I was having a conversation today about the news story of Stephen and Isabelle Allison, a young couple moving to Winnipeg with big dreams and ambitions. They happened to sit towards the rear of a certain Greyhound bus last summer and their move to Winnipeg hasn’t been anything like they expected. They witnessed the brutal …
I love you
Being a therapist, I find ways to expose myself to different ideas, so my home page on firefox has a variety of news feeds and quoteable quotes.. This one caught my eye: I love you. It’s not a weight you must carry around. I love you. It’s not a box that holds you in. I …
In Praise of Gangs
There’s been talk in the news lately about money in the government budget to fight gangs. Gangs are seen as the source of much crime including the proliferation of drugs, financial crime with money laundering, and violent crimes against each other, where innocents can get caught in the crossfire. I’m all about reducing crimes, but …
Respect by bullying?
An odd thought, right? Maybe even repulsive? Christopher Nolan, a renowned Irish author, died last week. Christopher wasn’t just any author…he had to write because, he said, “my mind is like a spin-dryer at full speed; my thoughts fly around my skull while millions of beautiful words cascade down into my lap.” Christopher wrote his …
An End Run on Anxiety
It seems like man’s best friend is also a kid-who-is-struggling-to-read’s best friend, too. I heard an interview today with someone from the Humane Society describing a program where dogs help kids learn to read. I perked my ears up when I heard this…cuz dogs can’t read! The guy says, “It’s hard for some kids to …
Forgiveness
The issue of forgiveness is big in the counselling business. To say that some of our clients have been a little hurt is like saying the pope is a little Catholic. There are times when an important part of what I do is bear witness as a human being to the horrors of another…to allow …
A slow fade
I was recently at a water park…one of those fun ones with water spurting out of all sorts of places, hoses to spray, slides to slurp down on, and a lazy river to float on. There was a large bucket at the top of one of the roofs of the play structure and I would …
R E S P E C T
Aretha Franklin spelled these letters in a song that most of us can hear in our heads just as we spell the letters ourselves. While these words are often associated with deference given to authority, or something you have to provide to those who are older, wiser, stronger, or more intimidating, I think of respect …
Brokenness, not Selfishness
This post might not make sense unless you read yesterday’s post. In it, I talked about how a person can see that they are “giving” to people in a self destructive way and don’t understand it. I suggested that underneath that there is another level in which the giving behavior really serves a purpose to …
Look Deeper for Understanding
I work with a lot of wonderful people-people I admire and learn from. People who teach me about themselves and about life, and as I tell them about what they have taught me, they also learn. Often people come to me asking with curiosity-actually, by the time they are talking to me about it, is …