Mantra for 2012

February 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The other day I watched a western with my hubby. One of the actors was Robert Duvall, I can watch him anytime. In the film there was one simple line he said that has stuck in my head and I’m glad for it.

“Don’t use money to measure wealth, Son.”

Now doesn’t that just go against the grain of the life we have created here on earth? Everything we are exposed to day after day is about status. How much money we have, how big our house is, how big our TV is, how big our gas guzzling vehicle is and the list goes on and on.

We can struggle for years to find peace, but do we ever really find peace if in the back of our heads we are actually thinking about how to accumulate more?

I suppose you could come up with the argument that if I have lots of money I don’t have to worry, I’ll be at peace. I know plenty of people with money and all they seem to be talking about lately is how their investments have been dropping. No peace there.

The fact is, when I want to take myself to a peaceful and happy place, my thoughts don’t take me to money and belongings, they take me to the overwhelming love I receive from my family. As I visualize embracing my children and grandchildren, unchecked tears spill down my cheeks. Then I view in my mind’s eye the beautiful fir and cedar that surround our home and embrace us with energy and the maple tree next door whose branches seem to reach out and touch us too. And of course our dogs Peanut and Mikey emanate love and warmth 24/7. We are their world. How amazing is that?

Robert Duvall has provided me with my mantra for the next year. With it I can shake off those seeds of ‘status’ that surface unbidden. They’ve been around a long time, but they are GMO and my seeds of heritage will prevail.

Don’t use money to measure wealth.

Don’t use money to measure wealth.

Don’t use money to measure wealth.

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Default to Peace…

December 31, 2011 By 2 Comments

I recently made the trek to Prince Edward Island to visit my sister and mother (after whom I am named). I hadn’t been back east in three years. The last time I made the visit was because Mom had been hit by a car. She now lives in a senior’s facility on the Alzheimer’s ward.
On our first visit to see Mom we caught her just around lunch time. She sat at the head of a table with my sister and I on either side forming a nice conversational triangle. As it got closer to lunch we were joined by three other residents.
After chatting for a few minutes Mom looked to the woman at the other end of the table. Pointing from me to my sister and back she said, “This is my youngest daughter and this is my oldest daughter. This one’s name is Dorothy.”
The woman looked at me and replied, “Oh you poor thing.” We all chuckled. Then Mom looked at my sister and said, “You didn’t tell me she was coming.”
“Yes I did Mom, but you forgot.”
Mom looked at me shaking her head, “My memory just isn’t what it used to be.”
We continued chatting while Mom ate her lunch, discussing the weather, how nice the place was and how she liked the food. Then Mom looked to the woman at the other end of the table again. Pointing from me to my sister and back she said, “This is my youngest daughter and this is my oldest daughter. This one’s name is Dorothy.”
The woman looked at me and replied, “Oh you poor thing.” Again we all chuckled. Then my mother looked at my sister and said, “You didn’t tell me she was coming.”
“Yes I did Mom, but you forgot.”
Mom looked at me and shook her head, “My memory just isn’t what it used to be.”
This same scenario repeated itself several times during lunch. I finally said to my sister, “I feel like I’m living Groundhog Day.” She laughed.
Although Mom’s memory just isn’t what it used to be, I have to say she is more contented that I have seen her in years.
I was sharing this story with our office administrator, Ranza, when she said to me, “I like to think that no matter what, eventually we default to peace.”
What a wonderful insight. It says it all. It’s like a switch inside of us and, when it’s needed, we default to peace. We spend our lives looking for that elusive switch. It’s reassuring to know that whether I stumble upon it or not, just as it did for Mom, it’ll find a way to turn itself on.

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Getting out of the way!

October 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Strange how our minds work. It’s hard to believe that we have been publishing True Blue Spirit for three years, yet those first issues still seem like a dream.

In the early stages of True Blue Spirit’s inception I remember a vision I had during dream time. I saw an arm reaching out from the East Coast and another from the West Coast. They clasped hands in the center of Canada. I took this to mean that eventually True Blue Spirit would reach right across the country.

In spite of my analytical mind getting in the way, this vision has indeed come to pass. Being a member of Magazines Canada has played a large role; and yet many times when I first felt nudged to join—I shook it off. Perhaps I felt it was too much of a corporate type entity for our warm fuzzy magazine. But what I found was a group of wonderful people, just like our readers and contributors, who wanted to help us get the True Blue Spirit stories out there.

We can have all the visions and synchronicities in the world, but if we don’t push our misconceptions, doubts and assorted other garbage out of the way they aren’t worth a pinch of salt. The assistance we’ve received through Magazines Canada’s distribution, training and mentorship programs has been invaluable.

Yes, it’s been three years, and I am still learning to get out of my own way! Thank goodness for the patience of spirit.

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Time Alone

May 29, 2011 By 2 Comments

The other day I was speaking with some friends about how much of a recluse I become once I am back at my home on Gabriola Island.

“I find it so hard to imagine you as a recluse,” one of them said, “you’re so friendly, always talking to people, putting on seminars and such.”

“I guess that’s why I’m a recluse when I get home,” I said.

As I sit at my desk reliving this conversation, it reminds me of a different one I had years ago with another friend. It was a discussion about spending time alone. I always felt the need to be around people and I filled every moment of every day with activity. Mostly work.

When I shared this information with my friend she said, “Are you kidding? I love being alone and I love my own company!”

Her statement struck a chord. I found as I delved into the reasons for filling my waking moments, the list was long. After all, if I kept busy I didn’t have to deal with losses that pulled at my heart, I didn’t have to face personal and work issues that I’d shuffled into a corner and, more importantly, I didn’t have to deal with some of the traits I’d taken on that really didn’t resonate within my soul. I didn’t know if I could ‘love my own company’.

Fortunately, a great deal of ‘alone time’ was handed to me on a crystal platter. After an initial struggle, I began to enjoy and embrace all that I’d been avoiding. Now that my mind wasn’t stretched in every direction, I found time to savour unique memories. Those issues I’d shuffled away no longer seemed impossible to handle. And with increased candour in my life, I’ve found that I’m enjoying spending more and more time with me. Yes…I’ve learned to love my own company.

It’s so easy to get on that treadmill of busy-ness and not take the time to learn to love the most important person in our lives: ourselves. But when we do so, oh how rich becomes our love of others.


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