No Stopping the River

October 28, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

The first rule in interpreting dream messages, is to recognize that the meaning of a symbol varies with personal experience. This is why dream dictionaries are ineffective. This week’s responses to the river prompt clearly demonstrate this principle. For me, I have always envisioned the collective unconscious as a river whose flow encompasses all – past, […]

Contemplating the River

October 26, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

You can’t push the river, a teacher once told me. So true. I’ve had a lifetime of trying to outrun the river, and consequently, the shattered pieces of my efforts litter life’s banks. With illness, I have come to appreciate that it is not about flowing with the river, or keeping up, but being open. The […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #20: River

October 22, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Everyday, in the aftershock of losing a seventeen year marriage, I sought out the river. I would say a prayer, then walk off the grief and strife, until I came to a bench, where I’d sit and contemplate the message of the flowing water. “Finding my inner peace”, is what my son called it. A […]

A Week of Distances

October 21, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

The distance between one Sunday and the next is always the same, time wise, and yet this week felt so much longer than most. Wednesday brought emotional upheaval, and subsequent exhaustion, and then Friday morning my 91-year-old mother was admitted to hospital, while Ric and I attended a funeral for an extended family member. Life […]

Birthing The Soul

October 18, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

I stuff down the cookies as if the faster I eat the more I can distance myself from the misery that has bubbled to the surface. “Write about it,” my psychologist suggests as she ushers me out of the door, our session having run past the allotted time. I told her about the weekend I […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #19: Distance

October 15, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Distance by Archibald Lampman To the distance! Ah, the distance! Blue and broad and dim! Peace is not in burgh or meadow, But beyond the rim. Aye, beyond it, far beyond it; Follow still my soul, Till this earth is lost in heaven, And thou feel’st the whole. How do we measure distance, between hearts […]

Reflections on Gathering

October 14, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

The forecast for last night was a frost warning. “The rooftops were white this morning, did you see?” a neighbour asked me at our communal brunch. I hadn’t noticed, but I am feeling it in my body. Things are seizing up. We’ve had a week of get-togethers, starting with Thanksgiving. Tuesday, we drove into town […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #18: Gathering

October 8, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

It’s a long weekend for us here in Canada. Traditionally families come together, partake of a large meal and give thanks for the blessings in their lives. It is not difficult to feel blessed when family is gathered together. What else is gathering at this time of year? How does ‘gathering’ factor into your current […]

Re-Focusing Attention

October 7, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

The past week has been very draining on many levels. I know others have felt it, as well. The surge of emotional and psychological upset has taken its toll on my physical well-being. I spent the morning in bed, and part of the afternoon, and then, since the rain was holding off, I asked Ric […]

Exploring Stonetown

October 3, 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

Sunday, being the last day of September, spurred my longing to get outside. The clouds hung low, threatening to drop their contents at any moment, but I didn’t care. We’ve been in our new town for two months now, and have had little time for exploring. A river flows through the village, and there are […]

Chickadees in the House

A friend from my poetry circle honoured me with a birdhouse painted with Ukrainian colours. John has since passed away, and this summer we were finally able to give the birdhouse a home in our garden. Happy to say, John, that the chickadees have settled in and I am joyfully reminded of you everyday.

This Life A Road

This life a road –the way preparedsigns to guide me,and still, I get lost. Construction, distraction,disobedience – throw me off –tendency to choose tougher routes,broken down and been sidelined And yet, the road still beckons,invites progression, thrills.A rolling stone gathers no moss,my father liked to say, and so… I push ahead, keep motoring,trust the obstacles […]