I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive. Joseph Campbell Not long ago I celebrated my birthday, an event made more memorable by my friendly neighbourhood drugstore, which announced that as a “young senior,” I now qualified for a special…
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. Picasso Creativity isn’t the exclusive domain of the Picassos or Mozarts of our world. In truth, we are all creatives and creative expression comes in all shapes and forms. Here are simple everyday activities we can all do…
Spring is when life’s alive in everything. Christina Rossetti There’s nothing more exhilarating as a sunny spring day. Mother Nature in her glory of colours, scents and sounds not only awakens our senses to life in bloom but also stirs within us a sense of excitement, joy and hope (especially after a long winter). I…
Love is the absence of judgement. Dalai Lama “You’re a disgrace to your profession!” The woman marched towards me with a scowl on her face. I glanced back over my shoulder. Is she talking to me? She angrily waved her hands in the air exclaiming, “How dare you hand out this poison!” “This isn’t healthy…
To be loved means to be recognized as existing. Thich Nhat Hanh Have we become invisible to each other? This thought crossed my mind on a recent visit to a favourite café. As I sipped my tea and nibbled on a pastry, I quietly observed a couple seated nearby. It seemed strange to me that…
Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow. Mark Twain French novelist Victor Hugo famously thwarted procrastination by writing in the nude. As recounted by his wife, Adele Foucher in her memoir, Hugo faced with a looming deadline for his now classic Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame),…
One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. Virginia Woolf I believe that food is more than just fuel for your body; it’s also nourishment for your soul. This I learned at an early age. My maternal grandmother owned and operated a restaurant and my father, for many years,…
Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. William Morris, designer, poet, novelist I recently returned from British Columbia where I joined my siblings in packing up our childhood home. My parents had sold their house and we faced the seemingly herculean task of sifting…
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few. Shunryu Suzuki Roshi Patience was never a particular strength of mine. As a child I was fidgety, and as a young woman I was always striving to get my ducks in a row and fixated on the destination rather than…
The moment you wake up, right away, you can smile….You are aware that a new day is beginning, that life is offering you twenty-four brand new hours to live, and that that’s the most precious of gifts. Thich Nhat Hanh The tune It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And…