V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #55: reclaim

July 1, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

In July of 2013, I contracted pneumonia. After a course of treatment, I continued to experience weakness, shortness of breath, and frequent tachycardia. By January, I had seen a gamut of specialists, received no answers, and was worse. Test after test eliminated obvious possibilities. In the end, I was diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. The doctor […]

Hope My Appreciation is Not Subtle

June 30, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Subtle, not-so-subtle, we choose to listen or turn away; attempt to decode – a look, a scent, a nuance – Is this invitation,judgment, oran opening?Seems subjectivityinterprets subtle. The focus this week has been “subtle”. For me, it was a commitment to pay attention to my body – rest when I needed it, and attempt to […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #54: Subtle

June 24, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Subtle is: 1. not loud, bright, noticeable, or obvious in any way; 2. small but important; 3. achieved in a quiet way that does not attract attention to itself and is therefore good or clever. Cambridge English Dictionary Subtlety is not my strong suit. I am outspoken, exuberant, and often joke that I have to […]

Lottery for Life

June 23, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Lottery has been the focus this week. In Canada, our LottoMax now has two draws a week – the dream is apparently alive and flourishing. My mind has turned to the immigration process, part of which is a lottery program. Although, I am not fully versed in this process, I remember hearing the story of […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #53: Lottery

June 17, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

A psychic told Ric that he would win $33 million in a lottery. “Good,” he responded, “because I have no retirement plan.” Always the joker. Still, it’s something we love to fantasize about: what would we do? Ric felt as if he’d won the lottery when diagnosed with Stage III cancer. Six months later, the […]

Orange Is An Anomaly

June 16, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

ArtisticallyNaturedOccasionallyMadAlwaysLearningYearning… According to the True Colours system of analyzing personalities, I am flaming orange, with the least amount of gold, and a balance between green and blue. What that means is that I dislike structure, am highly creative (and a risk-taker) and in equal measure crave order, and feel inadequate. In other words, finding balance […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #52: anomaly

June 10, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

A doctor recently referred to me as an anomaly. It’s not the first time I’ve heard it from the medical profession. Hardly reassuring. The other day, walking amongst the tall green trees, wondering at the richness of the foliage around me, I spotted a twig of a branch with three red leaves on it. Odd […]

Green Is A Novice

June 9, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

I catch myself playing that soul-stripping game of comparison, and come up feeling dreadfully inadequate. My writing is lacking, my photography sucks, and it’s an embarrassment to self that I even post my art. Not actually – but this is the fallout from comparison. I need to turn this thinking around: I am blessed to […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #51: Green

June 3, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

“It’s not easy being green,” Kermit the Frog sings. I suppose not if you are green with envy. “I have to smoke,” my father would say. “I’m too green to burn.” I am in love with the multi shades of green that mark our Spring season here in Ontario, so I have decided to make […]

Acceptance and Endurance

June 2, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Some things are put in our path to battle, some to test our faith, and some to teach us acceptance. I wrote this while waiting to see the specialist, not knowing the outcome. Seems my lesson, this time, was as Jazz noted in the comments this week, was endurance. Happily, I made it. Inspired by […]

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 […]