A reflection on my daughter turning 16 and how she continues to grow.
A year of change, road trips, shared meals, and learning to be present. From Yukon highways to meditation cushions, this is what 46 taught me about showing up.
Another year full of challenges, but my daughter survived.
A personal reflection on finding unexpected love and joy after embracing solitude, and the liberating effects of letting go of social media and embracing real connections.
I had no idea how involved and lengthy of a process making soy sauce is, nor how long it has existed in Japanese culture.
I wish my energy were more consistent and I didn’t have this ebb and flow happening. Definitely not feeling it tonight.
A hidden gem found in downtown Kelowna.
Quite simply, this is brilliant. A mashup of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and A New Hope.
Me: Spell “Cooking” Kylie: C-o-o-k-i-n-g Me: “Class” Kylie: C-L-A-S-S Me: Parkinson Recreation Centre Kylie spells it all with only leaving out the IN in Parkinson.
> Today, most writing instead goes into a small number of centralized social networking sites, where you can’t move your content, advertisements and fake news are everywhere, and if one of these sites fails, your content disappears from the internet. Too many sites have gone away and taken our posts and photos with them. I want to encourage more independent writing. To do that, we need better tools that embrace microblogs and the advantages of the open web. We need to learn from the success and
[https://i0.wp.com/www.foursides.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/img_5801.jpg] Courtesy of Blue Bottle Coffee [http://www.foursides.ca/blue-bottle-coffee-review/]
Experimenting with publishing mini-thoughts spread amongst the longer pieces here.
There are days when I feel a pull to get out of the home and find silence.
A magical Japanese word that describes me perfectly.
Mindfulness and Buddhism in the east, Stoicism in the west. Both have approaches that have been helpful for me over the years.
> While French is still her second language, her mastery of English is becoming rather scary. If she sees words somewhere, she’s reading it. It doesn’t matter if is a minor sign saying the hours of a business, or a major one like the strata rules for our outdoor pool, she wants to read it. …The problem arises when she is starting to master spelling and typing to go along with her reading skills. She has quickly learned how to type messages to family and friends on my iPhone, and has also managed
> I’m trying to figure out why I don’t write more… why don’t I share my thoughts and ideas more often than I do? Why do I feel so often have this feeling of perpetual stuckness? What’s strange is that I don’t even think I have writers block per se… I have a lot of ideas; it’s just that most of the time whenever I finally sit down to consider an action plan, or sit down to write out particular thoughts and ideas to share online or turn into a story or a product
Partially inspired by Ryan Holiday’s Reading Recommendation [http://ryanholiday.net/reading-newsletter/] Newsletter, I thought I would compile a list of books I have read this past year on my path of mindfulness. Ryan tends to read a lot of books- his emails list at least five books and some are not quick reads. Seeing the books he was reading encouraged me to read more this year, which is part of the reason I was absent [http://www.foursides.ca/37-Absence] from writing on this site. Little by
> Putting the emphasis back on me and not putting so much energy towards negative things that have happened in my life has improved my outlook on life. It is still difficult at times, of course, and I know failure is right around the corner once again. When it does happen though, I will be better prepared to handle it. 36 – What Took You So Long? [https://foursides.ca/36-What-Took-You-So-Long] Last year, I started my exploration of mindfulness and living life in the present moment. I starte
