Actions Speak Louder than Words
Two words have been floating in an out of my mind over the past couple of days: integrity and graciousness, two words not commonly used in our daily language, but words that have powerful meaning. By definition integrity means being honest and morally upright; and by definition graciousness means being courteous, kind, and pleasant. Nothing brings these two words front and centre more than a twelve-hour day spent among thousands and thousands of people walking in the heat of the day at Animal...
Read MoreCommitment and Transformation
My husband devours the Saturday Toronto Star. I doubt very much that he reads the obituaries or the classifieds, but he does read most of it over a period of a couple of days. I, on the other hand, seldom read it, but once in a while an article catches my eye. This happened a couple of Mondays ago when I was gathering up the scattered paper to put in our recycling. I skimmed the pages and two headlines caught my attention. I read each to completion. My stomach almost heaved at the...
Read MoreTomorrow is Another Day
Scarlett O’Hara’s closing soliloquy in Gone with the Wind has been resonating in my head since awakening yesterday morning: “After all, tomorrow is another day.” She was quite right! There is always tomorrow—any procrastinator will tell you that! But, perhaps these words are echoing in my head because everywhere I turn these days I hear about or read comments, even exciting how-to suggestions, on facing my tomorrows—especially when one of those tomorrows is the beginning of a...
Read MoreGodbwye —“God be with ye”
On Saturday, October 22, the autumn sun peeked in and out of the clouds. The wind oscillated from gentle and accommodating to cold and brisk. The leaves radiated their brilliant fall colours. And my family said godbwye—goodbye—to my sister for the last time. Mary did not want any fuss, so family and friends stood at the edge of the Scattering Garden in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in London, Ontario as her ashes were scattered beneath her picture. And I sobbed. Saying a final goodbye is...
Read MoreI’m Too Young to be This Old!
Do you find it frustrating, maybe even annoying, when a song keeps playing nonstop in your head? I’m not talking about the one that you’ve heard recently; I’m talking about the one that you have no recollection of hearing, possibly for decades. That’s where I’ve been these past few days with a song The Byrds recorded in 1965 entitled, Turn! Turn! Turn! To Everything There is a Season.* What’s that all about! I never paid much attention to it then— perhaps because I was too busy...
Read MoreThe Glory and Dangers of Success
Cathy Foyston, owner of Back of Beyond Equine Centre in Huntsville, Ontario has enjoyed the success of teaching a faith-based, interactive horse camp for young girls. The son-in-law of good friends of mine has recently experienced success in setting a new record for a 50-K run in the Blue Mountains of Ontario. And I have been advised to “enjoy the moment,” having been successful in winning the 2016 Word Alive Press Fiction writing contest. Do these experiences define success? I...
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