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Taming my inner tyrant
On a sombre day after an angry mob stormed the US Capitol, I've been pondering tyrants and their tirades. The tyrannical have a tendency to lash out wildly and indiscriminately, leaving chaos in their wake. They are unpredictable, volatile, dangerous. Toddler-like in...
A brave(r) new (y)ear?
With my two darling daughters, Christmas Day, 2020 (photo: Kathryn O'Brien) As I considered the title for this final blog post of 2020 (good riddance, right?) I thought of "Brave New Year" (because, my goodness! Didn't we all have to be braver than ever these past 10...
First light
As we approach the winter solstice (which just so happens to be my birthday!), I'm in a contemplative mood. Last year at this time, I was planning an epic party with many of the most important women in my life to celebrate my first 60 years. I was living large in the...
Thin Ice
I've often felt like I was skating on thin ice these past weeks. So many things are new. Uncharted territory. In environments where I normally would feel sovereign and experienced, I feel like a novice. Now the term has come to a close, my students have completed...
Standing my ground (such as it is)
Snowman Sentinel, November 2020 (photographed in Kitchener, ON) I look for metaphors everywhere, seeking meaning, context. And this snowman spoke to me the other day. It seemed to represent everything and nothing at the same time. Some days I feel like him: a unique...
Direction unknown
A few weeks ago I saw this weathervane on the roof of a house at sunrise. It made me think of the number of times it feels like I have had to shift direction in the last eight months or so--just like everyone else. I've noticed how unsettling this all is, for me, for...
State of Play
Empty playground, November 12, 2020 "Playful" has been a keyword this week. As artists, accessing the playful, childlike centre in ourselves is crucial and too often ignored, particularly in these strange times. It doesn't feel "serious" to do such seemingly...
Home improvement
Abandoned dollhouse, October 2020 This dollhouse appeared about a month ago on garbage day on a street nearby. For whatever reason, it caught my eye. Was it the empty rooms, waiting to be filled? The half-painted walls that seemed to be looking for an upgrade? Was it...
Shining through the cracks
Morning Sunrise, October 2020 A new habit I've formed is to go for a morning walk, preferably as soon as I get up. At the moment, I sometimes even start before the sun comes up. I have taken to snapping photos of images that strike me on these walks, especially if...
Goddess of Small Things
Moss, lichen, ferns, seedlings, leaves, bark, pine needles: seen on the Bruce Peninsula (October 2020) I'm discovering the divine in the small things. Once I thought I needed to be grandiose, expansive, powerful and explosive in order to be heard and valued. These...
Ring the bells
My (im)perfect offering This week Leonard Cohen's Anthem has been resounding in my brain: "ring the bells that still can ring/forget your perfect offering/there's a crack, a crack in everything/that's how the light gets in". I've been ruminating on perfection...
Let beauty awake!
Early morning sumach turning colour Sept. 2020 "Let beauty awake", the title of one of the Songs of Travel by Ralph Vaughan Williams came to mind as I sat down to write... These days seem so full and there is so much to learn, to do, to adapt to. Where was beauty? As...
New seasons, new beginnings
This has been an exhausting, exhilarating, infuriating, exciting, exasperating and thrilling past two weeks. We started back at the university, completely remotely, and trying out all kinds of new ways of teaching and learning, with mixed but mostly good results....
Amplifying Other Voices
My new rhythm seems to be every two weeks now. I always think of writing every Thursday night, but some Thursdays it appears I am overwhelmed, distracted or just don't seem to find the space for this. But today's space belongs to other voices. Today was the second day...
