"But if in your thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons, And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing." - Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931)The low afternoon sun cast soft rays through a cool October breeze. Tall maples filled the park with fiery shades of orange and gold. These colorful trees conveyed feelings of strength and peace.Two children darted across a carpet of crackling leaves. They shouted... Read More
"Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all.." ~ Emily DickinsonThere is a bittersweet quality that permeates the air in September. In the northern hemisphere, we say our reluctant goodbyes to summer. When September rolls around there is something in our early programming that kicks in. We gear up for all of the activities associated with fall. Kids return to school and we all begin... Read More
It was way past 10:00 pm when I came home from a grueling day of schoolwork and extracurricular activities. The wind was rustling about overhead as I paced through the door of our humble abode. I moved towards the nearest couch and plumped myself to rest. Defeat and exhaustion filled my frame as I laid back against the soft cushions. But then I remembered our Hematology project which was due the next day. Galvanized, I scrambled off my feet and... Read More
I have no idea how it started or who launched it. Nevertheless years after all of the women in my family died (they were the initiators of all of our major family events and thingamajigs). After the demise of these women our family unit was left largely comprised of men). In recent years, I started paying attention to remarks that I'd heard growing up and today continually heard from other family members about how our family is considerably dissimilar or... Read More
I love you not because who you are, but because who I am when I am with you There is no one in this world that worth your tears, and if they are, they will never make you cry. If someone loves you not in the way you would like to, it does not mean that they don not love you in their own way A good friend is the one that will hold your hand... Read More
Q: I was wondering if you could recommend any books on motivation and change that are fun to read and that aren't all rah rah, if you know what I mean. Could there even be such a thing as a book that's like a novel or short story that's about motivation?Your question is very well-timed. I've recently been reading, for about the hundreth time, one of my favorite books. "Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah" by Richard Bach, is... Read More
Some people live in and talk about the past so much it's as if they are "planning for the past."The "I'm an adult victim/survivor of (fill in the blank)" culture does a great disservice to the possibility of change. There comes a time when you have to give up the identity of victim/survivor and decide who you will be now and in the future.Here are 5 emotional states that can change your life: disgust, commitment, desire, decision and resolve.Some people... Read More
Some people live in and talk about the past so much it's as if they are "planning for the past."The "I'm an adult victim/survivor of (fill in the blank)" culture does a great disservice to the possibility of change. There comes a time when you have to give up the identity of victim/survivor and decide who you will be now and in the future.Here are 5 emotional states that can change your life: disgust, commitment, desire, decision and resolve.Some people... Read More
Here's a quote from the late great columnist Sydney Harris that I believe says much about the state of marriage in our culture: "Almost no one is foolish enough to imagine that they automatically deserve great success in any field of activity; yet almost everyone believes they automatically deserve success in marriage."One of the best unexpected blessings of marriage is to count the parents of your spouse among your friends.Certain so called "parenting experts" may be saying the right things.... Read More
Let's file this one under the heading of random musings and observations, or what I like to call "things I've noticed along the way so far."Of the many things we tend to forget about in our fast paced culture, two of the most important are how to play and how to rest.Even if the grass is greener on the other side it's still got to be mowed.Like most men, one of my biggest emotional needs in marriage is to be... Read More
Safety is an interesting concept. When we think of safety we almost intuitively think of its opposite, danger. Some people say that "our thoughts create our reality." I would differ with that in one important way. I would say our thoughts create our perception of reality or our interpretation of reality. That is not the same thing, but it is at least as important. Byron Katie says "Reality is kinder than our thinking."There are many things we cannot control. We... Read More
We all know the truism that "charity begins at home." Does it? And what is charity about, anyway? Is it just a square on a Monopoly game to you or is it a regular practice of giving from your abundance to those in need?My American Heritage dictionary has 5 definitions of charity. The first two are about giving to the poor. The third is "an act or feeling of benevolence." The fourth is "forbearance in judging others." The last has... Read More
Such as my defeat overwhelmed me, so did my love for creating websites! I have four of my own presently. I use these as therapy, you can find your own hobby that keeps your mind at a happy level and life is good.Before finding peace in my life, this is what caused my grief. I had my life as I had known it completely destroyed. I was to have some basic minimally invasive or laproscopic female exploratory surgery. Which is... Read More
Discernment is an inner guide or compass. It is loving and expansive, and offers freedom, honor and options. Judgment on the other hand dishonors, condemns, and contradicts.Judgment is all about others. It always sets up a polarity or emotional value of this is good and this is bad. An example of this is: A person looks at a brown car and decides brown cars are boring and ugly.Being judgmental forms a vicious cycle. The very nature of judgment is to... Read More
Jonathan:ˇ§This is my brother, Jonathanˇ¨. They walked into the room together, one limping as he walked, the other patiently walking by his side. Matthew and Jonathan were brothers who would be attending my VBS class for the next few days. Jonathan was a 9 year old boy who suffered from a mental and physical handicap. He was just as bright as all the other kids in my class, yet it took him a little longer to formulate his thoughts and... Read More
The news came as a shock to us all. He who had been ill for days had been taken to the hospital. It was found out that he had very high amount of creatinine in his blood, resulting from a stone in one of his kidneys.Creatinine is a liquid waste. It causes slow blood circulation, making even breathing difficult. While the normal amount of creatinine in our body is 1.5%, he had 23.3% of it.He had assured us it was... Read More
Last summer, I had an acute case of bronchitis. I was downright bummed. Summer for me meant sun, sand, sea?a gazillion trips to the mall or to my friends' houses, or to another province. I was supposed to exhaust every excess fat on my calves, thighs and belly to hours and hours of fun. Instead I was stuck in the house, stuck with bronchitis.I didn't have a night's worth of sleep since my cough attacks chose to antagonize the peaceful... Read More
Fangs. Killer claws. Hisses, grrrs...and later, yelps. Who is not familiar with cat-dog combats? It's a "hair-raising" party of limbs and tails and yes, the loser sheds most of the fur- mostly, the cat.It was night time and I was in the living room reading a tear-jerker when I heard a throaty, prolonged and wavering wail. Instantly I dropped the book and rushed to the door with one thought in mind - my cat was under attack. The thought brought... Read More
What Inspires You? What motivates you to get up in the morning? Are you one of those people who have a burning desire to achieve something or are you drifting along doing your daily routine? This is something you may not have put much attention on or even any at all but, if you look closely, you may find that there may have been one or more people who have inspired you in your life.Any person who has been successful... Read More
Back in the good old days of school, the teachers would often catch us for daydreaming in class and not paying attention. "Stop dreaming! Dreaming will get you nowhere," yelled the teacher. Is it really so? Does 'dreaming' really get you nowhere in life? The answer is 'Yes'...and 'No'. If you dream and you took massive action to achieve your dream, your dream could very well come true for you. However, if you dream and take no action, it remains... Read More
