we came here and we tried, all of us, in our different ways

The only real failure is the failure to try
and the measure of success is how we cope with disappointment,
as we must.
We came here
and we tried,
all of us, in our different ways.

Can we be blamed for feeling that we are too old to change,
too scared of disappointment to start it all again?
We get up in the morning.
We do our best.
Nothing else matters.

But it's also true that the person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing.
All we know about the future is that it will be different.
But perhaps what we fear is that it will be the same,
so we must celebrate the changes.
Because as someone once said: "it will be alright in the end. And if it's not alright, then trust me, it's not yet the end."

best exotic marigold hotel

if it all worked in opposites

well, i do agree.

The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of all kinds.
 
Tenzin Gyatso14th Dalai Lama of Tibet

i found a dirt pile and its pretty here

better life index

How's life in Canada?

I was surprised at some of these findings, found here

On average, people in Canada spend 2 minutes per day in volunteering activities, lower than the OECD average of 4 minutes per day .

and sometimes it doesn't seem like strangers converse....

Conversely, 66% reported having helped a stranger in the last month, the highest figure in the OECD where the average is 47%.


Create your own and compare!
Some of my highest comparisons were for Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway...nor surprising!

like this boat

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

excerpt from stopping by woods on a snowy evening - r.frost

brand new

I just met a new person today. By 'new' I mean born almost 12 hrs ago (as I post this).

It has been at least a couple of years since I met such a new person.
Someone so fragile, so tiny, and so quiet.
And I was there when this new person put clothing and socks on for the first time.
These small events seem very important. And I suppose they are.
They become elements in our development towards being a "human being" in "society".

I'm astounded to think of all of the things I did for the first time in my life. And how many of those things I've repeated. Day after day. Week after week. Month after...you get the picture.
What about things I've only done once and that was it?
Escargot. Yep, only ate that once.
Beef tartar. Same.
Rollerblading.

learning without books

The past few weeks have been quite intense.
I've been taking training to be a palliative care/hospice volunteer.
The training is designed to have us confront all sorts of fears around death, loss, grief, sadness and also encourage us to reflect on how we communicate, listen and relate to people.
I've started reading my second Osho novel - "Intimacy - trusting oneself and the other" and tonight it just dawned on me that as useful it is to educate oneself, in some ways it is much more useful to have life experiences. Reading and education build upon experience, as does relating oneself to our surroundings and others and not the other way around. Without experiences such as loss, sadness and grief, I honestly think that having empathy for others and relating to how other people feel is a limited activity. That's not to say that I need to have lost someone to understand loss, but I do think that I need to have truly felt a loss (end of a relationship, moving to a new city, saying goodbye to a friend etc), reflected upon it and have come to peace with that loss before I am really able to relate to others loss. Sometimes that just takes time.

I know in the coming weeks I will learn a lot more about loss once I begin volunteering. This will also mean that I will need to take care of myself and give myself time to be reflective and to bring joy in my life.

The passage below caught my attention. It may not catch yours. And me, even 1 year ago or 6 months ago may have passed over the same text without a second thought. The idea that things come to us at the time that we are ready to receive them or someone comes into our life at just the right moment, is something I truly believe in. I guess it could be a chicken or egg type of thing (did it choose me or did I choose it?!), but sometimes there seems to be such seamless direction that it makes me wonder if there's a path for me, for you...

Osho - thoughts on being with self and others

"We have always lived with others. From the moment the child leaves the mother's womb, he is never alone.  When you start moving inward, all those faces fade away, all that crowd disperses...you have known the crowd, relationships, the joys and miseries of relationship... you will be surprised: You were lost in the crowd; now are you are not lost. You were lost in that jungle of a relationship, and now you have come home. You will relate, but you will not depend; you will love, but your love will not be a need.

...gather courage and go into this space. Even if it feels very sad and very lonely, there is nothing to be worried about; we have to pay this price. And once you have reached your source, the whole thing will change completely, and you will come out of as an individual. That is the difference I make between an individual and a person: A person is a false phenomenon, and individual is a reality. Persons, personalities, are masks, shadows; individuality is substance, it is reality. And only individuals can relate, can love - persons can only play games."

the cutlery of life

Alice came to a fork in the road.
'Which road do I take?' she asked.
'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire cat.
'I don't know,' Alice answered.
'Then,' said the cat, 'it doesn't matter.'
 
Lewis Carroll, 1832-1898

more than i dared

the intensity of not life

the summer day
by Mary Oliver

  Who made the world? 
  Who made the swan, and the black bear? 
  Who made the grasshopper? 
  This grasshopper, I mean-- 
  the one who has flung herself out of the grass, 
  the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, 
  who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-- 
  who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. 
  Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. 
  Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. 
  I don't know exactly what a prayer is. 
  I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down 
  into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, 
  how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, 
  which is what I have been doing all day. 
  Tell me, what else should I have done? 
  Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? 
  Tell me, what is it you plan to do 
  with your one wild and precious life? 

blast from the past

on tour now

please put the kettle on

it's cold out. 

all i want to do is cozy up inside.

with tea.

slippers.

a book.

i cherish the winter months for these things. 

ɹǝɥʇǝƃoʇǝɹɐǝʍǝpısʇnoǝɹɐǝʍuǝɥʍ

Daniel Snaith's new venture

Daphni

Stream it here:

http://soundcloud.com/caribouband/sets/daphni-jiaolong/

But support and buy if you can.

more Alaska photos

nathan j barnatt disguised

and with some new dance moves in his latest dance video supporting Obama 2012

fjm being funny

safe meat eating

Very glad I shop here: http://www.pasture-to-plate.com/

ew meat recall

must see

Antiviral by Brandon Cronenberg.

new music like

Jara
from Iceland

fog and ice

russell works in produce

Just a random, quick blog post on a slow Friday at work. This day is dragging.

First thing: If you live in Vancouver, are a female and like to dance, DDPP has started up again!
Second thing: Claire Boucher (aka Grimes) has such an enticing look about her. Don't you concur? Here.

goodbye small spaceship

I'm getting a new modem and I am darn excited.

I mean, look at this thing:

It's a mini space ship.

I've had it for almost 4 years and it's not working anymore.

Luckily, Telus agreed and with no cost will replace it.

Has anyone seen the episode from the IT Crowd where Jen thinks that she is has the "internet" for one day? 

"This, Jen, is the internet."

Cilck here

Alaska: the sunset set

Sunsets at sea were amazing. Here are some of my favorites from the 7 days on the water.

at sea

I've posted some pictures I took during my Alaska trip on a flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/bipsyinalaska/

I've not decided on favorites yet, but when I do, I will post some here on the blog. 

back from the last frontier...

I've been in Alaska for the past 2 weeks. I have much to share and will do so very soon!

a motorcycle, gord downie and wine coolers

I just saw the movie 'One Week'. It is a little mushy and so very Canadian, but I recommend it. If you've driven from Ontario to B.C. you might even notice that it's out of sync (e.g. the largest hockey stick and puck are in Duncan B.C., while Joshua Jackson is trekking across the Prairies), and you may also recognize Emm Gryner, Gord Downie and Joel Plaskett.

I found the narrator in the movie to be very tongue and cheek and ironic.
Joshua Jackson ain't half bad either.