In 2002, Laura and I went on a vacation to Sedona, Arizona. I had taken a day trip there the year before while in Phoenix speaking and fell in love with it. The art, food and landscape all sucked me in instantly. Some people think about retiring to Florida, but I would end up here if anywhere at all. There are a ton of art galleries and we went into many of them and at one I saw these shaman sculptures from Bill Worrell and instantly fell in love. I couldn't justify spending the money on even the smallest ones, but was so inspired that before we left Arizona I had a shaman tattoo put on my arm.

The symbol, the reason, the time. They were all right. This picture was taken outside the gallery with me standing next to one of the larger ones ones.

The symbol and meaning behind the Shaman has always been something special to me. I've always been an avid reader about religion and spirituality and have always been attracted to the belief of the Native Americans.

When people ask about the tattoo and why I got it I don't have a solid answer, but I talk about how for me a shaman is meant to help, guide, give advice and connect people to the answers they are seeking. Ask my close friends and hopefully they will tell you that is how I live my life. I'm not a shaman in the true sense by any means, but I connect and appreciate the concept.

So, I've kept an eye out for Bill Worrell's work. I have a small tin heart ornament hanging in my office that came with a CD of his music that popped up on eBay last year and I have a permanent search to notify me if any of his work comes on. Only a few pieces have and they've always been way outside anything I could afford.

Then last week I saw one of his wall hanging pieces pop up. The cost was insanely low and I made a decision to throw a bid in just to see what would happen. How could I pass an opportunity up like this?

Long story short, I ended up winning the item. It arrived yesterday along with a copy of a book he put together. He has two books and I already owned the other one. I had no idea this was part of the auction so it was an extra treat.

I didn't even want to open it until Laura got home since she was there when this obsession began and it wouldn't have felt right to open it up without her. Trust me when I say this was NOT an easy thing to do. An item that I had hoped sometime in my life I might obtain was sitting on the floor in my office, in a box and I wasn't opening it. Drove me nuts all day long.

The piece is called The Eternal Guardian. There is a poem that goes along with it. I've got it printed out and it is also written by hand on the back of the sculpture. It is made of iron and bronze and is now hanging in the living room. My first reaction was it had to go in my office, but I wanted it out where everyone could see it and we found the perfect spot in the living room.

I just kept smiling at it last night and shaking my head a bit. We all have those lists of things we want to do before we die, but it isn't every day that we actually get to check one off. So I wanted to savor the moment and enjoy it.