Survivors ~1

In the midst of survivors

I feel like a leaf on a magnificent tree that sheds its leaves each year

 ~ brilliant leaves shorn by wild winds, 

crumpling underfoot with each passerby,

soaked and moulding through cold rain or snow,

cycling through seasons flowing through time

and yet

it is not the leaves that survive

but the very tree or shrub that creates them

branching out over sidewalks and roads

standing tall in the wildest of winds

sheltering all of the lives in and around them

standing alone or within community

roots running deep tapping into the earth or

spreading and mingling with others below the earth

focusing each moment on each seed planted.

“It’s not the strongest or most intelligent who will survive

 but those who can best manage change.

~ Leon C. Megginson

Author's note: Edited February 18, 2024

Book Review - Principles to Live By - A Novel by David Adams Richards

This novel by David Adams Richards was a difficult read. It surprised me because I like mystery stories. How the author has travelled from beginning to end. All the nuances of character and mystery fascinate me. Without telling you the specifics of the story ending, I can tell you that the beginning was an unpleasant foster home event. A hint that social services were involved, I passed over without much thought. The end completed what became very convoluted stories and to my satisfaction.

Missing the discussion at this month’s book club was a disappointment to me as I had several concerns. My concerns were that the story seemed quite choppy to me, moving suddenly from a foster home in New Brunswick to the devastation of Rwanda and back again repeatedly. Then there was the disappearance of two unrelated children, one Canadian and the other from Africa. There were also an abundance of characters, which felt rather too much, however in retrospect were all necessary to these intertwining stories. The main character, John Delano, an RCMP officer at the end of his career, struggled doggedly through all these complexities. His reputation in question did not deter his focus to find the facts and to locate the children. Any complexities not only involved two children, but individuals at the highest political strata both in Canada and in global affairs.

A very intriguing read that I highly recommend.

"But there is something about it I never figured out 

- that is, I am not sure if it happened that way or not.”

~ John Delano, fictional RCMP officer

Title:  Principles to Live By

Author:  David Adams Richards

Publisher:  Doubleday Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited

Publication Date: 2016

Format:  bound

ISBN: 978-0-385-68245-9

Format:  epub

ISBN: 978-0-385-68246-6

Type:  Fiction

Author's Note: Edited February 18, 2024

Water Fall

Steady beat of water 
tipping from above 

parting my greying hair

rivulets tracing their way 

down my slender neck to wash over the fragile cliffs of my shoulders, sliding down the strength of my arms 

dripping from worn fingertips 

sheeting down my back 

between a small boney outcropping of my winged shoulder girdle 

like a lost river finding it’s way 

through moistening bumpy plain

my curving spine lending focus to the water fall

bouncing from arcs of solid hip bones

gently surfacing over soft fleshy mounds 

water warmed sliding down resting thighs, 

tapping gently behind soft waking knees 

leaving spray drops rising up in the mist of water falling 

soft gurgles curl down the drain 

carrying day-night debris of matter and energy 

to sluice away into nothingness.

“There is deep wisdom within our very flesh, 

if we can only come to our senses and feel it.”
~ Elizabeth A. Behnke

Sensations of Now

Feel where your feet are

Sense balance of spirit

Focus outside of your mind

Breathe deep into your belly

Feel the voice of your heart.

“I have one aim only: to impart a fraction of the meaning of the word now.”

~ Frederick Salomon Peris

An Ocean View

Driving to lunch this afternoon with friends, we took the scenic route along Dallas Road and Beach Road. The wind had cleared heavy clouds that rained all night. The ocean rolled and frothed showing the power of that immense body of water. Waves lashed the shore around Clover Point and the cliffs around Dallas Road. It was a demonstration of great power and beauty. Also showing the potential for devastation.

This morning I listened to yesterday’s episode on CBC's The Sunday Edition about the dehumanizing effect of the phrase ‘grey tsunami’ on old people. The interview was with Andrea Charise, a professor at the University of Toronto who teaches a class called “Aging and the Arts”. Andrea Charise has a PhD in English literature and has worked as a medical researcher in the fields of geriatrics and clinical epidemiology. The phrase shouts ‘Be afraid’. Society will be drowned with the great burden that is coming whether we want it or not. This phrase ‘grey tsunami’ was not intended to have this effect but to just say that huge numbers of elderly will require care. But the effect on an individual level is to enhance the age old worry of being a burden on ones family, on the community and the health care system. This phrase fails to address the beauty and wisdom of this great body of humanity. Not all of us become wise with our years and our beauty often is only in the eye of the beholder. 

So, when we are preparing for a massive potential disaster, we must also focus on ourselves and the individuals around us for strengths, wisdom and yes, need. After all, many of us are still working within the foundations of our society to support ourselves and our families. Many of us are still using the lessons of our years to create vast pools of calm and laughter. I don’t know about the rest of us, but I will challenge this dehumanization. 

“Where there is not community, trust, respect, ethical behaviour 

are difficult for the young to learn and for the old to maintain.”

~ Robert K. Greenleaf, Servant As Leader

Sweet Surprise

I saw a tree today

not one of the flamboyant fall trees lining sidewalks

or one of the gnarly old Garry oaks trees in the park

or a tall pine in the midst of all the autumn falling leaves

but a fanciful sketch on a little white board ~

a gift left by family houseguests yesterday.

I seldom look at the side of my refrigerator

except to use my fridge magnets for notices

but a glancing glance with

  curious surprise at a white board that had been blank

focused my attention

   brought a smile to my face

     and light to my heart.

Thank you Jason and Corette!

“There is no surprise more magical than the surprise of being loved.”

~ Charles Morgan, Playwright and Novelist

Mixed Media

Lines tracing length and breadth 

Creases drawn from love and concern

Broad strokes sketched across a brow

Tiny, thin flourishes express joy or sorrow

Dark eyebrows flecked grey with silver

Shadowed roughened cheeks scraped smooth

Malleable canvas draped and stretched over an ivory frame

A softened sculpture of focussed living.

“You have to create your life. You have to carve it, like a sculpture.”

~ William Shatner