The Great Escape

Short and true. Thanks Robert Frost: Nature's first green is gold,  Her hardest hue to hold.  Her early leaf's a flower;  But only so an hour.  Then leaf subsides to leaf,  So Eden sank to grief,  So dawn goes down to day  Nothing gold can stay.

Last week I took a trip through Alberta and BC.  I wasn't on vacation but the opportunity to escape from my day to day was welcome.  Sometimes when I take these little trips I wonder if I'm running from something or running to something... or just running.  I'll figure that one out eventually. On my way back home I stopped in Waterton Lakes National Park.  Waterton is part of an International peace park and extends into the US with an incredibly vast number of trails and beautiful old, upside down mountains dotted with glacier lakes, streams and waterfalls.  I had always thought that it was one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen and felt so fortunate that it was a single day's car ride away from me. One of the gifts that KB and I received for our wedding was a night at a resort in Waterton where our friend Stephanie was working.  KB had never been to Waterton before but I knew she would love it and she did.  I wish I was able to take a pi...

As I write this I am currently on vacation in BC on the Shuswaps.  If you've never been here I really recommend it.  It's very beautiful and even though it may not be the same kind of relaxing as a hike into the back country, just not having to worry about carrying my cell phone around with me is a major stress relief.  In fact, unplugging from the connected world for a day or two can be relaxing in itself regardless of where you are. This is an interesting trip for me.  This the type of trip that I would have taken with KB and last night she would have been so excited to see the lightning flash over the mountains and the thunder echoing throughout the valley.  Now, for me, that is an echo of her life and a reminder of the indelible imprint she left on mine.  As I write this I am surrounded by mountain and water. The sun is gently rising over the mountain peaks and spilling on the glassy water. I'm caught in the eddy of this moment. The world is still and I...

I was really trying to keep myself from publishing another weepy grief post but today was one of those days where emotions got the better of me. Those of you who knew K.B.  know how much she loved the rain and especially when you mix in some thunder and lightning.  This morning was one of those days here in Saskatchewan where the sky opened up and let loose with all three.  Of course, this made me think of K.B. and how on more than one occasion we had danced in the rain not caring how wet we got because we were together and nothing else mattered even the fact that there was no music.  The rain may have been cold but love washes over you with a warmth that can't easily be abated.  It seemed odd (and fitting) that as the rain came down this morning and the memory of dancing in the rain with K.B. came to mind that Wynn Anne sent me a link to The Dance  by Garth Brooks. No matter how much I miss her today, I wouldn't have missed that dance for anything. ...

"I said to Hank Williams, how lonely does it get? Hank Williams hasn't answered yet But I hear him coughing all night long A hundred floors above me, in the Tower of Song." I like music.  All kinds of music.  There are some genres and artists that I may enjoy more than others but to me music is like any other form or art, if it elicits emotion I enjoy it.  I've learned that there is something about live performances that simply can't be captured on CD or recorded music and I don't think you can truly appreciate the art behind music without seeing a performance because it's like looking at only half of a painting and trying to appreciate it. On June 6th I had the opportunity to see a duo called Tower of Song  perform a Leonard Cohen tribute in Regina Beach at the Last Mountain Cultural Centre.  A group of about 50 or 60 people crowded into a small room and were treated to a great performance by Oliver Swain and Glenna Garramone.  I...

In Tai Chi we study in great detail the difference between pushing and expanding.  It's interesting to watch the movements and even more interesting to feel the difference.  It occurred to me that the concept of push vs expand extends beyond martial arts.  I find that so much of what I learn in Tai Chi not only applies to martial arts but to life in general.  From a martial arts perspective watching someone "push" looks very similar to "expansion" but the way the energy is applied is very different and has a much different result.  Understanding this difference broadens your ability to grow as a martial artist and with just a simple change in your intention you can open up a whole new set of skills even though the movement is very similar.  But this blog post isn't about Tai Chi.  This is about resisting the natural urge to push back and choosing to expand yourself instead. Over the last couple of weeks I've read a lot of twitter posts with the hasht...

I have to admit that I started writing this post before May 25th.  I really didn't think I would be in any state to write on this particular day.  I've been down that road before.  When the river of emotion rises and rages there isn't much point in doing anything other than hang on to something that floats and ride it out.  But I feel like I have something to say so I thought I would try to get it out before the storm hits.  Even as I'm typing I have no idea what it is.  That's part of the reason for having a blog, once you let the thoughts start flowing they kinda pull out all of the other stuff buried deep in your brain or in your heart and it spews it out all raw and fresh and sometimes what ends up here surprises me more than anyone.  It's true, I don't plan this stuff (as I'm sure you can tell), it just sorta happens.  Enough preamble, let's get on with it. So one year ago I married the most beautiful woman in the world.  I know, eve...