Spiritual Guidance Blog

In late December I treated myself to a skating adventure on an outdoor rink in front of Ottawa City Hall. Our Municipal Government maintains an outdoor skating rink from the beginning of December to mid-March (weather permitting). Even though the weather had been unseasonably warm in Ottawa in December, the ice making and maintenance technology allowed the rink to stay open from 6am – 11pm each and every day, unless it is raining and/or the temperature rose above 10^oC.

It was a mere 0^oC (again, unseasonably warm for this time of year in Ottawa), no wind, the sky was clear, the stars were twinkling and the moon was a glow. I walked a couple of blocks to the rink, through trees and shrubs adorned with Christmas lights. As I rounded the corner of City Hall, to the front of the building where the rink was located, I was greeted with a glowing, neo-light flashing skating rink that was already being enjoyed by dozens of other happy and joyous skaters. I smiled at the scene.

I headed for the heated (yes…heated!) changing hut where I was able to lace up my skates in warmth and comfort. After getting myself all ready for my skating odyssey, I made my way to the skating oval. I stepped on to the smooth and beautifully-prepared ice surface and began to glide my way around the rink.

The park where the skating rink was located was adorned with small and large trees that were decorated in the yuletide tradition. Across a street was another park that had an even more elaborate and impressive display of Christmas lights, as part of an annual tradition of “Lights Across Canada.” There was Christmas music piped over loud speakers. There was even the wonderful and intoxicating aroma of Beavertails brewing at a concession stand beside the rink. (Beavertails are flattened, donut-like delights that are glazed or smothered in a variety of delectable toppings.)

Thirty-or-so other skaters were enjoying the experience with me. We were all gliding around this wonderful outdoor facility—the ice surface, the lights, the seasonal decoration, the Christmas carols, the smell of delightful delicacies wafting through the air, the moonlight…—it was all perfect!

I looked around at the wonder of it all. There were people of all ages, races, males and females, everyone smiling, laughing, and enjoying themselves. There were kids racing around the rink. There were people trying to skate for the first time. There were seasoned skaters, and those who were spinning their way around the rink in a graceful and effortless way. None of it mattered—whether young, old, male, female, novice, accomplished, or professional—everyone was joining with the other in a wonderful outdoor celebration.

As I inhaled the wonder of it all, I thought… “What would life be like if I could live in this wonder at all times? How could I extend this vision to envelop every aspect of my life?”

What do you think?

The collective ‘we’ have recently passed through the annual Holiday Season general known around the world as Christmas. I must say, I have never completely lost my joy of Christmas even though my enthusiasm for the bastardization of the festival has waxed and waned over the years. But over the past decade my joy for the Christmas season has enjoyed a resurgence and this past Christmas I received my very own Christmas miracle.

I was enjoying a meal with a friend and colleague several weeks before Christmas Day and I asked my friend if they were intending to celebrate Christmas and, if so, how. My friend shared that they do not celebrate the season and try not to even acknowledge it. They went on to share how the commercialization of the Season has all but ruined the enjoyment of an annual celebration that once brought much joy into their lives. I changed the subject; but my friend left me with some important material for my own inner work. What is it about Christmas that continues to hold an allure for me?

As I grow older, and the grey hair becomes the more popular color on my head, I find an increased desire to keep life simple. So when it came to answering the question ‘What is it about Christmas that continues to hold an allure for me?,’ I kept it simple. I enjoy the energy that is in the air—an energy of pause, reflection, kindness, and goodwill toward our fellow human being. Yes, yes, I know…there is much sadness in the world and the Christmas Season for many is a time of great sorrow, as it is a reminder to them of what they don’t have, or maybe never did—gifts under the tree on Christmas morning, or even more fundamental, a family to share it with.

So I thought back to the coffee I enjoyed with my friend and colleague and brought a little bit of pragmatism into my inner work. The reality…Christmas is here, and here to stay. Christmas will never go away. You could even take away all the commercialization of the season and it will still be here. Because, underneath all the capitalist society gorging and feasting over of the Holiday Season, you have a period of time throughout the year, albeit brief, where even the most hardened hearts open up just a little…if only a smidgen. And it was this realization that presented my very own Christmas miracle to me this year.

Christmas will always be here. So I can choose to stick my head in the sand and play Ebenezer Scrooge and try and ignore it, or I can embrace it in a way that is meaningful for me. And so…I stepped back and decided that from this day forward, Christmas, as the collective ‘we’ refer to it as, will forever be known to me as the ‘Season of the Heart.’ A time of year when those hearts that are hurting will experience a momentary opening to the light and love that exists within all of us. And for those whose hearts are already opened, may the Christmas Season compel them to extend that love to every man, women, and child they meet.

It truly is the ‘Season of the Heart.’ So open up your hearts and let the light shine in, through you, and extend that light and love back out to all of humanity. Every ray of light and love you extend will be returned to you with the glowing magnificence of the heavens.

In love, gratitude, compassion, and forgiveness…

I have recently completed a 6-month process of moving from one home into another home. The journey appears to have been one of four distinct phases.

Phase 1 began in June with the decision to actually sell the house we had been living in for four years. This decision kicked off a flurry of activity to get the house ready for sale. This meant undertaking a few, minor repairs around the house, giving the house a good and thorough cleaning, and eliminating the clutter that had built up over the years.

Phase 2 began in July when the ‘For Sale’ sign went up in front of the house. This Phase was marked by keeping the house extraordinarily clean at all times and having to vacate the house whenever a potential buyer wanted to come and view the house.

Once the house sold at the beginning of September, Phase 3 began. Phase 3 was all about finding a new home to move to. We found a new home in mid-October.

Phase 4, the final stage that we just completed, included packing up the house we had been living in and moving to our new home. This Phase had the very interesting element of beginning renovations of our new home before we moved in.

In each of the four Phases mentioned above, there were times when things did not go exactly as planned (said with a smile on my face…). My approach to each of these little (some were big) hiccups was to reset the ‘plan’ and carry on. Until, of course, the next hiccup came along and then another adjustment was made.

Each time I made an adjustment, however, I could feel the tension building. I was losing control. The situation had created its own energy and I was caught up in that energy of change. As the tension built, I felt more and more like I was trying to swim upstream, against the current.

It was only when I was able to ‘let go’ and ‘go with the flow’ of the current that the tension was released. And that moment of release was always met with laughter. When things became too intense, too insane, too crazy, I would just laugh.

So…what to do when things don’t go exactly as planned? Just laugh. In that laughter is the divine wisdom that life is not happening to you, but life is happening for you. In that laughter is the surrender to the events around you. In that laughter is your freedom and peace.

There is a saying, ‘we plan and God laughs.’ I invite you to laugh along with him/her. J

In laughter…

Where do you find your inspiration? The answer to this question will pave your way to peace, joy, and love.

There are many forms of inspiration. Perhaps it is in words; in a poem or story. Perhaps it is in children. Maybe you are inspired by family members, friends, or celebrities. Your inspiration may come from nature—the land or oceans—or from the infinite wonder of the heavens. You may be inspired by animals, or flowers, or a kind gesture shown to someone by another.

Whatever inspires you, embrace it. Allow it to enter your very being and lead you to live the life you have always wanted to live—a life you are destined to live.

All of us could use some inspiration in our lives. All of us can use a ‘pick-me-up’ now and then. Until you discover your very own personal reservoir of inspiration, allow that which inspires you to lift you up and carry you to new heights of freedom and majesty.

Let your wings take flight and allow your soul to soar…high, high above the confusion and malaise of this world. This is not where you are supposed to be. Allow life to show you its majesty. Allow life to be your strength as you walk each day in gratitude and grace. Allow the winds of change to gently caress you and lead you where you need to go. Don’t resist.

Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,

“Have you any idea how blessed I am? Have you any idea how grateful I am for living a life that is so full of joy, happiness, peace, and love that I don’t think for a moment about the need to take a vacation…“

Allow me state my bias and prejudice upfront. In the conventional sense, I have not taken a vacation in more than six years. Now, as you allow that opening statement to sink in…allow me to share some background.

When I worked in corporate Canada, I adored my vacations. I soooo… looked forward to my vacations. I would plan and save money for my vacations. I would begin planning and saving for my next vacation almost as soon as I came back from the previous one! I would dream up elaborate destinations I wanted to go to. And what a tension release it was to even ‘dream up’ these vacation. The mere thought of going on a vacation, to get me away from the pressure-packed career and life I was leading, was a stress reliever in and of itself, let alone the actual vacation. The mere act of planning for my vacation was a very effective distraction from the life I was living, but secretly despised.

A short while ago a dear soul friend returned from one of those stereotypical ‘dream vacations.’ They traveled afar to a tropical island where they spent several weeks frolicking in the pearly-white sands of majestic beaches, with palm trees swaying in the gentle, south pacific breezes. You know the scene, perhaps…

Upon returning from this south pacific dream vacation, my friend declared that they would no longer live there life ‘wanting to get away from it all.’ They made a declaration that they would transform their life so they never needed to take another vacation again.

Conventional wisdom, wellness psychology of the west, suggests we need a break from our jobs to relax and regenerate / rejuvenate. This conventional wisdom purports that it is unhealthy to stay in a stressful environment for too long; that we need to take a break so that our stressful lives don’t adversely affect our health and well-being.

Allow me to ask a question…

When we take a vacation, in the traditional sense, what is it we are taking a vacation from? A stressful job? A stressful relationship? Some place or some thing I want to get away from? A life I don’t want to be living? An existence that does not suite me?

Do you ever ask yourself these questions? I certainly did when I was working in corporate Canada, but I was overwhelmed at even the concept of living my life another way; at living my life in such a way that the very idea of ‘vacation’ was something that was not needed, but something that I may, or may not, decide to do. Not because I could, or could not, but because I didn’t need to take a vacation from my job, or my life.

When I left corporate Canada 6 years ago, I set myself adrift to explore a new way of living and seeing the world I lived in. Just one of the wondrous manifestations of that new way of living and seeing the world I live in is the letting go of the need to take a break from the life I am living.

Why would I want or need to take a ‘vacation’ from the work I love? It doesn’t even feel like work to me, in the traditional sense. It is ‘work’ in the doing sense, but not in the sense of ‘trying.’ My life’s work is effortless. My life’s work is blessed. My life’s work is a gift. Why, on earth, would I want or need to ‘get away from it all’ and take a break? My life is my work; and my work is my life. Have you any idea how blessed I am? Have you any idea how grateful I am for living a life that is so full of joy, happiness, peace, and love that I don’t think for a moment about the need to take a vacation, in the traditional sense.

May you experience this joy, happiness, peace, and love in your lifetime. What a wonderful world it would be.

Shanti, Namaste, Agapé,