The artist

Nov20

pink flowers 2

The artist
A sensitive soul
Who feels so deeply that
Overcome with emotion
There is no place for her to turn
Expect to her art
To release the emotions
That have gripped her heart

The artist
Someone who translates her pain
Into a beautiful tableau for all to see

The artist
The vessel that allows
Herself to be used
To carry the message of
Beauty and hope
Sadness and disappointment
Wisdom and joy

The artist
Humbled by the gift
She has received
Dedicated to telling the stories
That need to be told

The artist’s work
Essential for the health of the soul
Essential for taking the edge off
The realities of living in this world

November 2016

Laugh out loud

Nov4

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Laugh out loud my friend
Laugh out loud
I know there are times when we cry
When we’re sad
When the world weighs heavy on us
But when you can
Please laugh out loud

Let your laughter ring
Through the room
Let it bring joy to everyone

The days of women being
Demure is done
Laugh out loud my friend
Laugh out loud

Tears are special
When they fall
They wash the sadness
From our hearts

But when life affords you
The opportunity to laugh
Laugh out loud my friend
Laugh out loud

You need to be heard
You need to shine
You need to celebrate life
No more silent or quiet laughter
Laugh out loud my friend
Laugh out loud

November 4th, 2016

Ephemeral

Oct16

I try to capture the beauty of nature
Because it’s ephemeral
It will be gone soon

I have to keep a record of it
Share it with my friends
And savour the beauty until it lasts

Joy is similar
It comes with gifts and cheers us up
But I know this feeling is temporary
It’s inevitably followed by sadness or
Contemplation of the serious issues facing us

Sadness is similar
It doesn’t last
But somehow during the sad times
It’s no consolation to know that it will pass
The pain is real, the sorrow is real
And that is my reality then

I try to console myself and remind myself
This too shall pass
Yet, the shadow that the sorrow has cast
Remains, and I have to deal with it

We wouldn’t call it sadness if we were able to
Transform it into joy with our thoughts
Yet there are people who deal with difficult
Situations better
And that deserves admiration and respect

Theses are people I look up to
From them, I try to learn
The secret of remaining thankful
During difficult times

Such people have a different understanding of life
Their vision sees into the future
They don’t equate discomfort and challenges
With sorrow and pain
They find a way through the pain

Their circumstances don’t change
But their perception of the situation
Allows them to rise above it
See it in a different way
See the end in the beginning
And the beginning in the end

October 15th, 2016

A new low…

Oct11

When truth does not matter anymore
And people say whatever they want
When you need to fact-check someone’s assertions
Because we can’t trust them

When dishonesty is rewarded by material gains
When we can’t count on anyone’s words
And they keep denying what can’t be denied

Our society has reached a new low

When we expect politicians to lie
At least sometimes
When accusations fly back and forth
With no way to prove who’s telling the truth

When women are objectified
And those remarks are asked to be excused
As locker-room talk
What kind of example are we setting for the young?

When civility is lost
And words are spoken that make one cringe
When insults take the place of discussion and talk
We know we have reached a new low

Don’t get me wrong
I think there is hope
But, boy does the night seem dark
Before the appearance of the dawn

 

October 11th, 2016

Pinch me

Oct4

There are times in my life
When the ocean is calm
The storm has come and gone
And I’ve survived

When the weather is mild
And the sun shines
When all is well with the world
And there are no big worries on my mind

At these times I feel as thankful
As can be
I feel blessed
And sometimes I almost feel guilty
For the way I feel

I know another storm will come
I know the clouds will appear again
And the rain drops will pelt my head
I know the light at the end of the tunnel
Will grow dim
I know all this

But for now
I’ll enjoy the calm and the sunshine and
Do my best to help others who may feel down
I’ll be a good friend, mother and wife

That’s what I can do to
Show my thankfulness
As I sail on the ocean of life

 

October 2nd, 2016

 

 

Instant communication

Sep24

These are the marvels of technology
In this age of instant communication
I sit in a coffee shop in Montreal
Write down some thoughts
And put them on my blog

A few minutes later
I notice they have been read
By someone in India or Australia!

We take these things for granted now
But the only way to get one’s writings to Australia
not so long ago was telegram, mail or Fax!
Remember Fax?
And even then there would be one person
On the receiving end
Not a world audience

No publisher is required to share ideas now
We all can share our views and thoughts

I’ll try not to take this blessing for granted
The technology we have access to now
Boggles the mind…
September 19, 2016

A little crazy

Sep22

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It’s OK to be a little crazy, I think
People with crazy ideas do more interesting things

It’s OK to be a little crazy
Being normal is generally not fun!

It’s OK to be a little crazy
Then we don’t take ourselves too seriously

It’s OK to be a little crazy
It’s hard to be comfortable around people
Who feel they are perfect
Or at least want to appear so

It’s OK to be a little crazy
Unconventional, silly, outrageous
And out of the box

And anyway, I don’t have a choice
So, it’s definitely OK to be a little crazy sometimes!
September 21st, 2016

A person I don’t recognise

Sep21

So, here is a person I don’t fully recognise
It’s supposed to be me, but everything is off!

She can’t concentrate
She can’t quickly problem solve
She doesn’t laugh out loud
Actually, she hardly laughs at all
She’s gloomy and tried
She is irritable at times

And sadly trying harder
Focusing more
Wanting to do better
Does not work
I’m stuck in a bad place
And feel like I have no control

They tell me I’ll be fine
But what am I supposed to do
In the meantime?

How am I supposed to live
With this person who I hardly recognise
And don’t even like

I try to find something positive in the situation
But that’s hard
It feels like I’m being punished, somehow

I know I’ll be back to myself soon
But what am I supposed to do in the meantime?
September 21st, 2016

Light bulb moment

Sep19

Life is harder when we focus on ourselves
Our challenges, our unexpected difficulties

I now have the challenge of teaching English
To adult students who speak almost NO English

At first, I was frustrated
A bit in disbelief that there are still people
With almost no knowledge of English

I thought I didn’t have the patience
To teach this group
And found the material I taught
Mundane and boring

Brother, sister, son, daughter
All new words for this group of eager students
It was something else trying to explain the verb ‘to need’
As in I need some milk

Then suddenly a light bulb turned on in my head
I started seeing things from my students’ point of view
They are at the beginning of an adventure
Learning a new language
And each day, they double and triple
What they used to know

They try hard
They help each other
And they come to class with smiles on their faces
And a sense of mission

Looking at it this way
What I did became more meaningful to me
Yes, we talk about very simple things:
I like ice cream, I don’t like hot dogs
But these are words that were not
In their vocabulary until now
They will be able to communicate
In a new language soon

Last time we met,
I taught them ‘have a good weekend’
And with that we said goodbye
Teachers keep learning too
No matter how many years they have taught

September 16th, 2016

To Facebook or not to Facebook

Sep16

To Facebook or …

Not to Facebook?

Perhaps the answer is not no or yes

It’s hard to ignore something

So ubiquitous!

 

Rather how much should I Facebook each day?

To avoid getting addicted or perturbed?

And who should be my ‘friend’

On Facebook?

Who should read every update

And see every photo?

 

Pictures and words can connect us

Of course

Keep us up to date

And in the know

But should I put all my pictures on Facebook?

 

I’m impressed when people

Ask for information and pose questions

In their status update

An interesting way to use their network

Of friends

 

But do we need Facebook for

Relationship updates?

‘In a relationship’ can mean one thing

to me, another to my ‘friend’

And what does ‘it’s complicated’

Actually mean

That one really confuses me!

 

‘Friending’ is fun

But when do I defriend?

How do I feel if I’m the one being

Defriended?

 

How often should I change

My profile picture?

In it, should I include my spouse

And my children

 

Do I have to ‘like’ someone’s comment

So they know it was read?

Do I ‘like’ the whole album

Or just photos taken by a friend?

 

Facebook like anything else

Can be used in different ways

And these are choices that we need to make!

And for good or for bad

I’m afraid

Facebook is here to stay my friend!

 

 

November 11th, 2011