Today I am very sad about the current state of our country. Last fall, the Conservatives won their long sought after majority and this gave the Prime Minister the power to enact his intention to remake Canada so that we would “not recognize it.” And so Stephen Harper and his ministers and back benchers have been busy doing just that, with new legislation, new regulations, a new way of operating the budget and focusing more on values and attributes of Canadian life that reflects their view of the country and who we are. That is their perogative. They won the …
It happens on every scale. A community, a nation, a people becomes bitterly divided on an issue and the civic conversation deteriorates to become nasty, rhetorically or physically violent and entrenched. Suspicion arises on every side and distrust, camps, territory and accusations fly. Perhaps someone launches a lawsuit, someone else accuses someone of unethical behavior. People who come forward to help are shot down if they can’t be pinned down. It feels like we are going through that on my little Island at the moment. Yes it is a #firstworldproblem, and in more ways than one, for what we are …
Yesterday at the end of our workshop day one of our participants looked out to the bay and saw a stirring in the water. He asked what it could be and I suggested it was a reef appearing at low tide, or a seal chasing herring or the Goldeneyes who have been engaged in their weird breeding behaviour of running on water and diving below the surface. He said that it didn’t look like any of that, and when I turned around, I saw a small pod of dolphins ripping through Mannion Bay. I have never seen dolphins in the …
What is it like to make amends? Can you find a reason to apologize to someone? What does that take in you? I apologized to someone today for an unwise speech act. I did it because these two – my partner and son – among other on my home island matter to me. Because small instinctive it’s can have a long term impact on relationships. Feels good to apologize and I hope it’s accepted. The sacrifice of pride and ego has its return in a feeling of peace.