It’s a funny thing, character, the way it brands people as they age rising from within to leave its scar – Kate Morton, The Distant Hours The school board I worked for introduced an initiative to promote character education in the classroom. Acceptance, caring, honesty, respect, empathy, perseverance, and responsibility were among the traits targeted. At the start […]
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 […]
My granddaughter paints a row of red flowers with crosses in between. “Flanders Field” she tells me. She’s six. “Your great-great grandfather, my grandfather, was shot in Flanders Field.” She raises her eyes to meet mine. “Did he die?” “No, but he was injured.” He was crawling across the field when the bullet entered and […]
“What do you pray for?” “Inner peace.” “And what are you willing to sacrifice in order to achieve this desire?” The question startles me. “What do you mean?” “To achieve the sacred, you must be emptied of that which obstructs its passage. What stands in the way of receiving your highest good?” I have to […]
We’ve discovered a drive along the river where Great Blue Herons, Red Tail Hawks, and Bald Eagles come to hunt. It’s a dirt road with little or no traffic, except for the odd bird watcher like us. After a week of inclement weather, the sun peeked out yesterday morning, so I convinced Ric to take […]
It snowed early that year, and those who gathered at the church hall were dressed to keep out the cold, mumbling about the weather, and helping themselves to warm beverages. Seems deaths come in threes, and this was the third of our family members we’d buried in as many months. “Where’s Uncle Charles?” I asked […]
I thought about skipping over Hallowe’en, but who doesn’t like a good, spooky story? And I have a few…just have to shake them out of my memory bank… Meanwhile, let’s write, photograph, and have fun with the paranormal. And if that doesn’t work, then use the word veil in another context. I know you will […]
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, […]
Armed with Nancy Merrill’s prompt and my camera, I convinced my husband to drop me off at the river last night, just as the light was fading. The stillness of the day promised to offer some good photo opportunities. Autumn has turned up her colour, although the leaves are disappearing quickly, so I fear I […]
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 […]