New Becomings

  I don't have any degrees. I went to University for, as my dad called it, "Basket-Weaving", not exactly an intellectual pursuit - it was Theatre Arts, but whatever, I ditched after 1 year. Much later in life, after moving to property in the north, I took a certificate course in, as I called it, "How to Play in the Woods", which was a Rural Recreation program. In between those times, about 20 years, I played the guitar and wrote songs, spending hours of my days in practice (mostly because I was searching for meaning, broke, and there was nothing else to do... but I digress). I am pro-intellect and I am pro-community. I've always respected and appreciated those who've had the gumption, energy and brain power to spend much of their time learning to the point of accreditation, which takes many years. They're not learning to say, "look at me, look at me!", they're learning because they are interested in knowing more about something. They...

 “The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day.” ― David Foster Wallace   All the stuff and things we learn over time create who we have been, who we are, and who we become. As in any discipline, like say math... we must understand simple addition and subtraction before moving on to more complicated equations, and then onto complex descriptions and searching of life itself, in reasoning, problem-solving, critical thinking and creativity. Anything we come to understand should be practiced continually - it's not just an ah-ha moment of clarity that allows you to sit and know something forever after... there is always more to know and with practice it becomes easier to apply in daily life. When I understood stoicism and why patience is seen as a virtue, it became a difficult dai...

All families had a rough go during the pandemic. This year has also been tough as we slowly come out of the collective trauma, but made so much easier by the principals, teachers, aides and support staff of schools. My children could not wait to return to in-person learning as they navigated the pandemic through puberty, figuring out who they are, teen-angst, a confusing home-life and no socialization. We parents have a newfound admiration for the unsung heroes who have always been there for our children, yet we had no idea what it actually takes to hone skills, emotional growth and knowledge, it is a true gift. Our teachers not only had to quickly create online learning platforms with no previous experience but maintain their roles as tutors, coaches and educators at a distance. I watched my children come out of their shells this year, finally back inside the classroom. There was some difficulty as they introduced themselves to new schools and their peers with the amazing encouragemen...

 Spring is a few days away. It feels different now that restrictions are being lifted after 2 years of being in pandemic limbo, here anyway. On the other side of the world, war is raging like a historical horror busting back into our consciousness and slashing our collective sanity - though wars have always raged, I mistakenly thought it was mostly contained to desert oil sands and religious sects. After finding some solace in my geographical location, personal brand of spiritual awareness, and secular understanding, I thought I had become less concerned with others and their issues - content just to live in my little bubble of bliss. But, discontent has swept across the world and my psyche is not immune, people are now just angry and weird, and it affects me to the point of having to gain back some sense of control.  There's nothing I can do about pandemics and wars - I'm so tired of 'solutions' being tossed around like everyone's an expert on everything. Like, if ...

  Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next  ~Gilda Radner When someone makes a statement about something, it doesn't mean it is at the exclusion of other things. It's a point. One point in the myriad of points that make up our collective knowledge base. When people debate a subject, it's one subject. That subject may become moot or blended in to another subject for further debate. When I say something it is because it is meaningful to me at the time - yet time marches on, I may change my mind or not, but that statement becomes a thing of the past. If a past statement has any relevance to now, it may be used again, perhaps using different words to clarify or update, but again, time marches on, and it may become irrelevant. When people ask questions, the answers come in different forms depending on who is answering. We understand that 2+2=4, no need to discuss the ramifications...

If the truth can be told so as to be understood, it will be believed. ~Terence McKenna If someone had told me that in my later adulthood I would be witnessing a separation of realities, I wouldn't have believed it, but here we are. The internet has created factions of stern believers in all sorts of ideas and ideologies, that once taken hold are difficult to diffuse. Those who have not spent time understanding their own mind/consciousness are subject to conditioning. Understanding the mind is a life-long process because it is more than what we could possibly write down or comprehend in one sitting or even in one lifetime. We cannot fully understand individual consciousness by surface dwelling with spiritual tools of the day or reading books or taking mind-altering drugs or meditating in silence... Realizing and proactively using mind/consciousness means a difficult discovery of looking at our own behaviour, its cause/effect, and self-awareness through the insight that there are ma...

Conversations and debates with people who think differently than you is difficult, especially online where tone and expression are absent. I find it important to have these conversations nonetheless because many of us live in echo-chambers and socialize with mirrors. When people live in bubbles, they can't see clearly what's outside of it, and end up believing what they see and hear is an overwhelming societal majority, when really, it's not - it's just a majority in that particular social bubble. Most people I know who are aware of this simply don't engage with those living in obvious bubbles - the problem with that is people get entrenched in the opinions of their bubble, and once people are entrenched they feel the need to enlarge that bubble, trying to convince everyone outside of it that what they think is Truth. Believing you are in sole possession of Truth is dangerous, and even more so when surrounded by those who believe the same way. Exactly one year ago, ...