Two inmates were laying on their bunks in their cell. The one on top remarked, “I don’t like being confined in this prison. Life is so unfair.” The inmate on the bottom responded, “We should change our perspective. We should think of this as more of a gated community!” When life is unfair, as it […]
Tag: religion
Gardening as spiritual practice
Many of us at this time of year look at our gardens with a slight tinge of nostalgia. The plants are still gorgeous, but hey, we’re Canadians. We know that it’s October and winter is just around the corner. Some of us are already looking at seed catalogues, thinking about next spring, or wondering when […]
What are you nourishing yourself with?
Do you worry about what your kids are eating? Or what your own diet is like? We are currently sharing our home with a delightful two-year-old and her mother, and food plays a significant role in this little girl’s life. She loves goldfish crackers and grapes and yogurt – sometimes all together. She’d probably eat […]
Being really seen and heard
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission held its closing events in Ottawa from May 31 to June 3. In a completely unrelated event five years earlier, May 31, 2010, performance artist Marina Abramovic closed out her powerful exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, called Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present. Why place […]
Don’t worry, be happy
Here’s a little song I wrote You might want to sing it note for note Don’t worry. Be happy. -Bobby McFerrin A couple weeks ago at the beginning of my Sunday talk at our church, I showed the music video to the classic Grammy-winning song, Don’t Worry, Be Happy. The video features Bobby McFerrin and […]
A tale of Christmas and traffic
I travel on the TTC a lot. Meetings. Classes. Shopping. Visits. Out comes my Metropass and away I go. As our beautiful city grows in size and population I find it is becoming a challenge to get from one place to another. The calculations become more and more complex. Should I leave 15 minutes earlier […]
Finding a spacious place in life for meditation
I was preparing this column when the Ottawa shootings took place, throwing Canada into a dark place of fear, confusion, and grief. The following day I received word from my brother in England that our stepmother had just died, ending a long and deeply ambivalent relationship within my family of origin. I’d been planning to […]
Seeking inclusivity in life and faith
I was recently married. For most people that may not seem earth-shattering, but my partner and me were one of the 110 couples married at Casa Loma on June 26 during the World Pride ceremony. Yes, my spouse and I are same-gender: women. It was an amazing experience and our private ceremony captured the love […]
Life lessons from the land
Recently, I have come face to face with my own arrogance. This life lesson began several years ago when I had a bit of money and I decided to invest it in a piece of land northeast of Bancroft. At the time there were several reasons for this decision. First, I trusted the value of […]
Building community at church
If Beach United Church has registered on your radar screen in any way, it is probably due to our beautiful, newly renovated space that is just up from Queen on Wineva Ave. It is a splendid light-filled building, and if you’ve been walking past at night when the lights are on, it just glows! For […]
