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today 		"The things we want are really the times we share."

"The most important things we bring with us are within us."

"If I had only one thing I would take a smile over an iPod."

~ Rob Hueniken

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Social Change

Thumbnail image for You will be eating again soon

You will be eating again soon

October 3, 2009

The finishing moment of many pleasant restaurant meals is having a fortune cookie. Dropped off with the cheque, fortune cookies are a final treat, and usually a source of optimistic wisdom. So it surprised me when I opened my fortune cookie to find this message: “You may be hungry soon: order a takeout now.” At first I thought that the cookie writer was expanding upon an old joke about Chinese food burning off quickly, but then I read it again. Yes, I would be hungry soon — not “may be hungry soon”. I would want something to eat, and I [...]

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Going through life on an angle

September 29, 2009

One of my favorite people is a friend who challenges himself in many fun and interesting ways. Whether it is acting on the local stage, shooting video, or leaning into the wind on a motorcycle or sailboat, this is a person who participates in life. He is also a very caring person, and works as the videographer for a hospital — a role in which he sees many of the poignant and challenging moments of family and personal life. He takes people’s concerns very seriously, but is also quick with a smile. He cares about people and knows that being [...]

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Guess who’s not coming to dinner

September 27, 2009

Having dinner with friends at a nice restaurant is a wonderful event. You are with people you love, being served excellent food that arrives without any effort by you in the kitchen. The air is filled with laughter and storytelling, and time rolls backward as you reconnect with friends with youthful exuberance. I joined five friends recently for just such a marvelous evening that had all of these great things and more. Arriving at the restaurant we found the place  buzzing and busy, with hostesses taking names of eager diners and every table taken. But two of our group had [...]

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Rings around the rosey

September 24, 2009

Every child fortunate enough to learn about our solar system has been amazed by the rings of Saturn. Dusty rings encircling a planet is a strangeness exactly out of this world — very alien, and very isolated. Recent photographs of Saturn and its rings were taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, and published by The Smithsonian Magazine. They show more extensive rings than have been seen before, with many amazing patterns reaching out and circling back around. But while Saturn and its rings stand as a marvel, it stands as a lonely marvel, separated by millions of miles from its nearest [...]

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Thumbnail image for The rabbit knows he’s delicious

The rabbit knows he’s delicious

September 16, 2009

We all have our weaknesses, and most of us know what they are.  We also have our strengths, and those are what we need to focus on sharing. Sitting in the backyard with my friend we saw a rabbit. It was doing what rabbits spend a lot of time doing — sitting very still and sniffing the air. “Do you think the rabbit knows it’s cute?” asked my friend.  “No,” I replied, “but the rabbit knows he’s delicious.” From the moment a rabbit is born he is told that he would be a very tasty meal. He won’t become less [...]

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Someone that someone cares about

September 12, 2009

As people discovered with the Six Degrees of Separation, we are all connected in surprisingly few steps. While walking in the mall, driving down the road, or having lunch, we are near to people that someone close to us knows and cares about. It is an illusion that our days are filled with true strangers — an illusion that continues because we spend most of our time “getting things done” rather than getting to know our community. A photography project called Being Toronto uses a portable photography studio to take free portraits of the people making up the city. In [...]

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Thumbnail image for Notice and celebrate small moments too

Notice and celebrate small moments too

September 8, 2009

Each day brings us many small moments of success and contribution, both for us and the people around us. When we pay closer attention to people around us we get to share in more of life’s goodness. A great model for this in my life is my Mom, who is not just a wonderful cook, but someone who notices small victories. Big events like birthdays and anniversaries are always remembered, but she also pays close attention when talking with others, and shares the steps we take. When someone is listening you feel like your words are finding a home. They [...]

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Being the gears instead of giving them

September 7, 2009

We all know what it is like to be part of our society: lots of things on the go, and ever-more things to buy. Threaded through most of the things we do are the people in our lives — our family, friends, work mates, service people and those driving by us. As a former computer programmer I know how busy life can be — full of details and endless tasks. I actually lost a few years of my life to work, before I had this simple but important revelation: People are more important than things and tasks. While I still [...]

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Trees only get one channel

September 6, 2009

When we get out into nature one thing becomes clear: nature is a fantastic experience, in all its variations. Nature is reality TV in its purest form. A friend and I went walking yesterday in a hill-top park that holds our city’s water supply, suitably called Reservoir Park. It is an inspiring combination of urban function and natural environment. The sun was strong and the late-summer leaves were deep green and working hard.  There was lichen on the tree trunks — the bumpy, mottled blue-green combination of algae and fungus — working hard in its own slow way to pull [...]

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The wind beneath wasp wings

August 29, 2009

While having lunch outdoors yesterday my friend and I were visited by two wasps.  The wasps in our area rarely sting you if you let them be, but “letting them be” usually involves them hovering around or crawling on both your food and yourself. We kept hoping the wasps would go away but they persisted. It was too nice a day to eat inside and swatting the wasps with our forks was not going to be effective. While we coexisted with the wasps we noticed that they liked my friend’s Caesar salad more than my Greek salad, so my friend [...]

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