Finding Insights in the Garden: Lessons from Mediation Before convening a formal mediation meeting, I always have several private conversations with each party. This approach allows me to delve deeper into their perspectives and uncover the underlying issues. I ask questions that provoke introspection: Did the other person make… Read More »MEDIATION IS LIKE MAKING COMPOST
<1156 words> Apparently it was necessary for me to have a crazy dream of registering for a farmers’ expo here in Nova Scotia. The rule was that if you could register a VOF (Very Old Farm) you somehow could claim senior status. I thought I might use my grandfather’s farm outside… Read More »My Story of an African Farm
<1230 words> They say that our thoughts naturally turn to contemplation of the future when we watch water in motion. When I was about to turn 60, my brother, Guillaume, died of a glioblastoma multiforme brain tumour and I came across ‘The Waterfall’ by Zen philosopher Shunryu Suzuki. It is his… Read More »Like a River Flows
<1197 words> Twice in the past 48 hours my GPS on my not so smart phone encouraged me onto roads very infrequently travelled. My standard mode of transport is a 9 year old Toyota Corolla – so middle of the road that I regularly have to use the little… Read More »The Roads Less Travelled
<1412 words> My summers in Nova Scotia are defined by the number of kayaking adventures I can pack into a week. Sometimes I go out alone – for quite long trips – ‘quite long’ in my books usually means several hours, not several days or weeks. Most often I am… Read More »PADDLING YOUR OWN CANOE
<1457 words – yes, this is a long one but it contains an interesting story and some pictures :-)> And, I’ve added a link at the bottom of this blog to a very informative article on resilience that appeared in the New Yorker in Feb 2016. More on the science of….… Read More »What does resilience really look like, anyway?
As with blizzards and clippers, stress events can be forecast if somebody knows what the precipitating patterns will be and then can explain it to the rest of us in ways that we can relate to. A typical example of a major stress event that could have been, and maybe even was, forecast, is the abject collapse of Target in Canada. Failure to pay rent? A no-brainer for those of us who are or have been tenants or landlords. A clear and distinct signal. It is said that Target misjudged the Canadian market. 17,000 people are going to lose their jobs. Why? Did no-one read the signs? Not tell them about it? Or maybe there weren’t any other options?
Let’s consider what happens when we misjudge the severity of a winter storm: people are over-confident in undertaking road trips and skid into ditches
< 904 words> This question was sent to me by someone who read yesterday’s blog about new year’s resolutions and plans and prompted me to think about it. I have in fact been thinking about it over the years, but so here, at this point in time, is my take on… Read More »Do you ever feel that you’re running out of time?
While walking in the high winds of the side-end of Hurricane Arthur I realise important things about life that I believe are generally applicable. Such as not to shrink from challenges, to maintain humility and to practice gratitude every day.
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My soul is full of longing For the secret of the Sea, And Sends a thrilling pulse through me. |
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The Secret of the Sea – Henry Wadsworth |
I’ve spent quite a few
hours in the past week mindlessly staring at the movement of the Atlantic Ocean. I normally live on the edge of the same ocean some 21 degrees of latitude to the north, but I don’t do this at
home. I stopped just gazing out at the ocean for hours about six weeks after I moved in.
Sure, I still look up out
of curiosity when a container ship passes too close by the house for my liking. Every time I see a submarine slink in or out of the harbour I think of the U-boats and the net spanned …
