People ask me all the time, "where did you get the inspiration for these images?"

Inspiration is a good word, as at the time they came to me, these images literally saved my life.

I had been going through a particularly horrific time of depression and inability to make a living, due to a protracted illness that left me weak and unable to take care of myself. I was house-sitting - a hair away from being homeless - and I was dead broke, feeling like I was starving, and depressed to the core.

On this one cold, Januray morning, I awoke with the thought that I couldn't bear it one more day. I decided then and there that I would drive off one of the many cliffs in the immediate surrounding area.

The instant I had that thought, and the accompanying vision of bouncing off the cliff and smashing onto the rocks below, I heard a voice in my head. It was not my voice, as it was very definitely a man's voice. I knew it wasn't outside of me, either, as I was lying in a tiny little loft where no other body would have fit.

More interesting than who the voice belonged to was what it said. It very clearly said, in an amused tone, "Well, Angela, if you have an attitude like that, you're already dead! Why don't you just have some fun while you wait for your body to die?"

Immediately, I started asking myself what it was that would be fun. No more thoughts of driving off cliffes entered my head that day - or ever again, actually.

As I laid in bed thinking about what would be fun, I asked myself where would I want to be, what would I want to be doing, who would I want to play with? What kind of countryside would it be? What critters would live there?

This series of images are the result of those questions. It took me the better part of a month to do them all, and now they are a source of love, joy and inspiration to me whenever I look at them. I hope they will be that for you, too - a reminder that there is always something loving and fun and rich in this world for you, your heart and Spirit.

- Angela Treat Lyon