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…and if Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play my tune today – it would be a victory march. But it could have been a funeral march. As I write this, it is the eve of my anniversary of sobriety – on July 18th, I will have been clean and sober for 24 years. Looking back on it, the time has flown by, even though in the early years it was sometimes difficult to not give up and give in to my addictions. If anyone had told me then that I’d be celebrating 24 years of sobriety from mind-altering … [Read more...] about It Was 24 Years Ago Today…

Today I received an extraordinary email from Ward Grant. In case you missed seeing him interviewed on TV, Ward is the man who started Vancouver’s “Wall of Hope” – after feeling so angry and disheartened to see what was happening to our amazing city after the final Stanley Cup game, he was one of the first to take positive action. The morning after ‘the night before’, Ward came downtown with a handmade poster he had created – a sign that told both the team he supported and the people of his … [Read more...] about Creating Vancouver’s “Wall of Hope”

Friday morning I felt witness to an amazing event. In the wake of the sick-making, heart-breaking riots here in our city of Vancouver after the final Stanley Cup hockey game, grateful citizens gathered in an impromptu fashion to give their thanks to the police officers – the men and women who, in a tremendously difficult and dangerous situation, had done their best that night to protect and serve. While running an errand this morning, I happened to be around the corner from the Vancouver Police … [Read more...] about Stickies of Gratitude

This August will mark 30 years since I intentionally and consciously made Vancouver my home. Throughout these years, I have always been very happy about that decision – until the hockey game was over last night. Along with the rest of the world – at least those of us who weren’t downtown and actively participating -- I watched with horror and grief while insanity gripped the city I love. A small group of jerks who clearly have no clue about how to have their grievances heard in any kind of … [Read more...] about The Morning After — Shame on WHO??

One of my spiritual teachers used to talk about the futility of trying to be perfect as a human being.  When she made a mistake, she would immediately say -- with a dollop of amusement --“Ooops!”  She would then add to that a resounding “Oh well!” to let people know that, no matter what, she would definitely be making mistakes. It is often observed that we are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but rather we are spiritual beings having a human experience. I really enjoy thinking … [Read more...] about “Ooops — Oh well!” : The Antidote to Perfectionism