As people are commenting together about “summer weather” – how beautiful it is, how hot it is, how too hot it is… I can’t help but think – just about every time – well, that’s the climate crisis we are all in. Cities, countries, groups and organizations around the world are starting to declare climate “emergencies” as storms become more intense and damaging, heat moves up to unprecedented temperatures as acute water shortages increase and Continue Reading
Sprinkle Your Day With Joy
I first heard the following quote decades ago, and it’s brought me great comfort: “Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.” … Pierre Teilhard de ChardinI found these questions recently and they are apparently designed to boost joy. Try them and report back please!1. What experiences, however mundane, gave you pleasure today?2. What praise and feedback did you receive?3. What were your achievements, however small?4. What made you Continue Reading
Mediating While The World Burns
I recently had the good fortune to be asked to present at a TEDx. I chose the subject of the importance of all of us unleashing our “inner mediator” in these trying environmental times. We have truly never faced a foe more formidable than what we face today – with too many global and local problems for the situation to be anything but impossible for our species and many other species on this precious blue dot that we inhabit. Not Continue Reading
The Secrets to Talking with Strangers
A few times a year, I find myself in the privileged position of traveling on my own. Yesterday, it was taking the train from Toronto to Montreal. I just attended my daughter’s graduation from the University in Toronto, and was off to the city of my birth, Montreal, to attend to my mother’s estate matters. The four-hour train ride is one I’ve done a few times over the years, and I always relish it. The scenery is beautiful and as the sun set Continue Reading