simply timeless

And like that one moment falls into the past and we find ourselves in a new year And oh what a year it has been. The beginning of 2016 found me here in Canada, experiencing winter once again. Feeling I had exhausted all possibilities of getting to the place I had wanted with no real expectations for the year. Winter A time when the world feels dark and isolated, where one must hide away. I felt like my emotions were reflecting what I was experiencing in the natural, despite my best attempts to seek the sunlight and the promise of spring, I found myself guilty of giving into the sadness of winter. With the first hints of spring, March brought an opportunity and gift. Returning to England for 4 weeks.  My birthday, attending Easter conference, celebrating friends weddings... These 4 weeks would fill my heart with enough joy to face the reality of being once again parted from the people and the place I longed for. And suddenly... 4 weeks became a 6-months

5 years ago. The day I boarded a plane to fly over the pond to a place unknown Yes. 3 letters. And 1 important decision.  A 3-month invitation to stay with a family friend. To be part of their family. To explore a new place. With fear and trembling, letting go of the safe and predictable life. I took a step towards something new. What I didn't know then, that I know now. My life forever changed. For I felt once bound by an unspoken expectation. A predictable sort of life... and yet try as I may I could not make it work. Restless and unsettled. Lost in thought. Lost.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dr. Patrick Dixon spoke at a leadership conference I attended this past September. It was one of the most incredible things I had had the privilege to hear. But one thing stuck out. "Don't waste your life doing something you don't love." Waste. So simple and deeply profound. Because here is the truth.  The impor

Communication The gift of knowing and being known. Making use of a resource of words, phrases, and expression to express thoughts, feelings, and ideas to create a world between individuals.  There is nothing quite like the unparalleled frustration of being misunderstood. At the center of the most tragic love stories is a simple misunderstanding.  The meaning of word or action perceived as something else. And suddenly everything is seen through the lens of a misunderstood truth, to the point of the destruction of a friendship, of love and possibility. How many of us lay victim to such a tragedy...? To find oneself in a land where your native tongue means little creates a new world of being unknown. Your skill for  communicating is weakened and made meaningless. Suddenly words are no longer adequate and meaning is lost in translation. Being misunderstood has never been so understood. To write these words and know that for some in my new world,  these mean very little, if

Summer came here in England rather late and the need for a pair of sandals was delayed. And then when it finally came, the summer that is, my feet were protesting the gilded cages that were my boots. Suddenly freedom for my feet became rather imperative... Not wishing to buy a cheap pair that would quickly leave its mark in the form of blisters, or would break down after putting it through my rather quick pace of walking... the search began! And then my eyes beheld the lovely form upon a friend's feet.  The perfect sandal.  Appealing to my eye. Simple, yet enough detail.                                 These sandals were made my Toms . (Don't know what I speak of, just click the link at the end!) One for One I buy a pair of their shoes.  AND They provide a pair for a child who doesn't have any.                                         And suddenly you become aware that every choice you make matters. It carries weight It speaks of

Places and moments. Where our feet have tread. And our eyes have beheld. These moments in time shared with family and friends. To recapture To relive To regain All that was felt and experienced In a second, one can feel joy, excitement, hope, comfort & safety. The feeling, that every moment after, will feel just this way. But in the next breath, those feelings are lost to the past. And trying to recapture them is like trying to catch a cloud. Wandering through the streets that feel familiar. Trying to recapture the moments of the past. The feelings of life and laughter, where the world was ours and the future was always far away. Learning to live in the now. Now... This moment. This breath. This experience. To be both grateful for what was and what will be. Now... Breath. Live. And be thankful. Simple. And incredibly puzzling. Life is the constant moving forward into the unknown and letting go of what was for what may or may not, lie ahead. For if

And so the death of something once filled with life is certain. The place in which I spent many a summer, has now officially closed it's doors and will be turned into something new. When you attach a memory to possessions and things, there is a form of grief that finds you when you discover it's absence. No matter how much you tell yourself to be logical about it, emotions have a way of creeping to the surface to find themselves mixing with memories. Reminiscing Indulging in the moments that live only in our memories. When your cabin is still awake well into the morning hours, recalling the events of the day; laughing over the pranks played; revealing the names of the boys we had crushes on; eating the candy we hid away from our counsellors. The late night toilet runs across the fields, trying desperately not to wet yourself because you are utterly afraid of the dark and all that may be hidden behind the trees. The storms that kept us awake and found us sharing

I went to the dentist last week I had to get a filling done. And then the dentist asked me.. "Would you like to be numb or not to be numb...?" Oh. I have a choice…. “What do you recommend?” “Well if you can handle a little bit of discomfort you don’t have to deal with the affects of being numb after: sensitivity, being unable to eat or drink for a few hours. “ The choice became mine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IJM, you may ask, 'What is that?" International Justice Mission You should check them out… seriously! https://www.ijm.org/who-we-are Waiting for my appointment Flipping through FB I saw the latest post from IJM Celebrating the latest victory. The sentence of 2 men who had been sexually abusing girls under the age of 9. And with that thought I was called into the room for my filling. So... back to my choice. I should also add that, should I choose not to be numb, the option of raising

Today I helped with moving an Up Right Piano. No easy task I assure you. Sometimes what seems fully adequate can soon be revealed as lacking Little things as insignificant as they may seem, added together,  can cause cause quite the issue. In our case. The closed trailer brought to pick the Piano up, was not quite the right size. Very little in size difference. But enough added together to restrict the task that was to take 5 minutes. Between us, we talked through and exhausted many possible options of manoeuvring this Piano into a space that was not adequate. Many different attempts as logical as they seemed,  came up short and leaving us with one less possibility. Which then lead to more problems. The wheels that made it at least possible to move, had to be removed And thus, more required of us in strength that we did not account for. I didn't exactly come with shoes for heavy lifting and my foot thankfully escaped a more serious injury, onl

Tea. A delicious warm drink. Also known in England as a Cuppa.... How I enjoy drinking tea. Truth be told, the frequency of which I partake in this rather common and daily habit for some, is quite diminished as of late. I asked myself why this was, as I was soaking up the moonlit sky, on my rather brisk walk this evening. Tea.  Warm, comforting and even more delicious accompanied by scones, clotted cream & jam.... just saying. Of an evening with my Aunt, watching various British period programs,we have been known to consume at least 3 very, very, large pots of tea. My ability to drink tea is rather astonishing. Yet the kettle seldom used and the tea gone more untouched as of late. Why?                                                                                                   Simply put. Tea is most enjoyable with friends.  Going round to a friends and them popping the kettle on before you even have your shoes off. Finding a place to enjoy tea and cak