The vision quest
I’ve only read about them
Going into the wilderness alone
Communing with nature
Listening to the voice of the ancestors
Contemplating one’s place in life
The vision quest
A right of passage
The gate to maturity and responsibility
Seeking one’s animal guide
The vision quest
Reaching out to the Great Spirit
Asking questions
Listening attentively for answers
The vision quest
January 29th, 2021
Silence
That’s all I hear
As he sits next to me
We are driving
The destination, unknown
I look at him
He’s pensive
Looking straight ahead
Sometimes he looks out the window
Still deep in thought
What does he see out there?
What is he thinking?
Is he upset?
Have I don’t something wrong?
Why so silent?
I ask him a question to start a dialogue
He says he doesn’t feel like talking
He prefers to be silent
But his silence sounds like a scream to me
January 29th, 2021
How are you?
Are you feeling OK?
I’m not expecting to hear that you are fine
That you’re managing well
It’s OK if today you don’t feel well
How often do we ask how are you
Expecting the same answer?
What should we do if the answer is not OK?
How can I help you we may say
Would you like to grab a coffee and talk?
I won’t give you advice
I won’t tell you to be thankful for all you have
I’ll simply listen and let you empty your cup
This is not always easy for me
The need to give advice is always there
But advice is not needed in these instances
Just acknowledging the hurt will do
Just letting someone know you care
And that they are not alone in their pain
I know this because I’ve been there
I’ve been the person who was not OK
And when my friends simply listened to me
They lifted my spirit and helped me persevere
Some problems can’t be fixed right away
The road to healing may be long
And what’s most important is to know
You have friends that you can count on
January 26th, 2021
One needs to listen to one’s heart
One needs to honour one’s spirit
There are many roads one can take in life
The choice is ours
There are many shoulds and musts
There are many social dictates
If we all went the same way
No new way would be found
Have faith in your choices
Do what your hearts tells you to do
Of the many roads you can take
Choose the one that delights your heart
There will be foggy patches
There will be unpaved areas
There will be many an oasis
There will be delightful parts
Don’t judge the path other people take
Don’t worry about being judged
We each have different destinies
And we are the architects of our own lives
January 25th, 2021
Is there a right answer?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no
There are many roads that lead to Rome
Should I be worried about taking the wrong path?
I used to
But now I know any road I take
I’ll manage to make it work
Or else I’ll chose another path
Are there precise answers?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no
What works for you won’t work for me
What’s perfect for you won’t suit me
Are there answers to all questions?
I don’t think so
Somethings will remain a mystery
I’ve come to terms with not knowing
I can live my life despite it
We need to manage our expectations
We need to come to terms with ambiguity
Some questions have many answers
Some questions have no answers
But questions will always be with us
And the need to know and understand
January 22nd, 2021
An uncertain year lies ahead
When will we have the vaccines?
Who will get them first?
When will there be enough immunity?
When can we start visiting our friends?
When can musicians sing in front of crowds?
When will the news not be about COVID?
When will the children visit their grandparents?
When can we get together with our friends?
How long will we need to wear our masks?
How long do we need to stay two feet apart?
How long before some people can go back to work?
How long before a sense of normal?
No one has the exact answers to these questions
We have to get comfortable with the uncertainty
We have to do our best to keep our communities safe
Short term pleasure will cause long term pain
We have to act based on the guidelines in place
By cheating, we are cheating no one but ourselves
We have to look beyond what pleases us
We have to realize others’ health depends on us
We live in a ‘me’ society
It’s time to change it to a ‘we’ society
November 27th, 2020
Change happens slowly
Change takes time
Change usually happens after suffering
We don’t learn our lessons the easy way
You’d think that we would naturally learn
To behave in a correct way
In a compassionate way
In a just way
But that’s not the path we have chosen as a society
We’re heading full speed to the edge of the cliff
And no matter what warnings we get
We are too drunk with immediate pleasure
With power and with wealth, to heed them
They say you have to hit rock bottom
Before you are ready for change
I wonder where the rock bottom is for the human race
There are many wonderful human beings
Caring people, generous people
But overall there is more darkness than light
More greed than beneficence
More hate than love
More disunity than unity
But in the end, all we can do is play our part
Bring light into the darkness of the world
Bring joy to our friends and neighbours
There is no magic wand
It’s up to each of us to be the architects of change
Change will happen slowly
But what we do matters
We can make a difference
November 13th, 2020
I open the window one early morning
The silence of the home is broken by bird song
It’s a symphony
It feels urgent
This beautiful orchestra
The birds give the news of the break of dawn
They remind me of the beauty of the creation of God
Nature has a way of waking up one’s soul
Nature, calming and inspiring at once
June 28th, 2020
Sometimes you think you know the scale of a problem
That you can see the beginning, the middle and the end
And then you realize you had been too optimistic and underestimated the problem
What were to be temporary changes will last much longer
You realize that this problem is larger than life
That it has caused changes we could have never imagined
That we’re in this for the long haul
This is not a problem that can be wished away
Scores of scientists are doing their best
To find a solution to something they’ve never seen
But this work can’t be done quickly
The economy is in terrible shape
The stock markets have plummeted
Unemployment is where it has never been
Schools are closed and so are businesses
And these are problems that are worldwide
Almost no country has remained unaffected
These are extraordinary times
The welfare of people should come first
The economy and the markets can’t be the priority
It’s time for compassion and care
May 6th, 2020
We used to write our e-mails on paper
Then put them in a mailbox
And wait for someone to pick them up
They would then be brought to a sorting place
Put in a car or on a plane
And delivered to another sorting place
Finally, after many days, a mailman would deliver
These messages to the recipient’s home
Now, imagine waiting for a reply!
These days we write hundreds of what were called
Letters in those days in one day
And they are delivered in less than a second
No matter how far or near the destination
There are more advanced systems like
Facebook and WhatsApp or Instagram and Zoom
You can speak your message
Or deliver it in a video
You can video chat from anywhere in the world
You can have meetings thanks to Zoom
Soon, letters we’ve kept from years past
Will become as valuable as antiques
People will look at them with astonishment
And wonder how we communicated in such slow speeds
How times have changed
And how they will keep changing
We should not take what we have for granted
What I just wrote will be read by my friends across the world soon
No mailman, post office or plane needed
April 19th, 2020
lida's musings 