Abundance...

Every day, my life spills over with blog fodder! I have written many, many posts over the past couple of weeks. In my head. I just don't seem to have time to sit at the computer, coax the stories out through my fingertips... to the keyboard... to the screen... to your eyes. Indeed, I am blessed with an abundant life!

So, if you notice that I go a while without posting, you'll know that I'm busy filling my life with new experiences. Experiences like listening to Ray Zahab talk about running across the Sahara desert... or researching accomodation options for my trip to Italy... or working on my new model for diagnosing organizational health (inspired by the Serenity Prayer!)... or gathering for meaningful conversation with The Mad Chatters... or spending quality time with Sis... or going for a run with Hubby (warm-up for him/work-out for me).

Here's wishing you a life blessed with abundance - just for today!
PAX,

Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day to youuuu...
Happy Earth Day toooo youuuuu....
Happy EARTH-Day dear stewards-of-this-woooorrld...
HAAAPPY Earth Daaay...
Toooooo....
Youuuuuuu!

At long last, the environment has become a media darling. But it's up to us to make sure it stays there. This can be no "15-minutes of fame" scenario.

This past week, the government of Ontario announced its intention to ban the sale of the archaic energy hog: the incandescent light bulb. Sure, it's easy to draw, but the time has come to say our good-byes. This announcement was welcome news for my friends at Project Porchlight. In fact, this successful campaign was even mentioned in the press release. It's amazing where ONE CHANGE can lead...

We can all do our part to support and heal Mother Earth. It can be as easy as changing a lightbulb... or it can be easy as taking any one of these actions.

PAX,

Loving it... again.

Prompted by yesterday's post, I watched The Red Violin. Again. I can confirm that it is still one of my all time favourite movies. The story winds its way through space & time following the thread of a common, haunting melody that seems to tie it all together. This film is a real treat for the senses!

PAX,

Listening to Life...

"If we can't take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that, then what else are we missing?" - Gene Weingarten

I was reading the Sunday edition of the Ottawa Citizen and got pulled into an article entitled "maestro in the metro". Condensed from an article in Washington Post, it's about an experiment where Joshua Bell, an internationally acclaimed classical violinist, played his Stradivarius in the D.C. Metro station for 45 minutes - busking incognito. Turns out very few busy D.C. bureaucrats took the time to stop and listen... One of the highlights for me was the author's exploration of the value of beauty. "If a great musician plays great music but no one hears... was he really any good?"

Admittedly, I'm also intrigued by the effect of this experiment on Bell's ego. When given a stage, people will pay $100 and more to hear him; put him in a ball cap and jeans during morning rush hour and even a masterfully crafted 18th-century instrument isn't enough to get people to take notice. Except for the children, it seems... the article points out that "every time a child walked past, he or she tried to stop and watch. And every single time, a parent scooted the kid away."

This article seems to have generated quite a buzz in the blogosphere, from critics & fans alike. You can read a bit more about the author's intentions in this transcript of an online chat. And in case you are wondering, Bell made a whopping $32.17 (not including $20 from the lone commuter who actually recognized him). I'm sure he'll get over it. Just last week, he accepted the Avery Fisher Prize for outstanding achievement in classical music. It comes with a $75,000.00 cheque.

I don't know classical music that well and, until reading this article, had never heard of Joshua Bell. However, it seems I have, in fact, heard his music many times... He is the man behind the music of one of my favourite films, The Red Violin.

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
- from Leisure by W.H. Davies

PAX,

Wishing you PAX...

A friend once asked me about the way I sign off on emails & blog posts: "PAX". She asked me what it stood for, perhaps thinking it was an acronym of some sort. Someone else in cyberworld recently seems to have misunderstood my use of the word, thinking it was my name. So I thought I'd explain...

PAX is the latin word for peace. In Roman mythology, Pax is also recognized as the goddess of Peace, one of the minor deities in the roman pantheon. When I sign off using this word, it is my way of wishing you Peace, even if it's just for a moment.

On this Holy Saturday, this wish seems especially fitting. In the Easter story, today represents the time when Jesus lay in the tomb. The world must have appeared particularly dark & troubling to his followers. How confused they must have been! Like so many of us, it must have been a struggle to continue to believe... to have faith... But as is told in many of the wisdom traditions, darkness and death often preceeds renewal and transformation. Nature also tells us this story time & time again. The caterpillar must spend time in a dark place in order to become a butterfly... The seed must die in order to produce the shoot...

And so, on this day which symbolizes those times in our life when we experience darkness and unknowing, it seems fitting to simply wish you...

PAX,

A story that keeps on telling...

Here we are, sitting in the paradox of Good Friday once again. After meditating this morning, I sat and read the story of Jesus' crucifixion from the Gospel of John. How many times have I heard/read that story?! Yet this time, I was given new clarity surrounding one of its many messages. Here is what I heard: we fear what we do not understand... we reject what we fear... what we reject, we in fact, kill.

As usual, I prayed to be shown the relevance of the message to my life. No answer has come yet; it rarely happens that quickly or conveniently. :-) Although I suspect it has to do with the ever-growing realization of the role fear has played - and continues to play - in my life.

This story begs the questions:

• What do I fear?
• What do I reject as a result of that fear?
• What opportunities or possibilities have I killed as a result of that rejection?

The wisdom contained in the Christian stories never ceases to amaze me. Being raised as a Catholic, my knowledge of spiritual texts is limited to those of my faith tradition. And even that knowledge is not very deep. I can only imagine the wisdom to be found in sacred text from other religions too. Although somehow, I suspect they all point to the same fundamental truth: Love triumphs over fear.

PAX & Love to you this Easter weekend,

Going to the birds...

I pray to the birds.
I pray to the birds because I believe they will carry the messages of my heart upward.
I pray to them because I believe in their existence, the way their songs begin and end each day–the invocations and the benedictions of Earth.
I pray to the birds because they remind me of what I love rather than what I fear.
And at the end of my prayers, they teach me how to listen.
–Terry Tempest Williams

I dedicate this poem to my Mom, who still teaches me how to listen to the birds...

PAX,