“You have your Saturday planned – everything from when to do the laundry, to heading out for errands – to what you’re eating for dinner. Then a phone call and with it an invitation that upends the day’s routine you’ve carefully plotted. A question crosses your mind… “When will I get everything done if I’m out the entire afternoon?” Do you decline politely to adhere to the fixed dynamic or do you decide to play? Neither is wrong but I’d offer up...

“Though I’ve heard it before, I have come back to it now: Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. In fact, I am listening to it now as I write these words. Like the lark, I too ascend when I encounter such beauty. My eyes fill with tears of awe knowing something so sublime is here for us on this earth whenever we choose to invite it into our presence. What is there of beauty that you need to encounter – not tomorrow but now to let you ascend?...

“The metaphor of taking a journey only to return home – back to oneself – is strong. Those of you who have witnessed a family member or close friend at the end of their life may know of this metaphor: it could be called mythic in its proportion given its grand parameters. Starting as a babe, growing up and into who you are – ever on that search for purpose, validation, meaning and truth. Ending in an ever-shrinking body and setting where...

“Learning about something is familiar to us all. Whether online or face-to-face, a teacher, instructor, manual, presentation, expert, neighbour is imparting information you are interested in knowing. If the information is accurate to begin with, this information remains the same.  However, how it is presented and by whom is optional to you the learner.  You prefer a certain teacher’s style and choose to participate in their course, whereas your...

“The sky is a clear blue canvas upon which has been splashed a procession of fluffy-white clouds. It’s so still that the wind has caught its breath and has no intention of releasing it. The trees in their fall foliage are dressed to the nines – each yellow and red hue competing for your eyes’ attention. Squirrels play hide and seek while the crows caw to one another from their respective perches. The setting is like a Rockwell painting...