Swans on Skaha Lake
(Apr 2011)

Spring time, the return of longer days and attending trade shows. I took this photo of the swans near Okanagan Falls, so I looked up swans in the Animal Speak book, and it says they represent Awakening the True Beauty and the Power of the Self. I take this to mean that the time has come for each of us to step forward and be the change we want to see in the world.

Antony, one of our volunteers who is developing the Sustainable section for the magazine, has created a new FileMaker Pro database and taught me the program so I can make changes as needed. I am getting to like computers as the internet is a great, instant networking tool and I can listen to or read a news broadcast that is more balanced than many newspapers. People are sharing stories and creating networks that unite citizens for we need to be creative if we wish to keep our basic human rights.

I am angry that Bill C-36 was pushed through in the senate. One of the reasons I started Issues was to get even with the government for being stupid enough to allow Aspartame to be classified as a food. If doctors were not going to educate the public, I reasoned, then I would do it myself. I knew who to ask for advice when I got sick and I liked networking, so it seemed a natural fit. During the last twenty some years I have learned lots, and with easy access to information now, everyone can research and decide for him or herself who is telling the truth.

During the last distribution trip, I stepped off a curb and fell on the ice. Guess it was time for another universal chiropractic appointment (a term I use when I fall down and my joints get adjusted because of the impact). Once again, the timing was perfect, as Richard was doing the driving and crutches are cheap at second-hand stores. It has been ten years since I had my hip replaced, so I ask myself could it be karma … maybe. Could it be that I don’t always listen to my inner voices … maybe. Each time I am injured I ask myself why, what is the reflection? Just before I fell, I remembered feeling hurried, wanting to catch up to Richard who had already crossed the street. I remembered feeling like I was five years old, running to catch up to my Dad. “Weird,” I thought to myself, and then my feet became airborne. I quickly went inside myself and listened – no cracks, just a loud thud. I breathed deep and felt the pain and started to weep almost instantly. I have hurt myself so many times since that original injury that I now know what to expect. After the tears, the shakes came as I moved slowly, testing my limits while calculating my recovery time. Richard did a good job of taking care of me as we finished the trip. At home, he cooked meals while I did our income tax, as sitting was okay.

On February 24, I woke from a dream … I am staying at a motel looking out commercial glass doors across the alley at an automobile showroom. I am resting and letting my leg heal and I feel well enough to get dressed. I look in a full-length mirror at my naked backside and there are two pimples near my scar. I decide to squeeze the bigger of the two and am surprised at how much pus is coming out. Then I feel a tightness and a lump as wide as it is long pops to the surface. I feel relief and know the hardness is out. I think about squeezing the second pimple and hear my inner voice say, “It is complete, no need to squeeze any more,” and I wake up. I like figuring out my dreams and know that cars represent the way I travel through life, the glass shows show my transparency or openness. I figure the pus and hardened lump is old anger that I have worked through in the last ten years and it feels so good to get it out of my system. In the dream I feel well, so I assume this is my last fall. Now, several weeks later, I can actually sense a deeper peace within me.

The next night, I had another dream. This time, we are at the Spring Festival of Awareness at Naramata and Norma Cowie, a psychic friend, is on the stage announcing that this will be my last year hosting it. In my dream, I rush to the stage and correct the information, but as I wake up, I feel the knowingness … yes, a shift is coming. Time to let others do more. I have also learned that time is seldom what it seems in a dream, and events often happen more slowly than anticipated, but the seed has been planted and I will watch for clues and ask for clarity.

By the time the Vernon fair happened, March 5 & 6, I had been walking for a few days without crutches. I had a booth next to Norma and the first thing I did when I sat down was to pull a card to see what guidance could be gleaned. I pulled the Star … a naked women bent on one knee, pouring water into two pools. “See,” she said … “You will always be the Star of the show.” I took the card to mean that I need to be aware of how much emotional (water) energy I pour out.

Soon the Retreat Center will have bees arriving from New Zealand. We ordered them from afar as the local supplier had a tough winter and lost much of his brood. If bees become extinct, it is said that human kind will not be far behind. They are like canaries in the coal mines, dying when the environment is too toxic to survive.

Richard and crew have been busy building bee hives and the frames that go inside. Keeping bees alive until there are enough blossoms means we need to supplement their diet with white sugar nectar. The instructor said to make sure that the product code has BC stamped on the side. The AB code stands for Alberta and that sugar might be made from GMO beets (beets containing genetically modified organisms). It is so deceitful that our government does not make GMO labeling mandatory. I don’t eat white sugar, but for those of you who do, perhaps it is time to start a revolution in Canada. “We, the people” want choice, be it health care providers vs doctors, herbal products vs drugs or the right to know where our food comes from.

They say the truth will set us free and that it starts within. Taking time to observe my thoughts and bring up past programming is a way to heal myself. I give gratitude that I walk with no pain and live/work in a safe environment that is healthy and healing. Soon it will be time to play in the garden, get to know the bees and greet all the newcomers who have said they are coming to help out.

If you like Issues magazine, please pick-up two copies and give one away to help me network. Antony is also putting Issues on Facebook as a way to connect more quickly, adding one more thing to do in the 1,440 minutes I get to use every day.