These unusual times have focused attention on the things that are truly important.  Health, community safety, care and compassion for our neighbours and of course, food. Food has always been central to our existence from back when we would gather…

I am grateful for the zipper. 

Where would we be without the zipper? We'd be buttoning up our flies and it would be a little drafty down there at this time of year. Keeping mosquitoes out of your tent would…

I am grateful for you. 

You who care - who read, watch, listen, support, create, comment, engage and encourage.

Thank you for being with me on this journey. Thank you for caring. 

May the joy of the season embrace you…

I am grateful for Xrays.

Several years ago I was skiing on Blackcomb mountain at Whistler, BC. While walking across the icy deck of Horstman Hut halfway up the mountain, I slipped and fell. At the time I thought I…

I am grateful for water.

It is more than half of what I physically am. An amazingly simple molecule composed of two hydrogen atoms bonded to a single oxygen but absolutely essential to life.

It is easy to take water…

I am grateful for a Volvo 122s wagon.

A 1967, dark green Volvo 122s station wagon that my Dad bought new. Seat belts were an option that he wisely chose. It hauled our family and tent trailer on epic family…

Uncle Paul enjoying a glass of wine in Madeira

I am grateful for uncles.

Both Uncle Johns, Uncles Dean, Bud, Don, Erik, Stewart, and Paul.  Uncle Bud was a cousin of my Dad's and Uncle Don was close family friend…

I am grateful for technology. 

Technology allows me to be a more effective creator, connects me to others and allows me to easily maintain or renew old friendships over time and distance. Agricultural technology feeds me. Housing technology provides shelter…

Sporting the centennial plaid at the centennial fountain in the centennial year

I am grateful for sisters, and one in particular, Mary.

My sister taught me resilience, love and compassion. John and I often picked on our little sister, most…

I am grateful for rivers.

One river in particular stands alone in my memory - the mighty St. Lawrence River. I grew up a quarter mile from the banks of the St. Lawrence at a point where it was seven…

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…

I am grateful for exercise, how it feels to move my body and especially how I feel after exercise is complete.

I know I need to be more active. It is so much easier to play some music, read, write…

Photo credit: JC Gellidon

I am grateful for doctors. Their skills and knowledge but mostly their compassion for others.

Where would we be without doctors to help when we are born and when we die. Doctors to help prevent illness…

One of my early attempts at painting with watercolours

“Art isn’t only a painting. Art is anything that’s creative, passionate, and personal. An artists is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity, and boldness to challenge the status quo. Art is…