The apple blossoms and tulips are blooming. Amazing how good they are for thirsty eyes that hunger for something all those months when our environement lacks color. They brighten the spirit, and bring a smile to the soul. Look in wonder at the beauty around you–and be restored.
Reach out and touch someone
My grandfather died last week. He was 96 (though the government insisted he was 97 because of a decades old administrative error)…a quiet man who was a laborer, a good man, one that his family cared about. He was practical–didn’t want to get a new warm jacket in his early 90’s even though he needed …
Osborne House–35 years strong
I was at Government House today to attend a reception celebrating the 35th anniversary of Osborne House. Osborne House is a women’s shelter providing a 24 hour crisis line and emergency short term housing for women experiencing domestic violence. The politicians gave wonderful and humourous speeches, the board chair gave a recount of the early …
Perspective 101 – as taught by Donald, age 7
So life has had a few more downs than ups lately–the most and recent obvious one is the rather large and purplish toe on the end of my left foot. The toe that doesn’t really bend–or at least without serious discomfort. The toe that is really a small part of my body, but was to …
Being Surprised by Joy
I woke up this morning prepared to grind through the day–an all day workshop with a meeting downtown that I needed to scramble to during the lunch break. I had a heaviness about me…a Friday that was going to be loooong (followed by an equally long Saturday at the workshop–no weekend for me). On top …
Discipline and Freedom
The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating-in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. -The Way …
Suspicious of Grace
This video is a testament to our culture: Watch and giggle and think.
It takes a crisis to raise a village
I was listening to someone talk about volunteering north of Winnipeg in the sandbagging efforts. She talked about what a great time she had. She specifically talked about how a group of strangers so very quickly came together to do the job, and that there was “none of the awkwardness” which so frequently arises when …
Contemplating the End
I sat with a dear friend yesterday-someone who is over 80, and has many friends and family, but no direct descendants. I had my laptop on my knees, and we discussed what would happen after she died. With no children to plan the funeral, who would do what? I wanted to give her the opportunity …
Working to Escape Life?
The Winnipeg Free Press had a fascinating article yesterday that stated: During the Great Depression in the 1930s, Kellogg’s instituted a six-hour workday in its plants to take up the slack of too many people and not enough jobs, he says. Within two years, workers were accomplishing as much in six hours as they had …