Some language, especially religious language, not only fails the test of pragmatism but can leave one feeling skeptical, if not completely turned off. Some would call it rhetoric (at its best eloquent and pointed…at its worst, insincere and shallow). I was watching a show depicting a community baptism in a cold river. A 13-year-old young […]
May 6 2015
Safe Certainty (or Certain Safety)
Safe Certainty (or Certain Safety) We are limited in how much we’re able to control the circumstance of our lives. We can construct reasonably safe containers but are awfully vulnerable to outside circumstance. Where do we go? Relying on our own strength has its limitations. We want so much to be strong and create a […]
Apr 1 2015
Let’s Begin With The ‘Oughts’
Let’s Begin With The ‘Oughts’ It can take a long time to accomplish desired tasks. The intention is present, but the focus eludes us. And we spin in frustration. “Is it ADD?” asks my hindered client. I smirk in recognition of a shared sentiment. It’s not an attention disorder (not likely). Its what I call […]
Feb 25 2015
Published as: A Model of Compassion (A Profile)
A Model of Compassion “I thought there had to be a better way,” says Peggy Gillespie, full time nurse and co-founder of Serenity House. In the spring of 2002, working as a staff nurse at Elgin General in St Thomas Ontario, Gillespie realized that a dying patient needed “closer observation and more specialized attention” than […]
Feb 2 2015
Peace To You
Peace To You We cannot escape a certain level of anxiety. It is a very certain element of interrelating with others; be it at work or at home or with friends. For some this anxiety is minimal and manageable; even unnoticed. For others, this anxiety is quite uncomfortable or severe. Kierkegaard (philosopher-theologian) said of anxiety; […]
Jan 30 2015
They Know Not What They Do!
They Know Not What They Do! Some people just don’t like us. For whatever reason, these ‘difficult’ people define us (and/or what we do), with a rejecting negativity. When we can’t avoid them, we suffer all kinds of conflicting thoughts and emotions. We may try to let it go. And we might succeed at some […]
Jan 4 2015
The Wounds That Bind: Adoption Series
The Wounds That Bind: Adoption Series. No one is beyond the reach of Love. Though, for some, its embrace is uncomfortable and even painful. Such is the case for most adoptees. And I would like to speak to their predicament in this month’s issue. I think its time. Data indisputably confirms that adopted children struggle in […]
Jan 3 2015
Wine and Roses: Adoption Series
Wine and Roses: Adoption Series. An adoptee, after reading last months article on the difficulties adoptees have in managing relationships, sent this to note to me; “Makes me feel so sad some days….brings tears to my eyes… wondering where I’m meant to be…and… why I’m here. Such an empty feeling…lost and alone….it sure isn’t all […]
Dec 4 2014
Waiting to Exhale
Waiting to Exhale. Rough roads can drain the enthusiasm out of our life journey. Over time we might disengage, to some degree, from our connection to the experience. The other day, I noticed a young toddler strolling hands free aside his mother down a sidewalk outside my apartment. He was wrapped cozily in a heavy, […]
Aug 5 2014
“I Love You….But Now What?”
I Love You….But Now What? Nearly half of today’s marriages end in dissolution of their vows. However, in the background of an unyielding divorce rate, today’s singles are rewriting what it takes to be in a healthy relationship. In Canada, in 2013, 70,000 couples decided to end their marriage. And the average time to decide […]
