Spring Comes

dear friends,

I have been quiet for a few months.

It truly has been a winter, an extended retreat into my home and into myself.

As do many women going through perimenopause, I found myself really struggling with related issues and recently underwent a hysterectomy. Christmas left me quite exhausted, then I needed to prepare my body and mind for surgery.

This extended time of introversion has been a beautiful gift though.

I am waking up to the understanding that as women we are very much cyclical beings, predictably and elegantly going through our own seasons. For many years, I have been so hard on myself for the times when I am less productive and engaged with the world,

not understanding that it is during these times that can feel so empty that all is in fact getting ready to be born again.

Over these last few months, I have thought often about my next steps, and the long and winding path that has brought me here. At times it has felt as if I have been waiting for a decade for something to happen,

and then I realize that in fact everything has happened.

I have raised three children, I have buried a mother and a step-mother, I have undergone 3 surgeries one of which was quite major, I have navigated the school system trying to implement alternative & workable programming, I have supported my husband in his busy and intense career, and have begun to sow the seeds of my own.

And so here I am now.

It feels as if a chapter has ended and a new one is about to begin. Our kids are getting older and I can feel subtle new realities beginning to take shape as life alters in interesting ways,

and this long and winding road now feels as if it has happened in but a moment.

In terms of my work, I need to announce a few things.

Most of you know that I have pulled out of my little retail space and am no longer selling stationery. I will continue to do more workshops but they, too, are evolving into something new. This will be my last blog from WordPress as I am presently collaboratively building a beautiful new website that I am so excited about, and much of my writing will stream from there.

Stay tuned friends. Spring is on its way.

This is it.

I am writing this as I spend a weekend at home recovering from being sick. George is happily playing soccer in the backyard with his buddy and Olivia has two friends over as well.

There is music thumping throughout the house and the living room is draped in white sheets. Candelabras and red and gold pillows accessorize this rather dramatic photo shoot set-up. When I asked the girls what their theme was, they replied amidst wild laughter, ‘Murder.’

I love these girls. They laugh a lot and they sing constantly, their voices harmonizing and their big energies filling up the house. I imagine them now posing and enacting theatrical scenarios, but I don’t go down and watch,

wanting them to feel free, at least here.

another photo shoot, several years back

Meanwhile, our 12 week-old new puppy Marty (yes, we got a puppy!) is sleeping in his bed near the back window, resting after the vigour of chasing the ball around the yard with the boys.

I had forgotten what it is to love a new puppy ~to be utterly mesmerized by his antics, to laugh at his awkward little body falling out of bed and stumbling around in a tired daze. I forgot what it was to hold a puppy’s sweet body close, to wake up early in the morning to wide-awake wanting-to-play puppy. I forgot what it was to watch a little being almost wiggle itself out of its body with joy when it sees you.

Sweet Marty

The kitchen is covered with dishes, and there are leaves tracked all through the kitchen. Marty of course, is not perfectly house trained yet so our carpet is speckled with cleaning solution marking accidents.

Yet, as I stood there amidst the mess and the pounding music, I realized I felt completely happy even though I am still sick. I was out of sorts this week, feeling cranky and anxious, overwhelmed ~ but in that moment everything felt right.

This is it….messy, beautiful, imperfectly perfect life. I know the day will come when I will look back on these days and know that this was all devastatingly lovely, all of it.

starting over

I am the kind of person that loves setting goals, dreaming up plans and projects, getting excited about what’s next…

yet.

Lately I have also become quite enthralled by the ways the different windows in our house frame the trees, the sky. I look and look, up through the skylight while I soak in the tub or out my window if I lay down for a minute on a Friday afternoon, tired from the week. Each view is different…

the dance of fall colours and light and weather. I am certainly not overlooking a dramatic vista, I am just in my house.

It’s good to plan and create and act, but it’s also lovely to just sit and look and be.

Sometimes in those moments I even think,

‘This is enough, just this.’

Olivia said to me the other day, ‘What if I decide not to follow this dream that I have told everyone is my dream. Then what? ‘ And I said to her, ‘it doesn’t matter if you have told the whole world’.

Dreams are fluid and fun and are allowed to change as we grow.

Also, the whole landscape of what we thought was real, and even what we thought would always be or what we always wanted, can change in a heartbeat.

The Kenow fire raged its way through Waterton and burnt 70% of the forest. Waterton looks raw and vulnerable but at the same time she is now more powerfully spectacular than ever. She’s wise and has been through some intense stuff. A beautiful wise old crone of forests, giver of life.

And I know with every fiber of my being that watching her rebirth herself will be pure magic.

Dreams can change. And everything that we knew to be true about ourselves, and about what we thought was real can fall away in an instant. I have felt this happen again and again in my own life,

and I see it happening all around me right now in every aspect of our world. Everything we know is being challenged, so then maybe what we thought we wanted, what we thought was important, is being challenged too.

This doesn’t mean that we stop coming up with new dreams, or revamping the old ones, or that we live in fear and feel ourselves victims of bigger and terrifying forces we cannot control –

but I have learned to surrender to the complex web of unfoldment that I could have never in a million years have orchestrated myself

and trust that even in what is painful and heartbreaking and even in that which feels like utter destruction and devastation,

there are often aspects serving us that we cannot begin to comprehend, even if it’s just a rallying of love.

Next year the wildflowers in Waterton are going to be extraordinary.

We are stronger than we think.

Happy weekend of ‘Giving Thanks’ everyone. May you sit and bask in the simple beauty of what you already have and what you see out your windows.

Before and After the Fire & The Audition Song

Before the Fire – written Sept. 11

I began writing this post on the first day of school, and then was swept away by the worry of the Kenow Fire in Waterton, and the pressing need to gather a few cherished items from our place before evacuation, and so I ended up not publishing.

This post that I began was one brimming with optimism for a new year, and even despite the events of this week, these words still ring true. We cannot control all of the external chaos swirling around us right now, rather we are further challenged to remain steady and trusting from within -wisdom & clarity & love can and often do reign in times of turmoil.

taken on a recent hike up to Bertha Lake

Particular to this fire event,

the extensive efforts and preparation of the Park and its staff, the different levels of government and surrounding municipalities unifying, the indescribably brave work of the firefighters,

the deep passion obviously present around both honouring the welfare of nature and preserving the townsite –

ALL of this makes me want to weep about 17 times a day.

There truly are countless people deeply invested and committed to –

our Peace Park.

one of our favourite spots in the park

After the Fire: written Sept 12

We have a calendar hanging in our kitchen, upon which I only write the truly significant stuff….family birthdays, including the times the kids were born….

weddings,

the time and date of my mom’s death- for several years I even recorded the date of her diagnosis and turning points before she died,

the anniversary of my heart surgery.

Sometimes in a New Year when I am transferring everything to a fresh calendar, I will let a particular anniversary fall away if it no longer feels relevant or important to remember….

or perhaps the healing around the event is simply complete.

What is certain, though, is that if an event gets written on the calendar, it’s because it was somehow powerful enough to cut time into a before and after.

a photo making the social media rounds, taken very near our cabin….credit?

Yesterday afternoon, on our kitchen calendar, I wrote down on Sept. 12, 2017,

Waterton Fire.

The Audition Song – written on Sept. 5, first day of school

I just dropped off my kids at school and now am sitting in a coffee shop eating a lunch of crackers, hummus, & nuts, and drinking iced tea. The weather is still full-on summer hot and when I asked for an iced tea, my barista actually said ‘So you want your tea iced?’ as if I hadn’t thought to translate my order to Starbucks language (:

I have not been in this particular cafe all summer and it has been recently renovated, looking quite different but feeling the same, quite black and trendy. I was taken aback at first by the change.

I am still processing this reality of a new year.

For the last few weeks gearing up to September, Olivia and I needed to repeat to each other about a thousand times that it all, in fact, would be all right, maybe even better than all right.

Today, we sang the ‘Audition Song’ from LaLaLand to each other as we headed towards the high school, which has become our new shared ritual of empowerment and courage,

a song all about being true to yourself, true to your dreams.

George on the other hand was fine. I acted quite shocked that he didn’t want me to come into the school. I told him that I had planned on settling him into his desk and giving him a big goodbye kiss. But even he knows I would never actually dream of imposing this horror on him.

And so here I am now, sitting in this coffee shop, writing….feeling at once both the excitement around new beginnings and the bitter-sweetness of the years going by too quickly,

realizing for sure that I need to truly commit to myself this year, my dreams. It ends up ringing hollow to my kids when I don’t live by the same standards that I want for them,

sing with them.

play break during the wedding weekend, photo credit: Jonathan Tennant

I have not written since Easter. It was a tumultuous spring, then an action-packed, full summer. Our daughter Alex married her love, Ryland, in beloved Waterton.

It was an event that filled our hearts beyond description. I don’t even know how to write about it yet, so lovely and precious it was, but I know that it will be woven in so many stories and writings to come.

photo credit: Jonathan Tennant

So the summer flew by and my thoughts and ideas I mostly kept quiet, trusting that they needed time and space to percolate in the heat and the holidays, the celebrations and all the hoopla. Still, in the background, I thought a lot about what’s coming up this fall, for us, for me.

The Bear Grass this summer was stunning, magical, abundant.

On our final turn into the high school, I dug deep for one last helpful thing to say to my nervous girl, feeling as if every single possible thing to say had been completely and utterly worn out,

‘This is it. For whatever reason, here you are… in this city, in this family, in this high school. We can’t know how or why, but here you are. And so then both the great stuff and the hard stuff are meant for you. So just be you and trust.’

She looked at me as we pulled up, smiled and jumped out of the vehicle.

Olivia not so long ago

Audition Song lyrics:

My aunt used to live in Paris
I remember, she used to come home and tell us these stories about being abroad
And I remember she told us that she jumped into the river once, barefoot
She smiled
Leapt, without looking
And tumbled into the Seine
The water was freezing
She spent a month sneezing
But said she would do it again

Here’s to the ones who dream
Foolish as they may seem
Here’s to the hearts that ache
Here’s to the mess we make

She captured a feeling
Sky with no ceiling
The sunset inside a frame

She lived in her liquor
And died with a flicker
I’ll always remember the flame

Here’s to the ones who dream
Foolish as they may seem
Here’s to the hearts that ache
Here’s to the mess we make

She told me
“A bit of madness is key
To give us new colors to see
Who knows where it will lead us?
And that’s why they need us”

So bring on the rebels
The ripples from pebbles
The painters, and poets, and plays

And here’s to the fools who dream
Crazy as they may seem
Here’s to the hearts that break
Here’s to the mess we make

I trace it all back to then
Her, and the snow, and the Seine
Smiling through it
She said she’d do it again

she sees whales

Quite some time ago, I vowed to write about play. Play as antidote to fear. Play as means of coping, even thriving in a quickly changing world.

After I wrote this an event happened that stalled my writing, halted my sure and steady movement through my well planned days,

and once again brought uncertainty into the picture.

My step-mother died very suddenly of a brain aneurysm.

In a moment everything changed.

I remember a teacher colleague once saying, many years ago, that it is not usually the anticipated events that rock our worlds, rather it is that unexpected phone call on a Monday afternoon.

The day it happened ~

I had just had coffee and a slice of chocolate cake with a dear friend, a great inspiring visit actually full of good laughs and exciting future plans, and then as I left the cafe and walked towards my vehicle I checked my phone.

Three calls from Dan.

When I called him back he said right away,

‘Where are you? I don’t want to tell you over the phone what I need to tell you. I want to come and talk to you in person’.

My heart pounding, ‘No, tell me now. Please just say it.’

In our most secret unspeakable depths, we all prepare for those calls, don’t we?

That Monday afternoon call that will force us to put everything we thought was important on hold for weeks perhaps, and then re-calibrate our entire perceptions of the world, our very place in it.

Once again.

After we hung up I cried out openly, there on the street, in agony for my dad and for this new loss that he was forced to bear. I stood there tears streaming, waiting for Dan, and looking everywhere for my friend who had already gotten in his truck, already gone.

Feeling so alone.

Wanting to call my friend back so that he could reassure me that things would be ok.

Wanting somebody, anybody, to tell me that we would get through this one.

On that street corner all by myself waiting for Dan who was coming because he was worried for me, I realized that every maternal figure I have ever had is gone ~my mentor, my grandmothers, my step-mother now,

and my mother.

It is just me.

Even my friend had gotten in his truck and driven away.

Then.

Over Easter,

after the hospital and the funeral and the tears and the big conversations and the grief and the family everywhere and all the missed school and work and the beginning of finding a way forward for my dad,

we went whale watching in Victoria.

We had gathered there as a family over the break and we spontaneously booked a tour on our first morning. We had always promised George we would go on a whale adventure, but then had always found reasons not to. That day, however, the weather seemed particularly good, we had nothing else planned, and I can tell you honestly that I knew, absolutely knew, that we would see whales that day if we went.

We had to go out fairly far, but it ended up being what they call a T-party of whales. Whales in every direction. Not even knowing which way to look because as one would surface, there would suddenly be another sighting on the other side of the boat.

Families of whales. Young whales pressed against their mother as they swam. An independent male on his own surfacing then going under as we all watched with anticipation, wondering where he would pop up next.

All around us, a whole pod, a matrilineal community of interrelated magnificent communicating, beautiful orcas.

Orcas that have visited me in my dreams since I was a child. Magical dreams where I watch them, down from a cliff at night or my face pressed up against the glass of a huge aquarium,

half of me afraid of their power and strength while the other half is delighted, transfixed, comforted and healed.

Orcas drawing by George

A show that day that just went on and on. Our kind tour guides were willing to stay on past the allotted time because the day was perfect and the whales just weren’t leaving.

And then finally not being able to linger any longer, we reluctantly turned back towards the mainland.

The orcas swam back with us in the same direction, stealth-like and fast, underwater, towards a cropping of rocks covered in lounging elephant seals.

Such dramatic suspense.

Our captain stopped the boat for us to watch the hunt unfold; the orcas surfaced at the rocks and surprised their prey who were by no means helpless, fighting back with vigor. It was over quickly, and the whales were again moving on, having been rewarded with one unlucky seal.

A nature documentary in real time.

Continuing on, bathed in glowing late afternoon sunshine, the whales headed towards the shore and swam right up against a cliff nestled on top of which was a park where families often recreate. From the boat we watched as children ran along the cliff following the orcas, screeching with delight.

I truly don’t know if I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing such a perfect moment of spontaneous play, natural and true, uncomplicated and wild.

It is never just me. It is Dan and I, the kids and I, us. It is this beautiful extended family that I love so much that were gathered for Easter fun. It is my dad and I. My friends. My wonderful neighbours. It is new acquaintances and the grocery store cashier that I exchange friendly words with ~

It is all those I have lost, living in me with every heartbeat.

It is all of us…

navigating the heartache and the uncertainty yet still forging creative ways to joyfully be in this brave and beautiful new world.

And it is whales, meeting me at sunset after a lifetime of knowing each other in dreams. The promise is the same. It’s going to be ok.

Rise UP.

Several years ago Olivia told me that she wanted an ‘office-themed’ birthday party. Though this sounded unusual, I was up for it –

I loved planning parties for my kids when they were little, loved it. I actually enjoyed the boundless planning and creativity that such opportunities offered,

and I found it wonderful and infinitely delightful that kids will

without question,

just enter and participate without hesitation in an entirely new world of your making.

They really will.

I also adore office supplies. Pens and paper make my heart beat faster.

Best of all, we had access to an office!

So a few Saturdays later, Dan and I found ourselves in the board room of the architectural firm where he works, while eight or so 9-year old girls (and George) sat very seriously around that big table, both an agenda and a cup of Starbucks steamed vanilla milk in front them,

dressed in suit jackets, hair neatly tied back, reading glasses on, ready to take on the world and make important decisions.

For the next hour or two, we discussed –

personnel issues (what we should do about an employee with an excessive burping problem which involved actually bringing her in to brainstorm solutions)

which candy our company should choose to market,

and from which seller should we buy (we were fortunately able to skype our Ryland in who had a thorough presentation prepared).

Here’s the particular brilliance of that afternoon that I can only see now all these years later…

(And) never mind that these girls were not for even a moment questioning their right to be in that board room which is gorgeous and perfect in itself,

(And)…never mind that there they sat, collaborating respectfully, taking their roles very seriously,

genuinely discussing, listening, offering opinions and solutions.

But.

We were, all of us, adults and kids alike, engaged in an afternoon of simply indulging our imaginations which felt deeply empowering, beautifully cooperative, joyful and so crazy hilarious that I actually remember laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my cheeks.

And why not?

Let’s not ever forget to play my friends, ever.

Listen, now, because this is really important. …

There’s a powerful magic in play that goes far beyond what we see on the surface.

“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.” -Joseph Chilton Pearce

I have been quiet so far this year, words have honestly escaped me as I look to work out a new position that feels both authentic and positive given the shifting of our times. I have, finally, decided to talk about LOVE-based play and creativity, and make that my focus for this new year.

That is my resistance, my persistence, my rising up (I believe it looks a little different for each of us). It’s what I can contribute, and I promise you it’s going to be

lovely.

Find the Cake, Part. 2

Our Christmas tree this year is full and tall and drinks gallons of water. I can barely keep up. We check the water level every few hours, and are continually surprised that it wants still more to drink. The first few nights I even wondered if I should wake up in the middle of the night, set a timer. I have never seen a tree drink so much water. The kids and I joke about needing to hire a babysitter for our tree when we go out. It is as if it is constantly reminding us that she is a living, pulsing thing requiring our attention too. And so I give it, feeling almost as it I have another mouth to feed, someone else needing me. But she responds by hardly shedding a needle. We have had the tree for over a month now and I have hardly swept. She is radiant, and very much alive. People comment as they stand in our entry way on the health and beauty of this tree.

In my quietest, most clear and sacred moments, I wonder even,

Is it possible that this tree loves us, so generous she is with the fullness of her being?

Regardless, it is for certain that her beauty and scent permeate our home and I love her. We turn on her coloured lights first thing in the morning, and turning them off is the last thing we do at night.

I have not written since the election. There isn’t anything to say, and there is everything to say. How do I write the way I used to, when there is so much change, so much being challenged, such unrest? So many things now feel uncertain, no matter your views or beliefs, things that once felt unshakable .

Yet, here is this tree. Steady she stands reminding me that it is still Christmas and there will be delicious food on our table that we have all worked together to make, and the kids will wake up early on Christmas morning ~

we will all feel excited and wrapped up in the coziness of the dark and silent early hours, and our hot chocolate (topped off with Bailey’s for the grown-ups) will warm us as will the impressive fire that Dan will build us as he always does, and the filled stockings will bring fun and delight. I will sit with my back right up against that roaring fire because that is where I love to sit, and I will watch our kids bask in the magical joy of their favourite day of the year and my heart will be full because theirs are~

This is the beautiful dichotomy that I coming to honour, that sadness and joy can be felt at once. Even hope and fear. For holding one does not mean disallowing or even devaluing the other. So it is that our beautiful open hearts are made to ache and fill, fill and ache.

How could I forget the days before my mom died, so intensely written they are in my mind and heart? Though, to be honest, I don’t remember those days as being awful. Family and friends filled our house, there was lots of comfort food and hugs, shared cups of tea and glasses of wine, and tears freely fell but so did laughter easily ring out. Two days before she died my uncle cooked cabbage rolls all day, and then after sharing a meal together a spontaneous family sing-song broke out that lasted a few hours while mom watched on, so peaceful. Not wanting the evening to ever end, we searched our collective memories for songs of her childhood, hymns of her upbringing, lyrics to bring us comfort. It was one of the most significant and beautiful nights of my life,

heralding both an end and a beginning.

In those unimaginably difficult moments grace, peace, and even joy found us.

Times have been turbulent before and people have found their way.

This time, we are being pushed to be brave, true to our own hearts, and fiercely kind beyond measure. This is how we will heal and thrive. I know this with every fiber of my being, as do so many others.

Take heart dear friends,

for we have evergreen trees and wide frosty sky, glittering snow, and magical Christmas morning wanting to love us and

there are infinite cakes to be found.

Sometimes, though, it is up to us to bake them.

Winter Wonderland cake for Alex’s birthday

Merry Christmas to all, dear family, friends, and acquaintances~ So many beautiful hearts finding their way. I love you all.

Election Day….Find the Cake!

I may be unusual in that as a child I would sometimes lay awake stressing about the cold war, acid rain, and other issues potentially threatening the future of mankind. Being sensitive, also, to my parents peace of mind I didn’t want to bother them or anybody else with my spiraling thoughts-

So, mostly, I carried my fears alone.

Now, I have no trouble speaking out and I understand that keeping it all in is not particularly healthy, but I still hold a fierce desire to protect those I love from heart-ache.

My 11 year-old son is my kindred global worrier and will sometimes come home concerned about some teacher’s dire warnings about the hopeless state of our environment or current affairs, and I have to talk him through it,

reminding him that there are very clever people working very hard on our biggest problems and that he may even have his own contribution to make someday –

though silently wishing in those moments that the message, still acknowledging that relaying evidence and information is crucial, had been more around inspiration and positive call to actions.

For how can we ever deny our impressionable and listening children the idea that there will always be hope and that there is good and important work waiting to be done in our world?

At least six times I have sat down to blog about the political climate here and in the United States as it has very much been on my mind, and at least six times I have scrapped much of what I wrote,

realizing I was criticizing, complaining, judging and obsessing.

Somehow, I needed to separate myself from all of the endless chatter and find some light, some reason, some quiet, before I could say anything at all.

What I have come to realize, too, was that every single time I have expressed fear and disgust around the state of our politics and future,

I have sent the message to my kids that their future is something to be feared rather than anticipated.

Shortly after my mom died, I had a vivid dream, one which I will never forget.

I was standing in the kitchen in the house where I grew up, though mom was clearly already gone. Suddenly, I discovered that there were cakes hidden in every cupboard, on every shelf, in every single available space…

beautiful, home-made, joyful and gorgeous, always more and more cakes, and they were mine, ours, to just keep finding and pulling out –

Birthday cakes, Wedding cakes, Holiday cakes, My-Goodness-Look-at-What-You-Just-Achieved cake, Life-is-Good-cake, Happy-Tuesday cake, We-Are-So-Grateful-Cake,

and then even still more cakes.

our most recent celebration cake

Though it feels as if I have read hundreds of political articles in the last few months coming from every angle, here is one I loved –

the Dalai Lama giving his bit on what is happening in the Western World right now:

Selflessness and joy are intertwined. The more we are one with the rest of humanity, the better we feel. This helps explain why pain and indignation are sweeping through prosperous countries. The problem is not a lack of material riches. It is the growing number of people who feel they are no longer useful, no longer needed, no longer one with their societies. ..This pattern is occurring throughout the developed world — and the consequences are not merely economic. Feeling superfluous is a blow to the human spirit. It leads to social isolation and emotional pain, and creates the conditions for negative emotions to take root.

What if I put my energies towards the things I know make me brighter, stronger, and less fearful –

stretching, reading, walking, eating together, putting down my phone, talking to kids, playing, laughing, drinking tea, writing, making wonderful plans….. ?

Then, spreading kindness, and contributing where and when I can.

And yes, using my voice for positive change,

but how much stronger and more effective my voice is when it comes from a place of compassion and self-awareness.

And remembering to keep on finding the light, the cakes, the reasons to celebrate, the joy.

This is the seventh version of this post. Finally, I think I have it.

beautiful you….

I need to clarify something…

I often tell people that they are beautiful. And though I always mean it, sometimes I think it may come across as being a superficial word or a compliment that has become meaningless from overuse,

but to me it is often the very best word that I can find.

And though it’s entirely possible I may be noticing your lovely hair-cut or outfit (or shoes!),

usually what I am really talking about is how beautiful you are,

and that I see you, and that I am happy to see you,

and I often even want to tell you that I love you and give you a hug,

but some people are not ready for that kind of onslaught of affection, so I don’t –

but do it in my mind instead. (:

Or when I send a message or an email to you, and tell you this in writing, my meaning is the same –

I am in awe of the essence of you, and you are beautiful.

I don’t know how to explain it well otherwise, but life can be brutal and when people can,

still, despite all of the certain heart-ache,

just show up and be joyful and kind and creative and dedicated and invested

(like so many of you are), to me that is

extraordinarily beautiful.

I have a dear friend who, when we were in our twenties, would see an elderly wrinkled woman making her way and she would comment to me on how beautiful she was. I was still young and caught up in image and I didn’t quite get what she was seeing,

but I was intrigued and would look harder at people and at things, spurred by the deeper wisdom of my friend.

Now, of course, it seems so obvious.

That elderly woman is brave

for she has lived.

We don’t know her story but we don’t need to. We can be pretty much guaranteed that she has loved and lost, weathered storms and walked through fire, laughed and cried and raged, been both sick and healthy, depleted and elated.

And yet there she is out and about in the sun, tending to her daily errands,

and my god how is that not earth-shatteringly beautiful.

I just read a wonderful book (Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton) where Melton is describing to her daughters what it really means to be sexy and beautiful. I have been thinking about this a lot, because I am finding myself having lots of conversations lately with my 14 year-old daughter around this topic – and it’s such an important one.

…If what you want to be is pretty, you’ll have to keep changing yourself constantly – and eventually you won’t know who you are.

What I want to be, girls, is beautiful. Beautiful means ‘full of beauty’. Beautiful is not about how to look on the outside. Beautiful is about what you are made of. Beautiful people spend time discovering what their idea of beauty on this earth is. They know themselves well enough to know what they love, and they love themselves enough to fill up with a little of their particular kind of beauty each day….

You will meet plenty of women who are pretty but haven’t yet learned how to be beautiful. They will have the right look for the times, but they will not glow. Beautiful women glow. When you are with a beautiful woman you might not notice her hair or skin or body or clothes, because you’ll be distracted by the way she makes you feel. She will be so full of beauty that you will feel some of it overflow onto you. You’ll feel warm and safe and curious around her. Her eyes will twinkle a little and she’ll look at you really closely – because beautiful, wise women know that the quickest way to fill up with beauty is to soak in another human being. Other people are beauty, beauty, beauty. The most beautiful women take their time with other people. They are filling up.

Fall PeaceCard Events:

‘Wonder Women’
Thursday, October 27th, 2016
Herbal teas & fall treats
7-9pm
915 15th St. South, Lethbridge
hosted by Karen Westwood email:karenforest@me.com
Cost: $40
Past Participants: $35

In this session, we will explore and celebrate the strength, beauty, and exquisite wonder of our feminine natures, understanding that we have immeasurable inner resources, support & friendship, and ancestry to call upon to light our way.
Through a short but powerful meditation and a few other simple and playful activities you will leave feeling blessed and empowered by the deep wisdom, guidance, and connection that is available to all of us, always.

‘1st Christmas PeaceCard MarketPlace’ Wine & Cheese
Thursday, November 24, 2016
7-9pm,
915 15th St. South, Lethbridge
hosted by Karen Westwood email:karenforest@me.com
Cost: $20

Let’s ground ourselves again for the busy Christmas season with a meditation for peace. Then, we will gather, play and shop! All supplies provided to make Christmas gift cards/tags together (if desired)
and…..beautiful Christmas cards and other paper treasures and unique gifts to peruse in the first ever PeaceCard marketplace!

Spots are limited due to space. Please register with me soon to ensure that I can make room for you.
karenforest@me.com or 403-308-3048
Pre-register for both events by Oct. 14 for an early bird price $50

Pure Imagination

A few weeks ago, we hiked the spectacular Crypt Lake trail. Even though we have lived part time in Waterton for the last 5 years, we had not yet done this hike. Not only is it well known as being one of the park’s more challenging hikes, but it also has some famous tricky sections such as a ladder climbing up into a natural tunnel, followed by a narrow cliff with cable attached.

I had been quite successful in talking myself out of it for quite some time.

I am afraid of bears. It seems dangerous. The kids might hurt themselves.

I am worried about my heart. What if one of us fell? The weather could turn.

Also. Only really good and experienced hikers do this kind of hike.

I am very good, so good, at this kind of talk.

However, after visiting my dad, an avid outdoors-man, and talking to him about it and watching you-tube videos of 7 year olds making the trek with solely their Barbie back-packs on, I decided it was probably safe.

As it turned out, it was. The day we chose for our hike was a hot mid-August Saturday that stayed hot and sunny, and there were literally boatloads of people,

which made the chance of being devoured by a bear relatively non-existent, as I am sure they were the nervous ones.

It didn’t feel particularly dangerous either. I am not generally afraid of heights and am pretty limber so the obstacles were fine as long as you didn’t look down.

Nobody fell.

And my heart kept up beautifully. Yay, heart!

Sitting at the lake having lunch, Dan and I commented to each other about how easy it is to build things up in your head, make them so much bigger than they really are.

In Scotland this Spring, Dan had a marvelous opportunity to do something that many people dream of, but few get the chance to do. It’s his story to tell, not mine, so that’s all I am going to say about it.

Except that…..he almost didn’t do it. Because he didn’t think he was good enough or prepared enough or a bunch of other things that only he knows.

He did it, though, and had one of the most rewarding days of his life.

It seems so silly to talk ourselves out of things when we can do anything really,

the possibilities before us are as wide as the sky.

And, is everyone really more talented and capable than us –

regardless of how prepared they may look with all of their gear and confidence. Or maybe it’s just guts.

I am looking forward to courageously and joyfully moving forward this fall into new territories and adventures, even if all I have on me is my Barbie backpack because really,

as sung by one of my all-time favourites, Gene Wilder (rest in peace beautiful man) who masterfully played Willy Wonka –

If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Want to change the world, there’s nothing to it

Keep watch this week for an announcement regarding my Fall PeaceCard sessions. I have spent the last few months pondering what they should be all about, and I am super excited about how it’s all come together and what’s in store.

Happy Fall!

	candidkay on Spring Comes
	Karen Westwood on Spring Comes
	Karen Westwood on Spring Comes
	candidkay on Spring Comes
	Anonymous on Spring Comes

	candidkay on Spring Comes
	Karen Westwood on Spring Comes
	Karen Westwood on Spring Comes
	candidkay on Spring Comes
	Anonymous on Spring Comes

Peace at Home Project

Karen Westwood Village: Peace-Building Topics

Spring Comes

This is it.

starting over

Before and After the Fire & The Audition Song

she sees whales

Rise UP.

Find the Cake, Part. 2

Election Day….Find the Cake!

beautiful you….

Pure Imagination

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