The Soulistry Blog
“LIFTED OUT OF FEAR – Miss Pudgy Angel”
"Miss Pudgy Angel - it's time for you to come and lift us out of the fear many are feeling these days."I wrote this blog four years ago. Tonight, a friend's Facebook post began: "I was feeling a little ... just a little bit paralyzed by fear today." Her words echoed...
“LET LOVE SPEAK – MAiD”
I knew the day was coming when I would be asked to sign as a witness to my friend's signature. It wasn't just a signature on a page. It was a signature on a MAiD (Medically Assistance In Dying) document. MAiD is a difficult decision one makes for oneself. Signing as...
“DEEP WITHIN THE WINTER SNOW”
The snow is beginning to leave (hurray!).And this afternoon, these flowers began to surface in my back yard.The promise of new lifeemergingin spite of the weatherin spite of the pandemicin spite of political upheavalsin spite of it being the Season of Lentin spite of...
“THE SEASON of LENT” – Seeing Souls
The Season of Lent has begun. For forty days and forty nights, millions of people around the world will be involved in Lenten observation and sombre reflection. While I find that Lent has its place in the circle of life in its reminder that not everything in the...
“ASH WEDNESDAY. In a PANDEMIC?”
ASH WEDNESDAY in a Pandemic - what is Ash Wednesday all about? It was a Wednesday morning. Nothing unusual was happening in the classroom where I was teaching a class of high school students. Nothing unusual, except they were more attentive than...
“VALENTINE’S DAY – MERAKI”
"Meraki."A winter storm has me indoors - snowbound. Not much of a change for the past year since the pandemic restricted most social activities, volunteer associations, connecting with family/friends. I've been referring to this time as "3 - P" time as it's been a...
“WAND OF KINDNESS”
What are the lies from leaders; the vitriol expressed on social media; the lack of kindness on the road, in stores, in families, in volunteer organizations, at work, etc., teaching children, youth, grandchildren? What it's teaching, isn't good. The 'wand of...
“I’m AFRAID, J’ai PEUR”
Friends are texting "I'm scared - afraid - terrified. J'ai peur." So-called 'natural disasters' (hurricanes, landslides, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, fires); cancer, COVID, other medical diagnoses; a second impeachment trial after the take-over of the Capitol...
“HOPE HAS TWO DAUGHTERS: ANGER AND COURAGE”
I keep hearing the cry “what is hope?” and “where is hope?” and am reminded of a quote by Augustine who, in the fifth century, wrote these words: “Hope has two daughters.Their names are Anger and Courage … 'anger’ at the way...
“A CELTIC ENFOLDING PRAYER”
Many mark this day, February 2nd, as St. Brigid's Day, a Gaelic festival based on Imbolc/Imbolg which celebrates the arrival in longer, warmer days and early signs of spring in some places. Others mark it as Candlemas (or Presentation of Christ in the Temple) while...
‘A HEART FULL OF GRACE. A SOUL GENERATED BY LOVE.”
An experience with a friend yesterday provided a personal introduction to an 811 nurse, three Cowichan Valley paramedics and our local Emergency health care workers at Cowichan District Hospital. It was all good! My friend woke with tightness in her chest, across her...
“EPIPHANY – Light in the Darkness – S.E.W.”
I love the word ‘epiphany.’ Epiphanies are those "ah-hah!" moments in life when we suddenly feel we 'understand' … we 'get it’ … we unexpectedly gain insight into the nature or meaning of something (or someone) we hadn't grasped, gotten or understood previously....
“TWELFTH NIGHT”
It’s Twelfth Night! Tonight! Twelfth Night is a festival that takes place on the last night of the Twelve Days of Christmas and, for western Christianity, marks the coming of the Epiphany tomorrow - January 6th. What is Twelfth Night all about? To...
“TWELFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS”
Merry Christmas - the Twelfth day of Christmas. On this, the Twelfth (and final) day of Christmas, the drummers were drumming.Music ethnologists remind us that every culture has utilized the drum for a multitude of purposes, to touch the heart and communicate...
“ELEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS”
On this day, the Eleventh Day of Christmas, the Pipers were piping! I was intrigued by the story of Scottish Infantryman and bagpiper Daniel Laidlaw who became known as the Piper of Loos in the Battle of Loos in 1915 in World War 1. When he was awarded the Victoria...
“TENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS”
Merry Christmas - Tenth day! On this day of Christmas, the lords were a-leaping. Leaping? Ahhhh, of course! They were young. But, what about those who cannot or can no longer physically leap? Leaping - especially leaping over limits ... opens thoughts as...
“CHALKING THE DOOR”
Have you ever noticed a mysterious series of letters and numbers which looked like a math equation, inscribed in chalk over a doorway (or at your church, or at the home of a friend) and wondered “What is that?” But you didn't ask, so you left and wondered...
“NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS”
Merry Christmas - Ninth Day!And yes, we're still in the Season of Christmas. We're all grateful to see last year come to an end and set it behind us. It represents a year we hope won't be repeated as feelings of fear and anxiety about the future come forth...
“EIGHTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS”
Merry Eighth Day of Christmas! On this day, while the milking image is front-and-centre (an image of nourishment), there are times when images of anxiety are associated with the milking image: being milked, fleeced, drained, exploited by friends, family, corporations,...
“HAPPY NEW YEAR! Chronos and Kairos”
HAPPY NEW YEAR! A new year is here! How will you spend your time in the New Year? What will be done with the 24 hours of each day for the next 52 weeks ... those precious 3,760 hours? The Greeks used two words to explain the different dimensions of time: Chronos and...