V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #48: Compassion

May 13, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

“Compassion becomes real when we recognizeour shared humanity.” – Pema Chödrön. As a young woman, I braced myself against the world by adhering to black and whites – a judgmental stance that was not conducive to relationship building. More self-protective than self-righteous, this attitude only served as a wall, confining me to loneliness. Then in […]

Lens-Artists: Creativity

April 24, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

I’m in awe of those whose imaginations create “big” – like the statues of these stage hands permanently lifting the curtain at Stratford, Ontario, Canada… Or this butterfly shaped garden at the Botanical Gardens in Corpus Christi, Texas. (For Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge: creativity.)

Wild Card Moments

February 24, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Age, I’m determining, does not define me. Each new decade presents a different attitude and energy in regards to life, and sixty is but a new approach. Naturally, the onset of a debilitating illness and all the losses I incurred, made me feel old and redundant, but I’m happy to say, I emerging from that […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #31: Destination

January 14, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware.” Martin Buber I walk to the kitchen, planning to put the kettle on, but as I pass my purse, I remember that I meant to write myself a note, so phone in hand, I return to the couch and type up the memo. Satisfied with that […]

Windows Close, Windows Open

January 13, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

As winter closes in on southwestern Ontario, I am making my way back to Texas. The window of time to visit Mom is now closed. She is much better than when I first arrived, and in fact, celebrates her 92nd birthday today. We have had a wonderfully intimate time together, something I will always treasure. […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #30: Windows

January 7, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

I find myself obsessed by windows, sizing up the framed image for photogenic qualities and potential watercolour subjects. What is it, I wonder, that has so captured my imagination? For two-and-a-half years, confined to a bed, windows were my only connection to the world – one framing bird feeders and happy activity, and the other […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #27: Intent

December 10, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Last year, when we travelled, I was so sick that all I could think about was survival. Over and over again I told my husband that I could not guarantee my participation in much, hoping he would not be disappointed. The experience blew me away. It also renewed my energy and promoted healing. This […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #25: Un-lived Lives

November 26, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

“I met one of my un-lived lives at a party last night” is the title of a post on bone&silver’s blog. I loved this post, and idea, so much I decided to make it the focus of my challenge this week. How precarious are our lives, or are they pre-charted? Does destiny hold all the keys, […]

Sacrifice’s Wrap Up

November 12, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Up until August 1st of this year, my husband and I lived in motor home for a year, having travelled across North America for six of those months. It was a drastic change of lifestyle for us, and an incredible journey. As with all change, it required certain sacrifices. We let go of our bricks […]

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, […]

Now That I Matter

The times I waited –restless and ragingdeliberately put on holddismissed, degraded, ignored. Why did I put up with that?Was I so afraid I’d lose it all?So uncertain about a future? How the children came to meneed in their eyes, little armsbegging to be embraced,and I too blinded to reach outfixated on the anger, powerless,immersed myself […]

Flowers and Rain (haiku)

Sun Certainty

Clouds bundleshift and foldcotton strata Trees huddleconfidence incommunity Emotions stackone on anotherco-mingling hues Beneath layersan eternal glowsun certainty. (First published April 2021. Image my own)