Celebrate the nationhood of
A land that stretches sea to sea to sea
Newfoundland to British Columbia to
Arctic shores binding land and people in the
Discovery of our communal greatness
Among lakes, trees, prairie and mountains.
listen June 30, 2010
listen.
her voice is sweet–
sweeter than any other here tonight.
her voice was squeezed,
crushed,
gasping.
oblivion drew
a thick red line
against her throat,
but today her song is sailing to the sky
and we are wrapped in the glorious miracle
of her melody.
grad 2010 June 29, 2010
This year, I’m thinking that graduation is not only about beginnings, but that it is about victories. It’s about reaching the destination after a long journey.
It’s about many, many small victories. The smile from the secret crush. The pass on the exam you feared you’d fail. The lessons that stayed, the many that didn’t. The race you won, or just finished. The voice you thought would be silenced. The show that brought the house down. The dance that brought you close to ‘the one.’ The illness you battled. The A you earned.
Graduation is about achieving something extra-ordinary- the long awaited goal. Standing in your cap and gown you are celebrating what you have attained. It’s been a long road.
It’s scary though, because after every victory celebration there is the inevitable ‘What now?” For many, graduation is a milestone along a much longer educational journey. For others, this may be the end of formal education. Now what will you do?
Take the lessons you’ve learned forward with you. When you arrived at kindergarten for your first day thirteen years ago, you weren’t thinking about the day you’d graduate from high school, and yet here you are. You made it step by step and day by day. The rest of your life will unfold the same way. Every decision brings you a step further along your path.
Best wishes to all the grads of 2010. May each step of your life journey lead you to contentment. Be the best you, you can be!
You call me across time June 28, 2010
You call me across time
And touch my heart anew
You fill my soul with rhyme
And show me what is true
The sun bleeds golden beams
that pierce my eye with you
While time stretches in dreams
And I am blinded, too
You call me across time
I hear your voice it seems
It echoes like a chime
And reaches through my dreams
‘til all is filled with you
And you are all that’s true
.
.
The persona for this poem is Grace, addressing Ben.
runes June 27, 2010
I was visiting a friend today and she pulled out a bag and suggested I cast runes. I had never heard of such a thing, but I figured it’d do no harm. A new experience.
Apparently I am at a time of change, oportunities need to be evaluated, and great success is coming. Pretty cool. A young man was also there. His runes showed that he was in frustration giving up possessions, he’d be in turmoil and then he’d face new life. Since he had his whole life in a U-haul and was heading off on a 4000 km move, that was pretty freaky.
I went on-line afterwards to see what I could learn about runes. All I knew was that in Harry Potter Hermione had studied Ancient Runes at Hogwarts, and was able to read The Tales of Beadle the Bard in their original runic…
On the internet I learned that runes are ancient letters, and that divination with runes is simply about exploring the current situation by pondering it in the various angles brought by the tiles. The author of the site I visited suggested it’s about allowing the sub-conscious to lend its voice to decision making.
Interesting.
Some people don’t make a move without prayer, others without reading their horoscopes, others without consulting the Q’ran or the Bible. The internet is handy for researching every angle of an issue. There is always the very useful Magic Eight ball. 😉 Every consultation comes through the filter of our own consciousness and understanding. We can never know our future, because the future is mutable. We can only do the best we can and hope for the best.
under the microscope June 24, 2010
A weak mind is like a microscope, which magnifies trifling things, but cannot receive great ones. -Lord Chesterfield
Our universe is a big place, and we are really just ants. If we are fixated on our own little anthill, we miss out on a lot of wisdom and beauty.
Curiosity is such a powerful vehicle for self-discovery. “I wonder why…” and its cousin “I wonder if…” are keys to unlocking a greater world, but if we focus on tiny things, we don’t see the greater things.
I used to be beautiful, brilliant and infallible. Then I turned six. What a shock it was to learn that I was neither the centre of the universe, nor that my vivid elucidation was of value to the masses. Poor Mrs. McClure, my grade one teacher, caused me great trauma by expecting me to work quietly and to let others speak occasionally.
Perhaps I didn’t learn her lessons quite well enough, because if I did, I wouldn’t be blogging to the world, would I? It doesn’t take much to set me pondering, but since I know there are those out there who enjoy my take on the world, I’ll keep sharing. I am not sure if I’m magnifying trifles or receiving great things. Hopefully the trifles I consider will be worthy of magnification, and the great things will be explored with integrity..
Stopping on a walk to savour the scent of a rose or a pear blossom, to rescue a caterpillar, or to whistle with a bird is definitely magnifying trifles. These are small things, but they are also great joys.
What are the great things? The wisdom of great men and women from throughout time. The kindness of a welcome heart and home. The birth of a child. The strength shown against terminal illness. Greatness is found in unexpected places outside our anthill and within it. The trick is recognizing it when it appears.
arrogant truth June 22, 2010
It is quite sublime arrogance to assume that you have the corner on truth, isn’t it? I am quite astonished at vehement superciliousness that simply reveals a profound ignorance about the world. As Hamlet observes, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” If one imagines he knows everything about anything, he’s simply flashing a glowing statement of his own ignorant pompousity.
People ranted and raved and rallied about the stupidity of sailing around the world, because the world was flat! They screamed and burned and pillaged at the heresy of suggesting that the Earth orbited the sun. They were sure their holy books supported their opinions. They were wrong. At best, they were misguided, at worse, they were dangerously stupid. In Hamlet, Polonius suggests, “Tis too much prov’d, — that with devotion’s visage, and pious action, we do sugar o’er the devil himself.” A lot of people who imagine they are of profound faith cause more trouble than all the demons they imagine strolling among the population.
When everything in your world is black and white, there is no room for any truths to manoeuvre. When your mind is closed to the fact that any God that exists must be bigger than any truth you could conceive of, you are essentially declaring yourself divine. If you think you can hold God’s truth, than you are the ultimate blasphemy.
My friend Rochelle has a saying, “The only thing I’m sure of, is that I’m not sure of anything.” Now there is a philosophy worth espousing! The more you learn, the more you realize how little you actually know. For fanatics, the world is so tiny they imagine that they hold all understanding in their own minds. Winston Churchill says, “A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.” It is depressing that he says ‘can’t change his mind.’ I guess it’s so narrow in his fanatical mind that there simply isn’t room to turn around a new idea? They certainly will rant long and hard on their verisimilitude.
Whatever your faith, kindness and consideration are the only components of value. Respecting others and striving to be the best you can be is the greatest journey of faith. We can only hope that time will bring wisdom to us all. With luck, it will also bring a hefty portion of patience for dealing with the adamantly ignorant who live in a black and white world. I prefer to live in colour. The world is so much more beautiful in colour than in black and white!
Migraine June 20, 2010
a gleam in the distance
a vice on the temples
a tempest in the stomach
an echoing in the ears
an agony in the light
an explosion in my head
paralysis
© Shawn Bird 2010
Shawn L. Bird 
greatness June 25, 2010
Tags: determination, goals, greatness, Mahatma Ghandi, Mother Theresa, motivation, Pierre Trudeau, Terry Fox, vision
What makes a great person? The kindness and empathy of Mother Theresa working in the Indian slums? The determination of Mahatma Ghandi to forge peaceful change? The vision of Pierre Trudeau to repatriate Canada’s constitution? The inspiration of Terry Fox’s run across Canada for cancer research.
The common thread seems to be a desire to achieve a goal that is bigger than the individual. Those who achieve greatness touch many lives in striving for their goals. They are inspirational simply because of their focus. Others are drawn to believe in the cause simply because of the profound faith in it. Emulation is a natural by-product of a genuine, forthright effort toward a cause.
I’m not sure that many who achieve greatness aspire to it. They aspire to reach the goal they see and it is their success that brings admiration. Of course, along the way they must overcome obstacles, doubters, difficulties. Commitment to the vision is required. Many people have run across Canada without achieving the glory of Terry Fox. Many nuns labour among the poor of the world. Many politicians correct historical wrongs. Many lawyers end up in jail. None of these things makes anyone great.
Profound vision. Commitment. Success.
These are the hallmarks of greatness.
Do you have a single-minded vision that could change the world? Perhaps greatness is in your future as well.
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