By MIMI LILIEFELDT Ignorance is not bliss. At this stage in history, our ignorance surrounding the experiences of Indigenous people in Canada is unacceptable. Casting shame is never the point of this column. However, it was my own feelings of embarrassing inadequacy that emphasized how little I know about the people who have cared for […]
By MIMI LILIEFELDT Music has so much power; it can lift our spirts, elicit strong emotions, bring people together, and inspire. It adds texture and vibrancy to our lives. A world without music is a world without dimension and light. Andrew Afework is a gifted piano teacher who lives and breathes music. “I don’t know […]
By MIMI LILIEFELDT Most of us think we know how lucky we are. Aside from a few curveballs our lives have turned out pretty much as we’d expected. A smaller but growing number, however, are living lives they never could’ve dreamt were possible. Muna Shrestha, owner of Glitter Spa on Kingston Road near Lawlor Avenue, […]
By MIMI LILIEFELDT How many of us are lucky enough to have found our calling? The strong inner pull towards a career, craft or act of service is elusive for most, but a few fortunate souls know who they are and what they are supposed to do from an early age. In elementary school Jamar […]
By MIMI LILIEFELDT Art has always brought beauty and joy into our lives. It has also been used as a way to communicate and tell stories. It is widely accepted that art is a form of expression and a tool for bringing people together. Even when opinions differ, it doesn’t matter as much as the […]
By MIMI LILIEFELDT Last month we met Ingrid Palmer, a truly inspirational member of our community. If you haven’t read the first part of her story, we covered how Ingrid, a Black woman, grew up visually impaired (later diagnosed legally blind), a survivor of sexual abuse and went from foster care to living in a […]
By MIMI LILIEFELDT Every now and then, if you’re lucky, you meet a truly inspirational person. In the last year and a half, we have all been treading water, living with uncertainty, learning new ways of being, and frankly it’s been exhausting. Most of us haven’t had the time or the inclination to think about […]
By MIMI LILIEFELDT Everyone has their own definition of success. For many it’s financial security, for some it’s creative fulfillment, and for others it’s a culmination of factors. For Dr. Mary Choi, a well-known Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, a symbol of success is a fancy chair. Dr. Mary is a busy mother of four, and […]
By MIMI LILIEFELDT Over the last month, the world watched in alarm as the Taliban took over Afghanistan. For most of us, the realities of Afghanistan’s history are no more than “news stories” that never quite touch our own microcosm. Lately we talk about all the ways that we are privileged, almost any one of […]
By MIMI LILIEFELDT In a perfect world there is no racism; no inequalities, no injustices, nobody has to stand up for anyone else because there’s nothing to stand up for. In this utopian world we are all equals and treated as such. As it happens, we live here, in the real world. Our world is […]
