Unbridgeable?

October 12, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

We mark the Equinoxwith prayers for a planetwaning in the marinadeof political corruption –too gilded to confessthe shameful disarray. (For Reena’s Exploration challenge: unbridgeable. Image from personal collection.)

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #67: sky

October 7, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

I am currently fixated on the sky, as if the gathering clouds have a secret to reveal, or as if the slivers of sun are trying to reach me with a personal message of hope. Is anyone else obsessed with the sky? Let’s look to the sky this week to find what inspiration we can. […]

V.J.’s Challenge #66: savour

September 30, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Our youngest granddaughter loves food so much that when she takes a bite, she’ll close her eyes, hold the food in her mouth, savouring the flavour, and moan with appreciation. She is three. This is surely a God-given gift. Her sister and cousin eat so fast, I’m sure a famine must be chasing them. I […]

Just Smile and Do It

September 29, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

I argue with myself all day, and in the end decide to don a smile to cover my insecurities. I’ve already missed three circle meetings and it wouldn’t get any easier if I put it off one more time. Ric drives me so I can leave my walker at home. Having scouting out the location, […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #65: smile

September 23, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

“Anyone want to share their experiences this week?” I’m stood in front of my third year, Life Strategies class. It’s Friday, the day we have set aside to journal and/or discuss the weekly challenge. This week’s challenge has been to smile at someone new. I never know with this crowd whether or not the challenges […]

Forgive the Dance

September 22, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Please forgive the dance, but it is what I do –one step forward, then slide back,shuffle and lose the rhythmand start again. Always reaching forward –heart securely tucked in place –but there is something embedded,cellular – that invites the struggle and so, I dance – yesterday a warriortoday the fooltomorrow only knows multi-faceted,roughly cut,a gemof […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #64: resilience

September 16, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

There is a catch to this week’s challenge: I don’t want you to use the word itself, but to illustrate what resilience means to you. This challenge is open to any form of creativity. Just create a post and link it back here. Look forward to your responses.

Ripening With Anticipation

September 15, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

I’ve spent the day preparing enchilada sauce, having harvested a few tomatoes. A neighbour gifted me a handful of jalapeños, which are also going into the pot. Later, the kids are coming for dinner, so I hope my feast turns out. So much of life weaves in ways we never expect, and I am unwilling […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #63: ripening

September 9, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Drooping under the weight of their ripening fruit, our tomato plants have escaped their cages. Wax beans are losing their green tinge, and zucchinis, stretching across the narrow garden bed, are full of promise. Even though we planted late this year, there will be something to harvest. The anticipation is killing us, and yet, we […]

A Child Glows

September 8, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Child,delightful youth,my heart’s jewel,you are light-bearer,hope for the future – antics haphazard,laughter contagious,spreading joy,sparking imagination – I pray that your spiritremains joyously vibrant,that reality dawns gently –polishes the radianceof your glow. *** I wrote A Child Glows in November of 2018 in celebration of my granddaughters. I have edited here, slightly. Image from personal collection. […]

Of Trauma Born

Goodbyes tarnishfaith, like ashesscattered My heart grows dismissal,craves a balm of connectionseeks quiet harbour Remind me what it feels like to be safebreath nurturing life,love a rhythmic flow In meditationI reach for peaceimagine salvation But this wayward chaosunrestrainedcements me in doubt Tainted intentionsI lift up to the Universea tempest without hope My soul incubates malicea […]

Hawk (haiku)

Relevance of Story

Stories have power. Parents, teachers, public speakers, and therapists understand that the secret to engaging an audience or connecting with others is through illustration: storytelling. I see it in the eyes of the my grandchildren, who love to hear tales of family history. I’ve seen in the eyes of students, when recognition and understanding light […]