Rob Witherspoon

I am grateful for quiet.

Finding quiet has become so elusive. We rarely experience quiet as we are surrounded by sounds most of which are machines - computer cooling fan, furnace motor, dehumidifier, cars, trucks and airplanes. There are very…

I am grateful for progress.

We don't always appreciate progress especially when it changes familiar places or experiences. It is easy to lose sight of the amazing progress we have experienced as a species even during our short lifetimes.

Life…

I am grateful for oranges. 

Oranges provide such a wonderful sensory experience. The sharp scent of the oils released into the air as the orange is peeled. Pulling off a segment and enjoying the explosion of sweet juice as you…

I am grateful for nuts.

Almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, macadamia, chestnuts and brazil nuts - have I missed any? The holiday season at our house always featured a bowl of mixed nuts in the shell - usually pecans…

I am grateful for mindfulness.

The ability to be fully in the moment. Silencing the inner voice that yearns to constantly revisit the past or nervously ponder the future. Just being here now. So simple in concept yet so difficult…

I am grateful for loss.

Loss is painful. Loss of an investment, cherished belonging, job, friend or loved one.

At first loss leaves only emptiness. But it provides contrast cultivating appreciation of what is, not what once was. Loss stimulates…

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. 
                                                                                     Dalai Lama

I am grateful for kindness.

The kindness shown to…

I am grateful for journalists.

Grateful for journalists who bear witness on my behalf to what is happening in the world outside of my limited perspective. Exposing the truth of things often at risk to themselves. Journalists like the late…

I am grateful for imagination.

Grateful for the ability in myself and others to conceptualize and conceive that which does not exist. The creation of new thoughts, ideas, actions, images and sounds that bring joy and delight. Imagining solutions to…

I am grateful for humour.

There is joy in making others laugh and there is joy in laughing.

In the later grades of elementary school I sat at the back of the class with my buddy Gerald Togtema. Gerry had…

I am grateful for grandparents. Like most of us, I had two pairs - Frank and Jessie Witherspoon and John and Katherine Klassen. Neither lived nearby, so time with my grandparents was precious.

Jessie and Frank Witherspoon

I have vague…

“And fingers yearn for pen, pen for paper. A moment... and verses freely flow.”
- Alexander Pushkin

I am grateful for fountain pens.

I rediscovered fountain pens when looking for an alternative to the disposable plastic ballpoint pens I was…