Happy Father’s Day!!

Hi Folks:

Lots to celebrate today. For us, today marks our 352nd Monthaversary of the day we met. For our neighbours to the south, today marks Juneteenth – the day the last of the slaves in the US were emancipated. And on a larger scale, today we celebrate fathers … of all stripes. Being a father isn’t a part-time thing. Even for those who aren’t physically together with their families every day, being a father is a part of every moment, every breath. Marcia’s father and Mike’s dad both passed away within a few months of each other, several years ago. Mike’s father passed away a little over a year ago, and yet each of them are still present in our lives, influencing our thoughts, our decisions, our ways of Being who we are.

So today we wanted to take a moment to say thank you to our sons (and our nephews) – good fathers and men of whom to be proud. Whether you’re a father/grandfather/great-grandfather, son, brother, uncle, big brother, mother serving as father, daughter, sibling… whoever you are, celebrate today, just because. Honour all of those who are a part of your family, whatever family looks like to you. If you find yourself alone in the world, you’re welcome to be a part of ours.

Hugs,
M&M

P.S. Take our advice and use 23:37 of your day to watch this TED talk by Andrew Solomon: Love, No Matter What. It’s about unconditional love and unconditional acceptance. It’s quite possibly the most beautiful talk we’ve ever seen.

Red Flags

Hi Folks:

If you were among those who have visited our blog in the past few days, you will have found that it was ‘red flagged’  for distributing ‘malware’.  Rather than attempting to rail against the folks at Google for marking our site ‘unsafe’, we should instead be grateful that such action alerted us to the code that had been installed on our blog.  There is a saying in the corporate world that there are two kinds of companies – those who know they have been hacked and those who don’t.  However, when it comes to a site where one invests as much of one’s self as Marcia and I do here, having someone hack into it is equivalent to having someone break into one’s home.  There is a certain senselessness to it.  It may be more benign to talk of ‘spamming robots’ as autonomic devices, but the truth is that there is a person behind all such actions.  We can’t begin to understand their motivations, but we can imagine that it stems from a search for ‘power’ based on a perceived feeling of inadequacy.  Our wish is for that person to come to see and celebrate his/ her own magnificence instead.

So, Dear Reader, if you’ve come by our blog recently and been put off by the ‘red flag’ status, we apologize.  It’s not the first time this has happened, and may or may not be the last.  We trust you’ve found something of benefit here, and we invite you to return.  And to whomever has been adding malicious code to our site, we offer you only love.  May you come to see yourself as we do – a truly wonderful Being!  We don’t invite or encourage such attacks, but we don’t do much to defend against them either.  Doing so only escalates the feelings of negativity, and there is already far too much of that in the world.  We wish you peace.

Love,
Marcia and Mike.

P.S. Special thanks to our son Nick for all you do every day to keep our site running so beautifully!

Marcia’s Meanderings ~ Most Definitely!

Hello Dear Ones!

In a world where possibility and probability have become buzz words, where potential is highly praised yet expectation remains in question, where receiving product just on time rather than ahead of schedule is the norm ~ wouldn’t it be delicious to make room for: Most Definitely! Why Certainly! Absolutely!

Rather than building in contingencies for problems, limitations, setbacks and just-in-case scenarios ~ resulting in a greater probability of encountering them by the very matching of that same energy ~ how be we grow, develop and come to expect the very best of everyone, the power of teamwork, and the perfection of an idea, a dream ~ and live into its fulfillment by choice and by design!

In Light and Laughter,

Marcia

You Like Me! You Really Like Me!!

Hi Folks:

So far as I know, Facebook was the first to introduce the concept of the ‘Like’ button to user posts and comments, and it’s such a good idea that it’s been adopted by others as well. Google+ uses the ‘+1’ button instead, but it’s the same idea. The folks at TED.com used to give users the ability to up vote or down vote another user’s comments, but they changed that policy so that only up votes are possible. The people at 50opx.com have both ‘Like’ and ‘Dislike’ buttons on the images displayed there; I suggested to them that they remove the ‘Dislike’ button but the choice is of course theirs.

Why is this so important? Well, in a pre-internet world (yes, I’m old enough to remember such a time), personal interactions were less frequent and more intimate. People waited days, weeks, even months sometimes to hear from a friend or loved one, and as such contacts were treasured. People exchanged long notes, thank you cards and more. Today we live in a much different world. Long letters are hardly ever written, thank you cards are almost forgotten, and even e-mail has become passé, especially among the younger generation. We’re swamped with ever more information, almost all of it short and almost all of it impersonal. The internet is largely considered anonymous and while on one hand that gives people the freedom to express their ‘true’ feelings behind that mask of anonymity it also distances the connections we have with those who are close to us in different ways. Internet friendships can be as strong as any ‘personal’ relationship, but without being face to face we lack inflection, touch and more. Apparently studies have shown that people are more likely to ‘trust’ links that their friends have ‘liked’, but I think it’s much more than that.

Continue Reading →

More Little Wisdoms

Hi Folks:

A few months back I wrote a post called ‘Little Wisdoms‘ because I often get these short insights – sometimes when I awake in the morning and sometimes during the day.  Most of them are pretty short and almost all of them get posted on Twitter, but I’ve started making a collection in a Word file as well.  I’ve accumulated another stack of them so I thought I’d share them here.

Hugs,
Mike.

Continue Reading →

A Year in the Life … revealed …

Hello Dear Ones!

Two years ago today, on the Sunday of Canada’s Victoria Day long weekend of 2009, I stepped onto the retreat grounds of Queenswood and an incredible journey began … leading me to write my first book:

A Year in the Life of a Bus-Traveling Poet

It has been – and is still – a magical journey, one in which you, Dear Reader, took an active role … as one of my dearest inspirations! That’s why I thought to stop by today to share this exciting news with you … my book has been published and is now available for sale!  You can check it out here: http://bit.ly/buspoet (paperback) or here: http://amzn.to/buspoet-k (Kindle version)

And, as a tantalizing little bonus for you, a glimpse of one of my very favourite sections: Continue Reading →

This May Be Wrong

Hi Folks:

This post is based on two events from yesterday, but before I get to them I should provide a little history…

The last time I was in school was a little over twenty years ago, and one Sunday afternoon when I was studying I had a woman who was a representative of a local religious organization stop by my door.  She wanted to discuss her faith, and perhaps because I wanted to take a break from studying or perhaps because it was a sunny Sunday afternoon, I said, “Okay.”  So we stood and talked for about an hour and a half.  However, for everything that she offered from her system of beliefs, I countered with a different viewpoint from another Way.  She’d suggest something from the book she had with her, and I’d offer something to the effect of, “Yes, but the Buddhists believe…”  or “the Bible says…” or “in Taoist philosophy it is said…” or “in Native Spirituality they believe…” or, well, you get the idea.  We went back and forth like this as I said for about an hour and a half until finally I said, “I’ll be the first one to admit that I don’t have all the answers; I’m still a student.”  Her response to this was, “Well, I’ve found mine.” but I countered that with, “No, you think you have; you’ve stopped looking.”  At that point she left. Continue Reading →

Little Wisdoms

Hi Folks:

Been a little quiet of late here in our little corner of the ‘net…  Anyway, some aspect of my Self has taken to waking me up at 1:40 or 3:30 a.m. or somesuch time and planting these little thoughts in my head, and since they’re mostly very short I’ve been posting them on Twitter.  I also started collecting them into a Word file, and I’ve got together enough now that I thought maybe I’d post them here as well.  If any of them resonates with you, feel free to share them… I usually just sign them as: ‘ ~ MNP’ Continue Reading →

Being Green: Interconnection

Hi Folks:

A week has come and gone and it’s time for this week’s ‘Being Green’ post.  It’s going to be a short post this week; the afternoon sunshine is calling me outside!

The biggest items on the news of late is the after-effects of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. A list of some of the relief agencies involved may be found here: Help Survivors of Japan Quake & Tsunami.  There’s been so much in all of the media channels discussing what has happened and speculating about what is happening or may happen I have no wish to add to that.  It does occur to me, however, that for much of the world this latest event in Japan has eclipsed the recent earthquake in New Zealand, the one in Haiti, the one in Chile, the BP oil rig fire in the Gulf of Mexico last year… people in New Orleans are still rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina for that matter, and that was nearly six years ago.  The Chernobyl nuclear accident in the Ukraine was 20 years ago.

This being a blog post about ‘being green’ it would certainly be possible to use these and other global events as a platform to speak out against nuclear power, about the continued effects of global warming and the like, but I don’t want to go there.  Our blog posts tend to get divided between those dealing with spiritual understandings and those dealing with more ‘practical’ issues like green building, environmental and social issues and photography and I don’t often cross those boundaries, but for me life isn’t about one or the other.  Every day is a blend of both, the two becoming one.  I would never suggest to anyone else that they have to follow a certain spiritual Way of being, but I think that no matter what your beliefs – whether they are from a religious tradition, grounded firmly in scientific understanding or some combination that is uniquely yours, one thing we can all agree on is that this little ball we call earth, the one that we all share, is pretty unique.  We are, all of us, interconnected.  In the spirit of that idea, I wanted to pass on something written by a friend of ours, Reverend Karin Wilson.  Karin is with the Center for Spiritual Living in Kelowna, BC, and this piece comes from their March 2011 newsletter.  If you like what she has to say, Karin also has her own blog site: One Mind One Spirit | Northern Light from a Spiritual Seeker:

Let there be Peace

As I’m writing this, my thoughts are with Japan.

It’s so hard to not get caught up in what is unmistakeably one of the most significant dramas to unfold in my living memory.

But I also know that what is taking place there – from the tsumanis to explosions – is a divine idea in the mind of Spirit, even if my human mind has difficulty seeing exactly what that divine idea might be. Whenever I try and think about what it could be, I realize, that like the Tao, I am by turns limiting that One Great Consciousness.

What I do know is that every scientific talent that has anything to offer is offering it to Japan right now. That every person working on restoring the country – from its electricity to water to transportation – is able to so do with a peaceful mind that is focused on its intention, and loving in its delivery. I know that every country opens its doors to the Japanese people with compassion, and I know too that the right people stay behind to rebuild the country in a way that serves everyone.

And yet, I know too that as I say all these things, my treatment in mind is for that and so much more.

The limitless power that we know as God is present right here and right now. As we turn away from what appears to be, we open our eyes to the infinite possibility of what is.

My thoughts are with you Japan. Your sun is rising.

Peace and blessings.

Rev. Karin Wilson

Wherever you are on this little blue marble of ours, I wish you peace.

Okay, the links for this week include:

Okay, that’s it for now.   Have a great week!

Hugs,
Mike.

P.S. Want to learn green building terms? ED+C Teams Up With Renowned Crossword Puzzle Author to Construct Interactive Green Building Crosswords

Choices…

Hi folks:

I was reading through my book of notes to my self this morning and stumbled over the following entry from January 25.  Thought I’d share it with all y’all:

Let’s say you’ve been wandering around lost, over hill and dale, through forests and swamps, and all of a sudden you come across a community in the middle of nowhere.  The place is beautiful; the people are warm, friendly and inviting… in short, a veritable Garden of Eden.  You’re taken in, given food, clean clothing and rest, and after you’ve had a chance to refresh yourself the village elder comes to see you and tells you that you need to make a decision.  There are two options:  For option 1, you remain there and become an integral part of their community.  You adopt their manner of dress, food, customs and beliefs.  For option 2, you choose to retain control of your own destiny.

Given these two options, which one would you choose?

I related this to Marcia, and her initial response was very similar to mine.  She said there were too many factors to consider and not enough information.  It would depend on the people’s beliefs, ideas, attitudes, etc.

But here’s the kicker.  Nowhere in option 2 is it expressed or implied that you would have to leave.

There’s no ‘correct’ answer to this question…

Love,
Mike.

P.S.  Eleven years ago I wrote a story called, “The Way“.  You can find more of our stories under the ‘Our Stories’ link at the top of this page.