Letters I Get

One of the first things you discover when you put an inspirational website online, is that a lot of people will write to you.

Many of the letters I receive are complimentary, praising the website and its content. Some are more specific, mentioning a section of the site or poem the writer especially liked. Still others are intensely personal from people who feel comfortable enough to confide and share their private thoughts and feelings. Email is always welcome. I feel fortunate that there are so many interesting individuals who not only visit Inspiration for the Spirit, but also take the time to write.

There is something special about the letters I get. Just when I am at a crossroads, debating whether or not to continue—thinking Inspiration for the Spirit has run its course, and the time has come to close the site—I get a letter that changes everything. I have no illusions about the importance of this website. It is what it is. But I do feel that if the site makes a difference in even one person's life, it is worth the effort to keep it online.

As much as I would like to share the most compelling letters I have received, the content is too raw and personal to post here; and, ultimately, those letters were meant to be private. For several years, however, Inspiration for the Spirit hosted an online guestbook inviting visitors to add comments. Below are some of those entries.

Guestbook Entries Each link below opens in a new window

Wednesday, June 6, 2007 • Thank you for sharing such a wonderful site with all of us! —Jill Watkins, Sugar-N-Cream, Lehigh Valley, Pennyslvania/USA

Monday, December 18, 2006 • Love your web site. You're very talented! —Jackie, BellyBytes, USA

Friday, June 16, 2006 • Hello Patricia, Your site is so calm and soothing. I especially enjoyed the Still Waters page in your Inspiration section. I am but a shell unless I can be near the lake. It lifts my spirits and gives me energy. Blessings. —Sonia Jensen, Visions of Fantasy, Larder Lake, Ontario/Canada

Friday, May 5, 2006 • Hi, I was having a bad day, and trying to work on my website when I stumbled across yours. It is so beautiful and inspiring. My website is under construction. I'm trying to make it a peaceful place, but I sometimes get discouraged. Anyway, I'm glad I found your beautiful place. I think I will visit often. —Gina, Peaceful Cottage, West Virginia/USA

Saturday, February 18, 2006 • God bless you and this web site! —Karen, White Lily Candles, Georgia/USA

Saturday, January 28, 2006 • Dear Patrica, Your site is so very wonderful. I am a single-mom, and I'm finding so much comfort here. Thank you and God bless!!! —Crystal, Titusville, Pennyslvania/USA

Friday, December 30, 2005 • I love your site. —David Petro, Wallingford, Connecticut/USA

Thursday, September 8, 2005 • I'm really inspired by your wonderful website. I wish you all the best, and God bless you. —Yasmine, Iraq

Monday, September 5, 2005 • Beautiful site. So inspirational! Thank you. —Gloria, USA

Saturday, April 9, 2005 • Your poems speak from the heart and soul. I'm inspired and awed by your talents. Keep the faith. Namaste always. —Mel, Ohio/USA

Sunday, April 3, 2005 • You have a truly beautiful and inspiring web home, with your poetry, and other inspirational writings. —Samantha, Elspethe's Enchanted Garden, Texas/USA

Sunday, February 6, 2005 • Dear Patricia, Thank you for the response to my earlier comments. It is an amazing journey to "quiet one's soul" after the loss of the "one who found you!" I keep thinking I see my Mother, and have a hunch I do. Peace and harmony. —Gayle, Canada

Wednesday, January 14, 2004 • Hi Patricia, Your pages are lovely, a real breath of fresh air. Thank you for the opportunity of visiting your excellent site. May God bless you and all your family. Take care. —Elsa and Adrian, Montreal, Quebec/Canada

Tuesday, August 26, 2003 • I'm so in awe of your website that I almost can't find the words. . .almost (lol). You don't just have a website here, you've created a magical, fun, thought-provoking realm. Your pages are a joy to look at and to read . . . wow! I'll be visiting often. —Michelle, Paper May, Minnesota/USA

Friday, May 23, 2003 • Very first off, I love your poetry. My trip to visit you has been so rewarding, and sprinkling it with fairy dust of love has been a pure pleasure. This is a large (huge) website and full of interesting, meaningful poetry, quotes, and personality. —Fae Starlit Sky, Starlit Sky

Tuesday, May 13, 2003 • I love your site. Very nice and perfect. —Wanderlino, Wanderlino Arruda, Montes Claros MG, Brasil

Saturday, April 19, 2003 • I love your site. I was looking for something on loving myself when I surfed onto your poem "Loving Myself." It's perfect. I have read all your poems. . .was bored studying after studying for an anatomy exam. I especially like "Mean Brother Rising." I love your site, and it seems like you have put on the web what my soul feels. Thank you for this beautiful site. Love always. —Barinder, Vancouver, British Columbia/Canada

Thursday, April 17, 2003 • My Dearest Girlfriend, Once again you amaze and inspire me. The website is not only your creation but your reflection. . .an e-look into the awesome friend I now share with thousands. I have to admit that it does make me just a little jealous! I still laugh out loud when I hear the Ryan Adam's tune "Firecracker," and picture us singing at the top of our lungs and dancing out the car windows in Brooklyn, sharing our fun with perfect strangers. The weekend in New York with your wonderful daughter, the most beautiful social butterfly ever created, was one of the best times in my life because of you. No one ever had a better time or made better memories. We were sure in our element with all the fabulous people, not to mention the date we almost kept with the "model scouter!" The masseuse who pursued you at every street corner! The nice chauffer who wanted to give US money! And the brunch with Gavin DeGraw. Yeah! We know HIM! Remember standing at the wall of flowers where the Towers used to be, and all the wonderful people we met there? And what about that jogger in New Jersey with the spandex pants? And the nice guy making the balloon hats? The wine for $22.00 a glass! Yes, thanks for the memories! I am so proud and thankful to have you in my life, more than a friend, someone who shares my feelings and is really a soul-mate. I've said it before and I mean it now more than ever that you are a true inspiration in my life, and I look forward to sharing many more joys, laughs, cries, bottles of wine, excursions, and dreams with you as we grow to be little old ladies someday. You do know how to make dreams come true, and now I realize that you know how to make a website come to life too! It is you! In all your wonder and creativity, your honesty and integrity, and now a guiding light to many all over the world who might need a beacon to show them the way to true inner peace, spiritual strength and self-acceptance. I am so glad we have travelled a stretch of life's journey together and I can not wait to see where our journey leads. Your friendship is one of my life's greatest blessings. You are a treasure! I love you! —Denise, Canton, Ohio/USA

Tuesday, April 8, 2003 • Hi, this is a return visit so that, today, I could read your poetry. It is soooo beautiful ! They are a real treasure of talent. Thank you for sharing with all the world. I think the one I connected with most was "Who I Am." Atta girl! Blessings. —Joan Adams Burchell, Along Poetry Road, Ontario/Canada

Saturday, November 30, 2002 • Wow, you've done so much work since last I was here. "Dicky the Diver" and your garden page are my personal favorites. I also liked your page in memory of September 11th. I liked everything really. I recently saw a movie, "13 Conversations About One Thing" (that thing being happiness), and in it one of the characters quotes Milton's "Paradise Lost," and here I'll paraphrase as well as I can remember, it's something like— "The mind is its own place, and is capable of making hell out of heaven and heaven out of hell." You're positivity is inspiring. Let your light shine. —Melissa, NYC, New York/USA

Tuesday, November 5, 2002 • Your site is beautiful, and it brings a sense of peace to just be there. I especially enjoyed reading "Senses Affected" and "Miracle Man." The graphics and music compliment the contents of your pages perfectly. Thank you so much for sharing. Peace and love. —Lisa Ewert, Words from the Soul, Wisconsin/USA

Saturday, November 2, 2002 • Hello, I like your poetry . . . it's really inspiring and beautiful. I hope there will be more poems on this site. —Rachel, Singapore

Saturday, November 2, 2002 • Lovely poems. —Francine Pucillo, Garden of Life's Emotions ~ by Francine, Long Island, New York/USA

Thursday, October 24, 2002 • I can only say one thing . . . beautiful. I just love the lady with the lamp. Thank you so much for sharing. Talk soon ;). —Caroline Hofstede, Cosmic Sparkle, UK

Wednesday, August 21, 2002 • Hi, You created so beautiful site. I liked my visit. You can be proud. Thank you! —Ertan, Istanbul, Turkey

Tuesday, August 6, 2002 • Hi Patricia! I do love your work! You have a fresh way of delicately drawing emotions. I especially liked "Out of Sight" . . . "Mean Brother Rising" . . . "Cloud Nine." —Laryalee Fraser, Along Poetry Creek, British Columbia/Canada

Saturday, July 13, 2002 • "Cloud Nine" is absolutely beautiful. Solitude, blissful solitude is one of the most denied and yet precious assets we have. I'm glad you were able to get past the pain and find and celebrate YOU again! —Carrie Ryman, Orange, Ohio/USA