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Staying Positive in a World of Chaos

June 7, 2016 By A.K. Driggs

Every TV news cast, newspaper, social media and radio news report is focusing on the negatives in the world today. Whether it’s terrorism, catastrophic weather or killings of our own US citizens by firearms, the world seems doomed.

Stop right there. Let’s take a closer look. While these things may be happening and yes I admit it seems elevated on all counts, we have a choice on what to focus on. Remember “energy flows where attention goes”. What we focus on will manifest in one way or the other. I’m not saying to keep your head in the sand. I’m saying sure, have a feeling about what is going on, acknowledge it, but, don’t let it consume you and affect your outlook on life.

We all need to reach out and identify the beauty around us. Whether it be in our loved ones, our four legged animal friends, the land around us like forests, oceans, lakes, and the sweet wild creatures and birds. There really is so much beauty around us. If we can grab hold of the positive gorgeous energy that the land, oceans, loved ones and animals have, we too can put forth more positive energy. The great Masters use to say all we needed was the right amount of human beings reaching a certain state of higher consciousness to help elevate the entire planets human state of consciousness. It starts with each of us.

So start today. Identify all that is around you that speaks of peace, love and beauty. Grab it. Feel it. Be it. Then close your eyes and imagine all that love and positive energy flowing from you out into the world unconditionally. Do this every day. You will be amazed at how it helps.

In honor of Mothers Day. In honor of Betty

May 6, 2016 By A.K. Driggs

On the Road with MOM-Excerpts from Abandoned in Search of Rainbows

Naples, Florida is behind us now. It’s the summer before my fortieth birthday, and Mom and I are driving cross-country in her car with the stuff she chose to keep with her rather than send along with the moving van. We’re heading to the Vegas condo I found for her in The Lakes, only ten minutes away from the rental house I share with Shannon and Kyle.

It’s a busy time for Avatar, my company, but I’m not concerned about being away from it. One thing I know for sure about myself is that the busier I become, the more I can take on. And right now, what matters most to me is that I convinced Mom to make this move. I need to watch over her, be there for her. God knows she’s always been there for me. Well, except for that one time. I look over at her and take in her sadness, her aches and pains.

I want so much for her to be happy. And because I’m in the driver’s seat right now, I’m working some magic. We’re singing together. I glance over and catch a little sparkle gleaming from her baby blues that once upon a time dazzled every beholder. To see her smile like that still takes my breath away.

Mom reaches over to my arm and suddenly asks, “You still have it? The article?”

“Not on me,” I tell her. “But I still have it. At home.” I decide not to mention that I also still have it in my head. Without realizing it, I had memorized effortlessly every word of it. I know where Mom’s going with this, and it makes sense. Mom wants to talk now, not sing. She wants to go down memory lane while we’re on this trip.

“Go ahead, honey,” she says. “You start.”

I look over and see she’s tearing up. “Okay if we start at the beginning again?” That’s usually where we start because the truth is we both know I can never hear her tell these stories often enough, even though by now I know all of them not only by heart but also backwards and forwards.

Mom leans against the passenger window, closing her eyes. “My God, Kim,” she says, and though I’m passing a truck, I can hear her smile. Mom continues. “I’ll never forget that moment,” she says, “the moment I turned the page, and there was your precious little face. And I’ll never forget what happened after that, every step of the way.”

Betty is no longer on this physical plane. The memories of her are as fresh as yesterday. My love for her as strong as the the day we first met…

Excerpts from Abandoned in Search of Rainbows

The next afternoon, the weather returned to cold and cloudy. Betty had arranged for Chip to go to a friend’s house after school and for Bob to leave the office early for their three o’clock appointment to meet their little girl.

When they arrived right on schedule, Dave was there to greet them. He ushered Betty and Bob upstairs and into a wood-paneled room with four large windows that let in little light due to the dark cloud cover outside.

There was something cold and unsettling about the moment. Most chilling of all were the heart-wrenching sounds of a child’s misery that was emanating from a crib at the back of the room.

My mother’s recollection of that moment is that she saw Dave roll his eyes and nod as if to say, Yup. That’s the baby! That’s the one you’ve come to see. He then motioned for them to go ahead, saying, “See for yourself.”

Bob took Betty’s hand, and as they approached the crib in the far corner under the window, they saw me, a fifteen-month-old baby girl, lying on her back, rubbing her eyes, and shrieking to beat the band. They had dressed me in a simple, off-white dress. I had on one pink bootie but had already kicked off the other.

“Oh the poor darling,” Betty whispered as tears dripped from her eyes.

Bob took charge and immediately tried to calm me down by removing his wristwatch and swinging it in front of me. But it didn’t work. I wailed even louder.

From behind them, Dave proclaimed, “I told you.”
Betty spun around. “Please!” she snapped. “Don’t talk like that!” “Well, I tried to warn you on the phone.”
“Yes you did, and I told you we don’t care about all of that. We

want her. She’s our little girl, and we don’t care where she came from or that she doesn’t look like us or anything else!” Then Betty turned her attention to me again. “It’s okay, honey,” she said. “We’re here now. You don’t need to cry.”

So then Dave backed away, and even though I was still kicking and screaming, Bob lifted me from the crib, and before handing me over to Betty, he planted gentle kisses all over my birthmarks. When I was nestled in Betty’s arms, she began to sing a lullaby.

I was still bawling my eyes out at first, but as she continued to sing and to sway me from side to side in a nice wide arc, my sobbing lessened, and then, when I was merely whimpering, I finally opened my big brown eyes and looked up at her. When our eyes locked, the crying abruptly stopped. Just like that! And, just like that, I gave her a great big smile.

In that magical moment between mother and child, Betty and I forged a bond that was nothing short of unbreakable, the kind of bond that simply had to last for . . . ever.

Chambers of the Heart

April 19, 2016 By A.K. Driggs

It’s been a while since I posted a blog. I apologize for that. I have been busy tending to the illness of my beloved Emma Nani my soul mate Labrador Retriever who passed over the Rainbow Bridge on March 30th, 2016.

This was one of the most difficult times in my life for so many reasons. If you’ve read my book you will know why.

It particularly affected our seven year old Shih Tzu Mak who was Emma’s constant companion. So devastated by the loss he stopped eating. We knew we had to act fast while still mourning our beloved Emma. Looking at all possibilities our first choice was to rescue a dog from the local Hawaii Island Humane Society, however, after looking at all the beautiful souls, none really felt like they’d fit into our home situation. Then the very next day we looked again and sitting quietly in the last pet run was LOLA, the name the Humane Society gave her. She had been abandoned one week prior, left in a pen at the front gate in the middle of the night with no note. Estimated age, one year old. Forty pounds, fully grown Black Lab/Shar Pei mix. Mostly Lab with a cute Shar Pei head. It was love at first sight for Janet and I. She was riddled with flea bites on her back, had scars on her legs and her coat looked dull.

We brought Mak to meet her outside at the Humane Society. It did not go well for either one of them. Growling and bad energy at first. Understandable for Mak, he missing Emma and LOLA acted like she was afraid of him. Janet and I decided to try fostering her first to see if Mak and she bonded. Putting her on new food, medicated baths and omegas we started to see a change in her skin and coat. We bought her a beautiful Hawaiian Dog collar.

I’m pleased to announce after one week Mak and she are best of friends and Mak is eating well. We named her Bella Rose. I started training immediately as she clearly had none. She is so smart she knows how to sit, down, knows her name, and her re-call is getting much better. She tells you if she has to go pee or poop if you pay attention to the subtly. So much progress in just two weeks. She didn’t know what a house was, carpeting, a toilet, cars, birds, shopping carts, noises all were new to her. We can’t imagine what her first year of life was like. The fact that she is so loving and willing to please it truly a miracle.

On April 18th, 2016 we officially adopted Bella Rose. When I was standing at the counter at the Humane Society signing the adoption papers, it was very busy with other people close by. Bella was in a perfect sit-stay gazing up at me with excitement. It was like she was saying, ” Look everyone. I’m getting adopted!”

New children never replace the ones you’ve lost. Another chamber of your heart magically finds its way open to allow another soul in that needs you as much as you need them.

For the love of Emma Nani

February 19, 2016 By A.K. Driggs

I have always been in love with all the dogs, cats, birds and even Koi fish that have graced my life. Each little soul touches you in a totally different way. They give you something precious to cherish and take with you for the rest of your life. You miss them every day when they pass over The Rainbow Bridge. You tear up when you speak of them and smile with the beloved memories. And yet, there is always one. Just one that seems to take a string of love lights and wrap it around your heart to a point where you can barley breath . That one soul who seems to take your breath away for me is my animal soul mate. Her name is Emma Nani, an English pure bred black Labrador Retriever. Nani is Hawaiian for beautiful, and beautiful she is, inside and out. I’ve never met such an intuitive animal soul as Emma. She and I connected inwardly on a spiritual level even before I set eyes on her when she ten weeks old. I knew the day I first saw her that she was the one in my dreams.

Over the last ten years Emma and I have shared much. We shared the ring for Obedience and Rally where she danced her way through the courses like a little champion sharing the joy with her friends Ted, Stella and Honey-Girl who too amazed the onlookers with their proud performances. We as handlers learned about patience and trust from our beloved dogs and came away with a closer relationship than one could imagine.

Emma has shown the kind of patience and love with her little companion Mak our Shih Tzu three years her junior. Emma took Mak into her heart and home and became his momma. Mak’s little soul is precious and needs extra care as he was abandoned by his previous owner when they decided to not use him for professional dog shows. We rescued him at ten weeks old. Mak bites Emma’s legs and feet, cleans her ears whether she wants it or not and yet, Emma is patient, kind and shows him the affection a mother would bestow on her child.

When Hailie came into our life Emma learned the role she had to play with an infant who now is five years old. The bond between this rainbow child and Emma is truly extraordinary. Emma just seems to know how to act at any given moment with Hailie.

I have always sung to my animal children every day and for sure at bedtime. When I do this something remarkable happens. An energy fills the room that penetrates your and the animals consciousness and soul. The connection is electric. Emma communicates with me in a way no other animal child has. It’s hard to describe but for those of you who have had or are having a similar experience you know what I mean.

Emma now ten years old, is greying under the chin, paws and tummy. Her eyes droop now and the skin under her chin sags just like mine. She sleeps more and gets tired faster, yet still springs to action like a puppy when someone approaches or its time to play fetch or go swimming. She and I are growing older together. She still teaches me every day. While I can’t imagine life without my soul mate, I hold on to something Emma told a renowned Pet psychic about me, “that she knew me before in another life and we found each other again. That she would wait for me after she passed over The Rainbow Bridge, because I am her soul mate”.

Thoughts from Rumi

February 9, 2016 By A.K. Driggs

A friend of mine knows I love the poet Rumi. She found a few lines from one of Rumi’s poems that she wanted to share with me and felt they were in sync with the underlying message of my book. They are. So now I will share with you. After you read this book you will see how true these words are……
“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love. It will not leave you astray.”

“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.”

“Respond to every call that excites your spirit.”

Rumi