I rationalized, the side of my headlight must be shining on the deer.


They continued to stand just off to the passenger side, one gazing straight at me through the right side of the windshield.

Eerie.

Beautiful.

Spiritual

We stared at each other for at least a minute or two, maybe longer, as time seemed suspended. Then, minutes later, as though they had not a care in the world, they moseyed off, out of the glare of my headlights, I believe into the tree line along the edge of the road. But maybe they vanished into thin air, just like they had appeared. I prefer to believe I lost them in the woods. I sucked down a deep breath and pulled my car ahead and back into the northbound lane.

Then it hit me, that besides cussing in fear as I avoided them, my heartrate never rose, A sudden fright should have had my heart drumming in my chest. Strange. I never saw them off to the side of the road as the other car passed them. Why didn’t the other car and then my headlights scare them? Why did they seem to just appear out of nowhere, as if dropped from the sky? Then, after what seemed like a good chunk of time, they took a few steps and disappeared. All the way home, all I could focus on was why did that deer stared at me the entire time we faced each other—it’s gaze mesmerizing me? And why was my heartrate still steady?

I can still envision the ghostly shadows of the deer. Was it the angle of my headlights that made them seem ethereal and calm? Or were they really ghosts? Why did my heartrate not rise? Were the deer trying to tell me something?

When I returned home, I told my son. The few other people I told about this interaction said the same—that the long-ago natives of this country believed in the spirit of the deer. And a sighting, such as this, means something.

When I Googled this, the search mentioned, and I quote, “When a deer crosses your path, it is often regarded as a significant spiritual event with deep symbolism and profound meaning. The deer symbolizes purity, devotion, gentleness, and intuition. Seeing a deer may be an invitation to embrace these qualities in your spiritual journey and trust your inner wisdom and intuition.”

From an article entitled 17 Spiritual Meanings of Deer Crossing Your Path: Harness the Energy, I learned the deer sighting “can offer guidance, inspiration, and a deeper connection to the world around you.” They claim that the sighting is not random, but intentional. Meant as a message to the one they are appearing before.

Of course, I could think of no message or lesson learned from this experience as I moved through the following days and weeks. The vision of the immobile, ghostly deer, staring directly at me, still haunts. The miraculous notion that neither the deer nor I were injured, amazes me.

But when I look at the explanations in the article, I have to wonder…

Was the sighting a “beacon” to guide me through a difficult time or to emphasize my journey in life and give me greater understanding of where I am today? Or where I need to go, and how my actions will either affect me or guide me?

Below are the seventeen lessons listed in the article 17 Spiritual Meanings Of Deer Crossing Your Path: Harness The Energy. To paraphrase

1.      Guidance toward peace = seek serenity among the chaos

2.      Symbol of protection = protection from higher up

3.      Harbinger of good luck = a sign of upcoming fortunes or positive outcomes

4.      Call for Adventure = embrace changes and new adventures

5.      Reminder of fertility or new life = personal growth or new ideas and projects

6.      Spiritual Authority = protection from higher up

7.      Messenger of Unconditional Love = to give or receive

8.      Self-reflection = encouraging introspection and improvement

9.      Perseverance = keep moving forward

10.  Awakening to Psychic Abilities = a nudge to explore and develop intuitive skills

11.  Symbol of Regeneration = rebirth or the ability to renew oneself

12.  Embodying Gracefulness = learning to handle situations with ease and poise

13.  Indicator of Sacrifice = personal sacrifice for the greater good

14.  Humanity’s Fragility = reflection of actions & decisions and impact on the world

15.  Adaptability = a prompt to be more flexible and adaptable

16.  A Call to Natural Living = closer connections to nature & living a simpler, more organic lifestyle

17.  Beacon of Hope – a symbol of hope and encouragement to persist in challenging times.

I’m still not sure where the deer wished to lead me in thought or action.

Will I know what the message was when I see it? Or will the guidance they wished to bestow on me, just happen without my noticing?

Furthermore, do I believe in the supernatural? Do I believe some entity has bigger plans for my life than I have recognized? Should I obsess on these questions? Or let my life’s journey continue to unfold to surprise me? If I do the later, will I have missed a chance while on this earth to make a difference in my life or perhaps in someone else’s?

HAVE YOU EVER HAD AN ENCOUNTER THAT HAS NO EXPLANATION?


 Moonlighting (also in print as a collection: Starlight Grille)

Amazon

Books2Read

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns, from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine (most recently, an Easter romance in the April 1, 2024 edition.) The Love Left Behind is a Hartford Estates, R.I. wedding novella with Book 2 on the way. A Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker – the youngest brother of the Mineral Spring’s ranching family) were the most recent releases. Look for book 3 of the cowboy’s series, as well as book 2 of the Hartford Estates series, to be released in 2025.

Author Links:

Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page:
https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe

Photo Credits:

Deer: Deer Silhouette Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures
Headlights: photo taken by blog author
Heartrate: heart-rate-icon-free-png.png (1920×1755)
Ghost: free clipart - ghost images free download - Search Images 
Hope, Peace, Faith free clipart spiritual images free - Search Images
Wondering: free clipart wondering images free - Search Images
Guidance: free clipart guidance images free - Search Images

Thursday, July 1, 2021

 

PEACE BABY! ✌


It's that time of year up here in the Land of the Midnight Sun when we are fully aware of why this wild, wonderful place has this moniker. The robins chirp all night long because to them, morning is all night! This is great for the mating season, but for humans who desire sleep at 3:00 a.m. it's close-the-windows time. So we can sleep in peace.

The above photo is one of my favorites and whenever I look at it, I get a sense of peace in my heart. Because it's a reminder. 

When we're in a large touring vessel motoring in any of Alaska's ocean waters, and we approach a tidewater glacier, the captain slows the motors. For one thing, it's not wise for a boat to get too close to a tidewater glacer when it calves. Mini tsumanis race outward. There have been kayakers and small boats swamp or flip over by the displacement of water when enormous chunks of ice hit the ocean. Another reason the captain slows the motors is to listen...not just to the lapping of the water on the hull, but to the peaceful silence. Broken only by a flock of gulls, or a shrieking eagle claiming the salmon just beneath the surface.

But most of all, we wait...and wait...and wait...then SNAP! A sound like a thunderclap. Then another. And another...until the air fills with sounds of ice grinding down a massive glacial wall, then breaking off. A nanosecond of pause, then KERSPLOOSH! Into the ocean it goes, all in slow motion. The waves ripple out, eventually reaching our boat and our vessel glides up high on the wave's peak, suspends, then gracefully lowers back, level with the ocean. 

I try to go on these tours at least once every summer. Either in Resurrection Bay out of Seward, Prince William Sound out of Whittier, or Kachemak Bay in Homer. All three offer the grandest that Alaska has to offer. What I like is the peaceful feeling that fills your heart. Nothing to distract you but the forces of nature, the breath-taking beauty, and the marine life. The whales love to show off by breaching around the tour vessels when they slow or stop. Returning whales know the cadence of the bays, they know when the boats motor to the outer shoreline. They'll swim alongside sometimes, roll over, dive, then burst from the water in all their wild splendor.

As they fall back to the sea, I instinctively put my hand on my heart. There's no words to describe the all-encompassing feeling when I experience this. But I do know one thing...whenever I take these boat tours, I really do feel like I'm part of this spectacular marine world. And it's a peaceful one.

Mostly I love going to our cabin. The photo above shows the view from our bluff on the edge of our little cove, on Kachemak Bay. When I want peace in my heart and in my life, I head here, to my happy place. We found it some 28 years ago. It's boat only access, so we don't get a ton of visitors, but we do get kayakers, paddleboarders and the occasional boatload that stops by for a visit.

I think all of us need to find that inner peace that lies within us. It's hard in today's world with all that goes on, but it's there, if we give ourselves time to settle in and let it come to us. A happy place recharges our batteries, and rekindles our spirit. I'm heading down there tomorrow morning, in fact. The first thing I'll do is drag my sea kayak to the beach and paddle out to Otter Rock.

And wait for a whale to breach and bring me the peace I know that lives deep in my heart.

Where's YOUR happy place?

Side Note: The author wears peace sign tee shirts, PJs, and sandals; and sleeps on peace sign sheets and matching quilts. You can take the girl out of being a hippie, but you can't take the hippie out of the girl. Peace Baby!

***

I'm thrilled to announce my second novel, Alaska Inferno is now on Amazon. I'm thrilled to say the reviews are wonderful so far and it's hit a 4.9 rating!

LoLo Paige was a wildland firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Alaska Fire Service. She's an award-winning author of two novels in the Blazing Hearts Wildfire Series, Alaska Spark and Alaska Inferno. Her stories contain edge-of-the-seat, invigorating action, strong-willed female firefighters, and romantic suspense. LoLo and her husband divide their time between their beach house in Kachemak Bay, Alaska and sunny Arizona. 


What readers have said about LoLo's books... 

"I could almost feel the heat of the wildfires that surrounded the crews as they staved off threats..."

"The men are wild and yummy and the women are strong and lovingly feisty. The plot moves along at a fast pace..."   

 GET INFERNO HERE!

Website Bookbub Goodreads Facebook Instagram Twitter Pinterest

 

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

What Touches My Heart by Delsora Lowe


February is the month of Valentine’s Day. Throughout my life I have vacillated between loving the idea of the day and wanting to shove my head under a pillow. After all, love isn’t something you can conjure up with a finger-snap. Oh…unless you write romance.
This month’s theme is “what touches my heart.” I do love writing romance, but what touches my heart in a very special way are my three grandsons. So what better way to honor my loves then to combine the two.

Grandson's New Puppy, Hugging and Napping
Huh? My grandsons are 9, 10, and 12, so they aren’t hero material…yet. Now this is a personal opinion, but I am sure anyone who meets my grandsons will agree that they are handsome, of superior intelligence, and above average athletic ability, not to mention sweet and thoughtful and never naughty. Yes, there goes my vivid imagination again. But really, they are wonderful young men. So that leads me to how I combine a love of grandsons with my love of writing romance? 
Brothers Skiing on Beautiful Colorado Day
I have a penchant for writing second chance romances. And many times, either the hero or heroine has a child that factors into how that romance plays out. My grandsons are inspiration for those characters.
Hockey - a Favorite of all 3 Grandson's, Skating - a Favorite of My Character, Bunnie

In my Valentine-themed book Moonlighting, the hero’s daughter, Bunnie, plays a starring role. A precocious ten-year old, she knows the moment she spots the heroine, that Mary Beth is THE ONE for her dad. Just like my grandsons, Bunnie is innocent, but wise-beyond her years. Building her character included adding in pieces of experiences with my grandsons—the way they see the world and go about exploring with exuberance and eyes open to new adventures.
         
Moonlighting - Happy Valentine's Day
Although my grandsons are not yet teens, I swear they know a lot more than I did when I was a teen. They know a lot more than I do now! Maybe it has to do with technology and a greater access to the world. Or maybe it is only because I think they are much smarter than I am, even at my advanced, ahem, I mean mature age.
My book Come Dance With Me, doesn’t have young children, but does center around a group of teens who have formed an after-school jazz group—the setting for the meeting between my outgoing jazz pianist and the buttoned up, efficient English teacher assigned to proctor the group. Helping the group of teens throws the hero and heroine together. But it is through the eyes of and activities with the teens that the two find true love. As I watch my grandsons grow, I can see the passion they have for exploring and learning and beginning to understand what touches their own hearts—all traits I tried to show through the teens in the story.
My new release in April 2019, The Prince’s Son, features a sweet boy who has lost his mother. In the heroine, a cowgirl, teacher, and his temporary nanny, he finds a woman he can love as a mother. Jaime’s wide-eyed wonder at the world, along with his fears, mimic traits I see in my grandsons.

The Prince's Son
Currently I am editing a book with a young boy, and writing another book with a child. Both are younger than my grandsons, but the mannerisms of my dear grandsons always seem to find a way into my young characters.

Even the photo I use on my website represents my grandsons. What you don’t know is that the scenic ocean and lighthouse scene is a cropped photo. What doesn’t show is the bottom half, with a big slate-gray rock upon which are perched three boys, back-to, but looking over their shoulders with huge grins at the camera. The cousins enjoying vacation together on the rocky coast of Maine. When I look at that photo, even in its cropped state, my heart sings.
Maine Lighthouse
I realize as I write scenes with children in them, that I do channel my grandsons—their physical expressions and movements, as well as their sense of exploration, wonder, and everyday adventure in their play and school work.
So, to say my grandsons touch my heart, is indeed an understatement. They are a part of me in every way. Whether consciously or unconsciously, they are in my thoughts and drive the actions I take to be a better person, and behind my actions to treat this earth, my friends, and perfect strangers with respect and love, so the three boys will have a legacy they can be proud of.

My grandsons ARE my heart.
What touches YOUR heart?


Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine ~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Lowe’s family visits to Colorado are the inspiration for an upcoming contemporary western series, Cowboys of Mineral Springs, to be released in 2019 and 2020. And her daughter’s wedding and her son’s home, both on the coast of Maine, provided plentiful ideas for the Starlight Grille series (released in 2017 and 2018).


Author FB Page: fb.me/delsoraloweauthorAuthor Website: www.delsoralowe.comAmazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2nRx1Bs
Books2Read Author Page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/DelsoraAuthor Newsletter signup (only sent out when there is news): http://www.delsoralowe.com/contact.html   Author Blog: http://www.delsoralowe.com/blog