These simple words are the mantra of a remarkable group of Venerable Buddhist Monks walking over 2,300 miles from Texas, to Washington, not as a protest, but as a living message of compassion, unity, and inner peace in a time of deep division. “Today is my peaceful day,” Bhikkhu Pannakara invites us to say as […]
What a warm and welcoming venue! The Dublin Community Center in Dublin, NH, is a top-shelf Open Mic performance venue, and a fabulous place for an Artist to play a feature set. I was thrilled to meet so many people and share an evening of music and camaraderie. A definite highlight was inviting Christine Hatch […]
“Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.” – Brene Brown I’ve been thinking a lot about this quote lately—about courage and vulnerability, about when to speak out or […]
Do any of you remember the story, “The Three Billy Goats Gruff?” It is a Norwegian fairytale about three goats who try to cross a bridge guarded by a troll who threatens to eat them, but is ultimately defeated by the biggest goat, who head-butts the troll into the river. In the fictional story, […]
Many of you are probably lighting your advent candles or eating that first piece of chocolate from your calendar. This is a special month for Christians around the world. It’s also a Holy month for many other religious and spiritual traditions: Hanukkah (Jews), Bodhi Day (Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, Jains), Yule (Pagans & Wiccans), Kwanzaa (African […]
In a public Facebook thread, I dared to say ‘Happy Gurpurab’ to the Sikh community this week. I was then told to ‘wake up,’ ‘lay off the pipe,’ ‘go live in India,’ and ‘put a sock in it Nancy pants,” among other insults. Is the light in us gone? Has the soul in us […]
It takes a lot of volunteers and sponsors to run a community festival – teamwork, tenacity, trust – to build something that will bring out your friends and neighbours to celebrate the harvest time of year. Pumpkin Fest was a wonderful success, and promises to only get better year after year. From the jack’o’lantern and […]
I was thrilled to be asked to join the elite team of mural painters in Lancaster Ontario this past September. Two large murals are now on display entitled “Life on the River,” and “Early Farming Settlers,” which is the culmination of South Glengarry Township’s Portraits of our Past project. Mural production was co-ordinated by longtime […]
My 2024 solo travel adventure brought me to Portugal! I rented a house in the historic section of Albufeira, southern coast in the Algarve region. Beautiful sunshine greeted me almost everyday, along with an americano with extra hot water that I ordered at a beach cafe. These travels are all about routine, usually involving meditation, […]
“Songwriting and visual art share the same creative process, and self-discovery is a big part of it. Sometimes it’s hard, but mostly it’s magical.” Throughout the pandemic, I’ve ebbed and flowed with my creative practice. Sometimes it was easier to binge something on Netflix, play free cell on my phone, or just sleep. The first […]