Naramata Centre Chapel
(Feb 2002)

Spring.. it always feels like a magic time to me. The sun’s rays gets stronger, birds return and plants push through the soil to greet the sun. Each moment, each day, each year allows me to be more thankful to be alive.

I have given much thought to the message that many people keep repeating to me, that my injury was a message to “slow down.” That bit of advice doesn’t resonate with me, for it is much more complex than that. I have always made time for me, not a lot, but enough. Somedays I would prefer not to have such a long ‘to do list’ but I have created it because I see so much that needs doing and I get impatient waiting for someone else to make it happen. With that kind of attitude, the help of my angels and trusting that the moment is always perfect has made it easy for me start several businesses and learn to juggle them all at the same time. Once in a while a ball hits the ground, but each year of practice makes it easier, and the transitions smoother, and at least I still have a few balls to keep juggling.

My next endeavour, now that the Spring Festival scheduling is done, is to create a website that connects the valleys together. If you are interested in helping me, please read the details on page ?? and give me a call. I need help in every town where Issues is delivered, so that we can create a list of everyone that provides holistic type services.

The front cover photo was taken by Terry Beadle-McTavish, courtesy of Naramata Centre. It shows their labyrinth with the chapel in the background, the location of the Spring Festival of Awareness this April. The picture reminds me to take a reflective moment and not get caught in the negative energy that the normal media seem to dwell on. It is refreshing to read Shared Vision and Common Ground and other alternative newspapers that encourage and remind us that world events are a reflection of ourselves, and not to get caught up in the drama. September 11 is a reminder that life is fragile: we owe it to ourselves to wake up each morning and retire each night filled with reverence and awe of the miracle, the wisdom and the wonders of being alive at this time in history. I feel humbled by the honour of being an infinitesimal part of the web that weaves us all together. We are all one: the micro and the macro are a reflection of each other and love is what created us. To feel this love we need only to open our hearts and breathe deeply …even when scary things happen.

February 20 is my fiftieth birthday celebration, and this year will be my first since starting Issues thirteen years ago that I will not be in ‘deadline’ mode. Publishing every two months is such a treat, and this year I intend to take some time off. February 12 is the beginning of the Chinese New Year and this year it is the Year of the Horse. I was born a dragon, and they say that dragon people are born with the ability to be active for they like to gather crowds around them. I do not feel stressed when I am busy, but print mode was starting to wear me thin. I used to wonder what the word stress meant, so here is a definition I like. Stress happens when the mind/body feels like it cannot cope with what is happening in the moment. Ten years of breath and body work have given me the gift of being present in my body… most of the time. My mind likes to remind me of my programming but I fast-forward the tape, breathe deeply, feel my heart, let go of my perceptions and spend time with whomever it is I am with, be it good or bad. When the time is up, my body gives me a signal and often moves without me knowing why. Somedays my mouth does the same. Time and time again, I am in awe of the precise timing of all that happens in my life.

Spring.. it always feels like a magic time to me. The sun’s rays gets stronger, birds return and plants push through the soil to greet the sun. Each moment, each day, each year allows me to be more thankful to be alive.

I have given much thought to the message that many people keep repeating to me, that my injury was a message to “slow down.” That bit of advice doesn’t resonate with me, for it is much more complex than that. I have always made time for me, not a lot, but enough. Somedays I would prefer not to have such a long ‘to do list’ but I have created it because I see so much that needs doing and I get impatient waiting for someone else to make it happen. With that kind of attitude, the help of my angels and trusting that the moment is always perfect has made it easy for me start several businesses and learn to juggle them all at the same time. Once in a while a ball hits the ground, but each year of practice makes it easier, and the transitions smoother, and at least I still have a few balls to keep juggling.

My next endeavour, now that the Spring Festival scheduling is done, is to create a website that connects the valleys together. If you are interested in helping me, please read the details on page ?? and give me a call. I need help in every town where Issues is delivered, so that we can create a list of everyone that provides holistic type services.

The front cover photo was taken by Terry Beadle-McTavish, courtesy of Naramata Centre. It shows their labyrinth with the chapel in the background, the location of the Spring Festival of Awareness this April. The picture reminds me to take a reflective moment and not get caught in the negative energy that the normal media seem to dwell on. It is refreshing to read Shared Vision and Common Ground and other alternative newspapers that encourage and remind us that world events are a reflection of ourselves, and not to get caught up in the drama. September 11 is a reminder that life is fragile: we owe it to ourselves to wake up each morning and retire each night filled with reverence and awe of the miracle, the wisdom and the wonders of being alive at this time in history. I feel humbled by the honour of being an infinitesimal part of the web that weaves us all together. We are all one: the micro and the macro are a reflection of each other and love is what created us. To feel this love we need only to open our hearts and breathe deeply …even when scary things happen.

February 20 is my fiftieth birthday celebration, and this year will be my first since starting Issues thirteen years ago that I will not be in ‘deadline’ mode. Publishing every two months is such a treat, and this year I intend to take some time off. February 12 is the beginning of the Chinese New Year and this year it is the Year of the Horse. I was born a dragon, and they say that dragon people are born with the ability to be active for they like to gather crowds around them. I do not feel stressed when I am busy, but print mode was starting to wear me thin. I used to wonder what the word stress meant, so here is a definition I like. Stress happens when the mind/body feels like it cannot cope with what is happening in the moment. Ten years of breath and body work have given me the gift of being present in my body… most of the time. My mind likes to remind me of my programming but I fast-forward the tape, breathe deeply, feel my heart, let go of my perceptions and spend time with whomever it is I am with, be it good or bad. When the time is up, my body gives me a signal and often moves without me knowing why. Somedays my mouth does the same. Time and time again, I am in awe of the precise timing of all that happens in my life.