The story of the Today Cards always sounds a little flaky, even to me, when I tell it. But it is the one that is dearest to my heart, so I always have a big smile on my face as I tell it.

In December of 2000 I was living in Victoria, BC, working hard at Possibilities, and busy busy busy by all accounts. So busy, in fact, that I never had time to pick up this book that my dear Grandfather (who we called Gampie) had been telling me to read for about six months. He lived in Montreal, and every time I spoke with him on the phone, he asked me if I'd picked up Echkart Tolle's book, The Power of Now, yet. He even gave me the money to buy the book when I'd last seen him in November. But still, I was too busy busy busy to go to the book store and get the book.

You can imagine my shock when, in the first week of December, my Mom called to tell me that Gampie had been in a tragic accident that had put him in a coma. I was very close to my Grandfather, and the news of his accident hit me very hard. As I booked my flight home to Montreal that night, my friend Jocelin ran out to our local bookstore to get me the book. I couldn't think straight, but all I knew was that I needed that book for the plane ride home.

On the plane, I read the first hundred pages of the book, devouring every delicious word. It was as if my Grandfather was reading the words to me; as if this was his final gift to me, his final message. After a few hours of reading, I fell into a deep, almost trance-like sleep.

As I slept, I dreamt that it was Christmas morning, and my family was opening these little sets of cards that had Gampie's message on them. I saw my writing on them, and little tiny paintings, and I saw very clearly what they said. When I woke up, with another hour or so left on my flight, I reached for my journal and began frantically scribbling down all the words I'd seen. By the time the plane landed, the Today Cards were born.

For the next week or so, as my family and I sat by my Grandfather's side in the hospital (he was in a coma), I thought about those cards, and how I was going to make them my "project" for all my friends and family that Christmas.

When I wasn't sitting by his side, I could see Gampie's message everywhere in the world: 'Life is NOW! Savour it! Soak up every gorgeous moment!'. When he passed away a few days later, the cards kept me connected to him; as if this was my secret mission between us. I painted and colour-photocopied and cut and laminated sets of the cards for hours upon hours in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Finally, Christmas arrived, and I got to share the sets with those I loved.

And then, to my surprise, my Dad loved the cards so much he said he wanted to get them printed professionally so we could share them with other people, too. A good friend of his was a printer, and he made them into little boxed sets that we sold the following year. My dear brother was battling cancer at the time, so it just seemed natural to raise some money for a charity close to our hearts at the same time. We gave $1000 to a wonderful place in Toronto called the Wellspring Centre that supports people who have cancer. After selling our first 1000 sets, we printed more.

And that is basically the story of the Today Cards. Today, the spirit of sharing continues, in a wonder-full sort of way, as we pass these little cards on to each other like little whispers. I know Gampie would be so delighted with the cards, and their journey.

I hope they help to remind you, too, what an incredible gift every single day is; one that we have no business taking for granted. Life is NOW! Bask in today. Savour it and dream it and celebrate it! It is as rare and precious as you are (and you are so very precious).