The Door - A Writing Exercise

Acting from within my muse and the parameters set by our writers group, I wrote a very short story. For this month’s assigned writing exercise, we were to write from the stem: I sat in eager anticipation and the door opened….. As always with our small group, we each had a different interpretation of the assignment ~ which we could change or not do it at all. This talented group of writers shared from the very poignant to fantastical to mysterious and to hilarious. Each story elicited appropriate emotions ~ much laughter and some respectful sadness. Here is my offering of The Door with a couple of edits I didn’t see until this morning.

 The Door

I sat in eager anticipation and the door opened. I felt powerful. I felt in control. The silver gray door tinkled. I knew that opening it would usher in my guests. I knew who each of them were because I had invited them. My senses had told me they would arrive, each in their appointed time. My purpose? To only choose those who would bring joy to my life. Beyond that door, and from streams, fields and farms, were the fascinating ingredients bringing to me the wisdom of each generation. I could only choose one individual from each place. A farmer and a rancher, tanned from the sun, field dirt in the creases of their perspiring brows. A seasonal odd jobber and an assembly line worker who worked tirelessly and tediously. A chef and a sous-chef fresh from steamy kitchens. All had been invited to my table. And I, here in my rocking chair, held the power of this grand gathering in my hand. To be ushered into my home and sit at my table was an honour only reserved for those who could get past my silver gray, and very stout, door. 

The Door swung open on my command. There, on shelves clean, shiny and new, were vegetables from not too distant fields, meats from the ranch beyond town, ripe fruits fresh picked in vast stretches of orchards. My weekend was set - to build a beautiful meal from all this abundance. To make soup and store leftovers when the fine meal was finished. Quality unmatched by this food's very freshness, I was pleased that my anticipation would be rewarded while I prepared this enchanting bounty.

“The isolated imagination is easily corrupted by theory, 

but the writer inside his community seldom has such a problem.”

~ Flannery O’Connor, Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose

The Set of Things

Usually a goal 

sets our direction

gives us purpose. 

But, we must set, by ourselves,

with the advice of many others,

our journeys beginnings.

Each step that we take,

also our own, is shored up

by the strength of other pathfinders.

Goals are seen through

wavering mirage patterns set down 

through many todays through many ages.

The quality of our journey,

through bumps, bruises and sunshine

arrives from our singular choices.

Usually any goal is achieved or ~

forgotten, disposed of or transformed

by the disparate shapes and colours of our lives.

“Be grateful for everything. The good, the bad, the ugly. 

Our entire life is a precious gift. It’s all part of our path.”

~ Dawn Gluskin

Quite Necessary!

Quite necessary and very welcome in the domino effect - medical and psychiatric - of untreated active addiction. Six to eight week treatment for those suffering from active addictions and mental health issues. Homewood Ravensview is a branch of the Homewood Health in Guelph, Ontario where many have had to travel across Canada to acquire more focussed treatment for both of these conditions. Individuals do not have to have an addictions diagnosis as Homewood centres all treat mental health, including PTSD. As an adventure, I took the opportunity last evening to attend their presentation at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney, B.C. Robert de Clark, General Manager and a Masters in Social Work; Dr. Lyn McBeath, psychiatrist and addictions specialist and Dr. Michael Berry, psychologist, each shared personal histories as well as the long history of Homewood Health now extending to Vancouver Island. Their presentations provided insight into the workings of this very welcome resource opening May 22, 2019. A Q&A session following their presentations allowed the audience to ask questions from specific grassroots questions (including cycling in the area) to professional questions. All questions were answered appropriately, however if more in-depth was required, they followed up with the questioner(s) following the Q&A period. Paraphrasing from Robert de Clark’s words in his presentation -

We have a beautiful healing setting as well as an historic (old Dunsmuir site) and renovated building, but it is the team that is important. Their team is an interdisciplinary team to be able to share their knowledge and experience for the well being of the client. Access their website for more complete information at homewood.com, specifically the Ravensview site.  Welcome Homewood Ravensview and your team!

“In the longer run and for wide-reaching issues, more creative solutions 

tend to come from imaginative interdisciplinary collaboration.”

~ Robert J. Schiller

Through the Cracks ~ QUALITY 2 ~ Theme for May 2019

Quite necessary……

Usually a goal….

Acting from within…..

Listening to…

Integrity shines…..

Tip-Toeing through…..

Yesterday began…….

“Quality is not an act, it is a habit.”

~ Aristotle

Foraging

As I was writing in my journal this morning, I glanced up out my window to see if the hummingbirds or bees were feeding on flowers in the border. They weren’t there but a doe was. She nibbled daintily on new leaves on the shrubbery. A quick check to my patio saw another doe doing the same to the shrubbery there. I opened the patio door gently, but with enough noise, to have her lightly bound away. I did the same with the window in my writing room, and that doe did the same. I quite enjoy the deer, squirrels and birds in my neighbourhood on this very busy city street. They are not hidden away but quietly defy any citified stuffiness in their instinct to survive.

My personal foraging has been to open boxes, some packed over 20 years ago when I left Texas to return to Canada. Ordinarily, I’ve just opened them, wondered about their contents, closed them again and put them in a corner. This time, and only one of the boxes, I opened the box and took each item out. Taking only a minute or two to decide, the item was sorted into keep, dispose of or disassemble. I didn’t plan on this process, I allowed it to happen naturally, organically, with only the caveat being that the offending box was not returned to the spot I had taken it from. And these boxes, with no intent of their own, are truly offensive by the continual move wherever life has taken me.  Hidden treasures ~ photographs, memorabilia ~ wrapped in yellowed newspaper, waiting patiently for me to begin foraging once again. Foraging for food ~ not for my body but for my soul. Bits and pieces of my life had slowly faded into a background that had seemed dark and empty. And then I found this beautiful needlepoint bit of advice. ‘Quit whining’ was a standing joke between my self and my nursing colleague Coetta Macdonald when we worked together on the Mental Health and Addictions unit in Lubbock, Texas. Each time something or someone was the brunt of our whining the other would remind that whining was not allowed. A rant now and then, but ongoing whining was definitely out of the picture.

I think we all have our many things to whine about. Whether it’s something or someone at work, at home, or just in community. How someone walks, talks, or dresses. For me, I’ve had to learn about solutions to my knee jerk reaction to whine, to get defensive, or rant on just a little too long and loud. Coetta passed away April 14, 2014 of lung cancer. I suspect she did her own share of whining then. 

I’m grateful she left me with this absolutely hysterical message! It was as though the sun had come out and shone on my bright and very full past. Finding that needlework last evening brought some sadness, but mostly joy and gratitude that the silly banter with a good friend has not been lost.

“Stop whining; start enjoying. And when you look 

back at the past, make sure you’re smiling.”

~ Alex Smith

On a Morning Walk ~ Gardens Work

A garden I passed on a walk.

Slippery slopes

sneak up on you

on a spring warm day

in the afternoon

when silence falls

between cars passing

when quiet contentment

jostles on slippery slopes

with uneasy restlessness.

“When I see a slippery slope, my instinct is to build a terrace.”

~ John McCarthy

As For Me and My Taxes

Goals are interesting things. Goals scored in a hockey game. Goals set for a future career. Goals are some thing to be achieved. This is usually accompanied by a couple of feelings ~ ‘OMG! I’ll never be able to do everything in time!’ What is that? Low self-esteem? Lack of belief in oneself? The other feeling is: ‘omg. They’ll be so proud of me if I really do get there. I might be a star hockey player. Or..or..a world famous concert pianist.’ And that feeling? Cautious optimism? Is that a feeling or a projection?

And then there is the goal of keeping, for an entire year, all valid receipts, T4 slips and all other slips from employers ~ anything to do with income and expenditure. Gathering them all together neatly, filling out and filing the necessary tax return on time ~ or paying someone else to do it. Neatness is kind of achieved ~ coloured paper clips and a file folder helps. Whether they’re in the right order for the person that does my taxes, because I certainly don’t do my own taxes, is another issue. That may be a goal for next year…..or not. On time…..has not been one of my strong suits over the past many years. Will retirement aid in that issue? We’ll wait on that til next year, but I do have a file folder for ‘Next Years Taxes’. Creating, and using, this file folder has helped me achieve part of this year's goal to pay for the many benefits I receive because of paying taxes. The most immediate part of this year’s goal? I’m getting my taxes done and filed in the correct month if not the correct deadline date.  

“This is a question too difficult for a mathematician. It should be asked of 

a philosopher” (when asked about completing his income tax form.)”

~ Albert Einstein