Shared will

And so yesterday, all of Canada was filling out the census form so we would have a snapshot in time of how many of us there are and who we are. There is something awe-inspiring at having a group of people doing things either together or at the same time, be it in sports, class, military parade or filling a census form.
It seems to be the simple act of shared will and sense of purpose that is the kicker. The feeling is brought to a new level when caring and selflessness toward a goal is thrown into the mix.

Grammatical Faux Pas

As my parents grow old, health weaknesses surface. I research those ailments and my fate emerges. I learn about genetic predisposition for different ailments and their onset as well as their evolution and outcome (eventually, you will die). I am so grateful I never wanted to be a doctor; I would have died by proxy a million times. In my chosen profession, I am at risk of committing an awkward sentence or a grammatical faux pas. Death by embarrassment is not unheard of, but I don't believe it will be my fate.
Hear I go living dangerously and defying dead!

Childhood desserts and snacks

What was your all-time favourite snack as a child? For my part, I used to relish (pun intended) spreading ketchup on a piece of bread. Before going to bed, we three kids would have toasts. I always had the same: toast with butter, cinnamon and heaps of sugar. Total bliss! I can’t imagine how I could sleep after that… Actually, I sleepwalked a lot in those years. Hmm… Do you suppose there is a link? Another favourite was a mix of Carnation milk (we were big on that), banana sliced in round bits and again… loads of sugar! And you?

On Humility

Ottawa has its tulip festival; Kemptville has the dandelion one. In the all-too Canadian competition for most humble-sounding festival, Kemptville wins.
During childhood, you hear kids bragging that "their father is stronger than yours" to which the next kid answers "My father is a policeman" - the Ottawa schoolyard variety goes: "My father is a politician". You can't get any humbler.
Does that explain the Senators crushing defeat? I am sure it will be part of the speculations that we will read/hear in the next little while as hurt fans come to grip with the grim reality that is theirs.

Reflexology

A few years ago, I was introduced to reflexology (foot massage) and I have taken to it. With my current availability, I try and give my significant others regular massages. Depending on the "patient", different areas hurt where the blocked energy needs to be released. I always joke that their foot is in a bad way, but the areas do match with known pains (bad knee or eyes, for example). I never fail to be impressed by the accuracy of the mapping. One of my charges regularly falls asleep during the "treatment" waking only when I hit a painful point.

The Lightness of Being : )

God's body is made up of stars and planets. They are his/her cells. Cool thought, hum? Not my own, but I like to share.
I read about the bodi tree (the tree under which Buddha sat for seven years or 49 days, depending on your source, before reaching Enlightenment). The author was saying that it can only propagate through an insect and was wondering why this insect did not also become a Sacred Insect (by most accounts, the tree is said to reproduce through seeds). Nevertheless, it does raise the question: are there any Sacred Insects? Or are we biased?

Autistics

It turns out when you give the correct tools of expression to people affected by autism, they have loads to say. The problem is not that they can't feel anything but rather that they can't express it in ways we understand. For example, they often can't tell where their bodies limits. They don't know if they are sitting or standing - they cannot move if you say "Come" but will stand up and walk to you if you phrase it this way. This week's Time magazine's cover story explores the brains of those affected and methods to work with autistics.

The Colour Orange

Tiger, fruit, flower, cheese, monk's robes, summer, sun (sometimes), pumpkins, pepper, Sunkiss Express, Montreal subway line
Orange is an interesting color. It shows up in the most unusual places in large vegetables or exotic flowers. I used to endlessly wonder why Velveeta cheese, carrots and oranges share the same color with such differing tastes... Green was everywhere to be seen and one focused on ways to differenciate the various foodstuff rather then concentrate on their commonality. I love the different tints of it - vibrancy and speed, warmth and happiness, sunshine. It is a "feel good" colour in my book.

Hiroshima

Hiroshima. A word that stirs up conflicting emotions in me, mostly sadness and guilt. Growing up, when I saw a wheelchair painted on the road near a lowered sidewalk corner, I would be reminded of the shadows of people imprinted in the asphalt.
I can understand the shame of the generations of Germans born after Hitler. They bore the shame and guilt associated with him. And so it is with me and my uneasy relationship with this word, this past and the pain that was inflicted long ago yesterday today. It lives as a reminder of what happens without love.

Talking as Regression

What if talking was really not an improvement in the human race but a regression? I mean, so many people take offense at perceived slights or fight over misunderstandings. Would we not be more peaceful beings if an imprint of out thoughts or feelings were communicated to one another? You will argue that with the advent of language, we have been able to communicate and retain knowledge much more readily and, arguably, evolve faster.
Maybe then, it is not the fact of talking that is the problem, but rather what is being said. Talking is so overrated. Let's try silence.

Alone thoughts

What are the thoughts that come to you when you are alone? Do you mull over your mistakes, replay the movie of your actions until you get the desired results? Or do you re-live the good parts and enjoy them over again?
Or are you one of those who avoid the thoughts that surface from the depth of your being when there are no distractions to cover them up; no music; no tv; no friends on the phone to drown their voices?
Those voices are the only ones worth listening to: the voices of experience, and of wisdom. Your own.

My To-Do List

Here’s what happens when you think you have a winning idea. You talk about it and make it sound like a great idea for someone else to do it and make it work. Here it goes: as part of my 100 words assignment, I thought it would be interesting to lay out a To-Do list. I decided it should be funny, yet accurate. What an eye-opener. My To-Do List was surprisingly boring with stuff I need to do but that is not very entertaining. I have new-found respect for Leno. (Tip: Hyphenate adjectives so they count only as one word).

100 words - first try

Do you want to know what's on my mind? If you do, at any given time, listen to what I hum. It might be an indication of what I am thinking - or of the last word that hit my conscience. An example would be the word garlic (pronounced "aye" in French) which sends me into a rendition of "Aye, aye, aye, aye! Cielito lindo!" You see, only the sound matters: the meaning itself takes a backseat.
And if nothing else strikes my fancy, I go to bed humming the stupid song, grateful for a new day and new words...

Enough said; more words

Canadiens lost. They played so well. Enough said: time to move on to the Senators...

I subscribed to the 100 words site (http://www.100words.net/front.cfm). Here is the deal: it starts fresh every first day of the month. You write 100 words and upload those to the site. You write every day - not one day in advance, nor do you cram later on. You are allowed to forget one day - just one. You have to finish a whole month before it is published. You can't read what you wrote the previous day. Nothing is published if you miss two days.
I never knew about the constraints. It makes it more interesting, actually. I can't start until June (I didn't know about the guidelines) but now I am excited about it. Nothing like obstacles to make you want to jump higher : ) So - should I practice on my blog? That's already 157 words. Less is more...

May the best one win!

I have been struck down by the flu: the hockey fever has taken hold of me. Evening after evening, I alternate between my favorites and watch the Senators and the Habs triumph or writhe in pain as they sail to victory or crash to defeat. Within my body, I follow them in their ups and downs, go to bed exhilarated or sad and wake up the same depending on the previous night's performance.

I don't watch hockey during the regular season so I am always surprised by the virulence of the attack. This year, I can indulge in my passion (and I do!) which is great. With the "new" regulations, the game is so much smoother, a throwback to the years that followed the games against the Russians when we changed our ways to embrace speed and sgility over brute force. Hockey as an art form.

If all goes well, the Senators and the Habs will meet soon. And then what do I do? Support my adopted home team or stay true to my roots? Either way I will cheer the winner and follow them through the Cup, with sadness in my heart for those who didn't quite make it. There is no excess too great for a goal so great as the Stanley Cup.

May the best one win!

Tidbits

I had an experience where I lived for a week in a monastery. I missed... reading and writing. Everything else, I could do without. Even not speaking was ok. You can communicate very effectively non-verbally. The monastery was located in the middle of some woods. After a week, I came back to the city. The colors assaulted my senses. The noise was ok - not traumatic. But I was amazed by the sensory overload our eyes deal with on a daily basis. No wonder we block out advertising (and the billboards become more conspicuous). It might not be speed but it's equally alienating.

I downloaded Yahoo widgets - so cool. One of them is called "Clockish". It displays the time it is approximately. For example, it says "Half past 7" not 7:29 pm or "7 fifteenish", or "a bit after 7". It fits welll with my present situation where clocks have become a nuisance and a stressor.

A friend told me about a site where you can write 100 words a day - just to keep your writing muscle going. I haven't taken the plunge yet though I am thinking of it. Go there if you are curious: http://www.100words.net/front.cfm

Infant signing

So your child doesn't talk yet but he/she has plenty to say: Hungry? Mommy, Help, Cat, Earache.
I love language in all its forms and sign language has always fascinated me. Infant sign language is easier because it is about simple words and not meant for older children with complex needs. Parents say it cuts down on the frustration on both sides as the child can now effectively communicate his or her needs before he/she can talk. There is less guesswork involved and the child actually teaches signs to the parent too.
I was reading testimonies and one parent was saying how her child signs with one hand when the other is full of fish crackers... Another was saying the child signs as he says the words but his words are unintelligeble and so the sign helps her understand what is going on.
There are studies proving higher IQs as a result... I think it is a given, when a parent goes to that trouble and is alert to a child's need, the child is more stimulated + the child has an influence on the environment so is more self-confident, etc. I also read it stimulates the same brain centers as language does - which makes sense because it's all about communicating.
Anyways, food for thought. Here is a site I liked.
http://www.mimicbaby.com/bsl.htm
and another:
http://www.signwithme.com/001_infant_signing.asp

Signing off...

What's in a Name (2)?

The question of identity has always fascinated me - probably because I always felt I wasn't quite Canadian being born to new immigrants. As a child, I did not have a Quebecois accent and was asked repeatedly where I was from (despite the fact my brothers spoke with no accent and played with the same kids - I guess everybody assumed I was adopted...). I was puzzled - I don't think I really understood that I was speaking "funny".
Fast forward to my life in Ontario - a disproportionate number of my friends go by a given name that is not theirs by birth. Most are... immigrants or children of, who have anglicised their names. Oblivious to the obvious discrepancy between their origins (a Polish friend called "Ron" not Roman, for example), it took me years to realize that most of the people I knew under one name just gave up being called by approximate names that were not their own and decided to take destiny in their hands. They named themselves with a simple name that people would be comfortable with. Similar to "Pi", the boy in Yann Martel's famous "Life of Pi". I had always assumed names were absolute - had I known they were just an easy way for people to address you, I would have changed mine in grade 2... Mine is rare enough in French, and downright exotic (as in weird) in English.
So it's another absolute that doesn't hold. I read that in some cultures, your name changes as you go through life, so that it reflects more closely who you are. Sort of trial and error?
Still looking for absolutes.

Trees

I just finished reading a book about trees and their energies. Since I have been working from home and going for walks in the woods behind the house, I have reacquainted myself with trees. And, after our adventures making maple syrup, I have been even more intrigued by them.
Since reading the book, I tend to look more at individual trees, instead of as part of the woods. I have been trying to write a children's book about trees and was looking for descriptions of how different species "behave" so as not to write impossible stuff...
This book deals with trees in relation to humans - how we can benefit from their presence and what they can teach us. The author uses tree essences in therapies to help people. He takes 9 types of trees and assigns them characteristics that can help heal us at different stages during the resolution of a problem. He also suggests exercises to feel their vibrations and so on. Pretty New Agey stuff. I haven't tried any of the exercises yet but I will - and will keep you posted on all the wonderful things I learn about myself ; )
Actually, walking in and around trees has proven to have mesurable health benefits. It's just that the writing in that book put me off... the pictures in the book are quite beautiful though so all in all, it was a pleasant read.

Fun in the Sun

Did I tell you how much I am enjoying my time off from the corporate world?
This week-end, we collected sap from our maple trees and have started boiling it to create maple syrup. I have uploaded a few pix for your enjoyment:

You see me baby sitting Big Bertha (it's hard work but somebody's gotta do it); then Paul checking on the boil; Paul and Yseult collecting sap for tomorrow's boil; Frika helping out;
I can't wait to sample the final product.

Yeah, sure, I miss work : )