Tai chi and me -- sixteen years on

I've never been a jogger. I'm not much of an athlete, period. And since Shadow-dog died almost a year ago, I don't walk as much as I used to. 

But I'm still doing tai chi sixteen years after I started, and am very grateful for the practice. It's been helpful with balance through years of vertigo, kept up my core strength for gardening tasks, challenged my brain to remember the sequences in order, and helped me through frozen shoulder and recovery from a broken foot. It's gentle and graceful, but still enough that I work up a sweat every morning. There's almost enough room in my living room to do a complete set of 108 moves, but what I really love is doing it outdoors.

Over the last few years, I've discovered that I can almost do it without thinking because it's part of muscle memory. So I've combined it with a morning prayer mantra... which sometimes distracts me enough that I lose my place and have to back up because I forgot to turn and chop with fist, or missed stepping up and raising hands at the right time. But that's okay -- extra exercise is never a bad thing!

I've tried yoga and other kinds of exercise, but this is still my favourite because it's something I can do alone or with a group, anywhere and any time. And after 16 years, I'm still doing it right, or so I discovered when I came across the video below. That's a pretty wonderful thing to know!

Here's a fellow named Kevin moving fairly slowly through the 108 moves. I love to watch him go through the motions now and then because his video reminds me of nuances that I sometimes forget. If you're a tai chi practitioner, you'll know what I mean. Enjoy!

Monday Music Appreciation #22 -- Smile

I've always loved this beautiful melody, sung by Nat King Cole. If I'm not mistaken, my parents had the recording when I was small, and another version sung by The Lettermen.

It wasn't until I worked at a jazz event at the Winspear that I learned that the originator of Smile was none other than Charlie Chaplin, the silent film star of the 1930s. He heard a line from a love duet in Puccini's Tosca that haunted him, and with the help of composer David Raksin, it developed into this piece of music. 

Tosca was the first opera I ever saw, with my best friend, Cathy. I remember hearing the Quale occhio al mondo duet between soprano and tenor and puzzling over why it sounded familiar. I never did figure it out, until today. It's interesting to see Chaplin's tune juxtaposed with images from his 1936 film, Modern Times, in the video below.

Hearing Smile in the Winspear concert hall over a year ago, played by a very talented bunch of jazz musicians, was a moment I'll never forget. And Nat King Cole's version is really beautiful, too. Enjoy!

Sunday Reflection: Harden not your hearts

Demolitions continue...

Today's reflection is brought to you by 

Psalm 95.

Today the psalmist invites us to 

harden not [our] hearts.

Tall order in a world that says otherwise.

The world's voice encourages hardness.

Compete.

Overcome.

Win. 

Rise to the top.

But if we are to listen 

to Creator's voice within us

our hearts need to be soft,

pliant,

open

to others.

Creator calls us

to live with compassion

instead of judgment,

to walk with

rather than walk over

or around.

The world's advice

is not Creator's voice.

Creator,

help our soft-hearted witness 

to what you want for your world

become so compelling

that the most hardened hearts soften

so that everyone 

and everything

can be made whole.

Please soften the hearts

of all your people.

All of us.

+Amen

Simple pleasures -- Friday, chai day

The first time I ever tasted chai, my friend Mina's mom, Mrudula, made it for me. Who knew how good black pepper, cardamom, ginger, and other spices could be when steeped with Taj Mahal tea and scalded milk? Some years later, Mrudula shared her masala recipe with me, and ever since, whenever I've wanted a more nourishing cup of tea than you can make with just a tea bag, I make MMMMM Chai... Mina's Mom Mrudula's Marvelous Masala Chai. 

A few years back, I did a bit of research into chai and discovered that it has a bit of rebellion in it. When England colonized India, the British decided that the top grade teas grown in the country would be labelled "English Breakfast Tea," and the lower grade, more bitter teas were left to the people of India, at prices that were unfair. 

But the people of India improved their own special ways of turning any tea into chai that rivalled that English Breakfast stuff by making rich, frothy, spicy, and flavourful blends with spices unheard of by the Brits, who pooh-poohed the culinary wizardry of chai wallahs. The colonizers clearly didn't know what they were missing! And their variety of tea has never been as popular on the whole as chai.

My daughter loves chai as much as I do, so we've decided that every Friday is chai day. Of late, she's been taking a course, so I have to pour her sweet and spicy chai into a travel mug to go with her, while I sip mine in peace while sitting in my prayer chair on Friday mornings.

If you're interested in a good chai masala recipe, I have one. All you have to do is ask -- Mrudula doesn't mind if I share it with friends.

Monday Music Appreciation #21 -- Nella Fantasia

Warning: the first time I heard Nella Fantasia from this Sarah Brightman album, it brought me to tears. And I'm pretty sure I've moodled about it before, but it deserves to be appreciated again, in my humble opinion.

Nella Fantasia is a piece of music that was composed for the movie The Mission by Italian composer Ennio Morricone, who died in 2020. It's a stunning piece of music both within the film, and without it. 

I recommend listening with your eyes closed and the volume up just enough that it feels like the melody is flowing through your veins. The lyrics, both the Italian by Chiara Ferraù (readers know how I love Italian!) and an English translation, are below. Enjoy!

 

Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo giusto
Li tutti vivono in pace e in onestá
lo sogno d'anime che sono sempre libere
Come le nuvole che volano
Pien' d'umanitá in fondo all'anima

Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo chiaro
Li anche la notte è meno oscure
lo sogno d'anime che sono sempre libere
Come le nuvole che volano

Nella fantasia esiste un vento caldo
Che soffia sulle cittá, come amico
lo sogno d'anime che sonon sempre libere
Come le nuvole che volano
Pien' d'umanitá in fondo all' anima

In my imagination I see a just world
Where all live in peace and honesty
I dream of souls that are always free
Like clouds that soar
Full of humanity, deep in spirit

In my imagination I see a bright world
There even night is less dark
I dream of souls that are always free
Like clouds that soar

In my imagination there is a warm wind
That breathes over the cities like a friend
I dream of souls that are always free
Like clouds that soar

Full of humanity, deep in spirit

Sunday Reflection: A Prayer for Christian Unity

The Icon of Mercy
from the Taizé Community

A lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher”, he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 

He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 

He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.” 

And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live”.  - Luke 10: 25-28

I think I'm doing okay

in the way I love you, Creator.

My heart and soul and strength

are all for you. 

I'm good --

until Jesus says I shall love my neighbour as myself.

How the heck is that supposed to work?

My neighbour and I disagree on so many things.

She dislikes me about as much as I dislike her, so we're even. 

Isn't being united in our dislike enough?

No, you say.

We need to be united in our compassion

for everyone, everything, and each other.

Loving God and loving people are the same thing

when it comes down to it.

Teach me how to really love. 

Unite us in your compassion --

in compassion for each other.

+Amen.

* * * * * * *

Ecumenical Prayer for the Week of Christian Unity

Sunday, January 21

St. Luke's Anglican Church

8424 95 Ave

7 pm

All are Welcome! Bring friends!

What a housing emergency means

Yesterday, here in Edmonton, Mayor Sohi declared a housing emergency in an effort to bring all levels of government together to come up with housing solutions. A good step, but there's a long way to go. At this point, it's anybody's guess as to whether other government officials will actually show up to the meetings.

Temperatures here in Canada's northernmost provincial capital are warming up a wee bit (-20 with windchill to -30 as I write), but people are still suffering frostbite and there have been at least 3 deaths from the cold this week that I know of, likely more. A housing emergency means that there aren't enough places for people in my city to stay warm, never mind live in a community of their own choosing. It means more than that, too.

As Canadians, we have been told that our country is high on the list of places where migrants and refugees want to live. For decades, our standard of living has been something many aspire to share. We've been proud of that.

But the fact is that housing prices continue to rise (due to greed in some cases) and because of that, there clearly isn't enough affordable housing for the people already here. If there was, no one would be freezing to death outside. Our governments used to invest in supportive and affordable housing, but lately they haven't put money down to get shovels in the ground and build what is needed right now. 

If that's not a housing emergency, I don't know what is. Clearly, things have to change so that we can ensure that no one has to live outdoors, and so we can welcome new would-be Canadians, especially from places where life is untenable.

I wasn't going to share this interview link from early Sunday morning as it feels embarrassing to do so, but the images (notice the fellow I wrote about last week with his dog, Billy Bob, on the trolley?) and the last minute or so of the interview about contacting elected officials -- are the whole point of what I keep going on about here. 

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2299556419635

The thing is, the inability to afford a home that affects even one person has a ripple effect on all of us. We are all connected, whether we realize it or not. No matter where we live, it's possible we don't realize that some of our neighbours may be having to choose between paying the rent or buying groceries/medications. 

Some of us might be safe, warm, and secure for the moment, but if we don't speak up in defense of those who are struggling, their miseries will compound, and might overwhelm the systems that sustain us all. Crime rates, pressures on healthcare and mental health, addictions, and so many other ills only increase when people are up against a wall. That's a future that none of us really want to imagine. 

So it's time to make noise.

Please, if you haven't already, contact your elected officials. Remind them that all of Canada (all of the world, really) is in various states of housing emergency. Give them the Bottom Line: housing is a human right, and government officials MUST work to ensure that everyone has homes that they can afford. And if you want to go the extra mile, suggest that basic income for all would be helpful too.

Both can happen with some effort, creativity and political will. But we have to push our politicians in the right direction, because they get distracted from these life and death situations by the darndest things! 

After reading my last moodling, my mom said, "why don't you post contact information for people who want to write letters?" So here it is. Mom -- you're right, I should have done it sooner! And everyone is welcome to share this moodling/these addresses with their circle of friends!

Sean Fraser, Canada's Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities. Email address -- sean.fraser@parl.gc.ca 

Jason Nixon, Alberta's Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services. Email address -- scss.minister@gov.ab.ca

And if you're not Albertan or Canadian, please don't doubt that there's a housing emergency where you live. It's world wide. Sending an email or phoning your own elected officials can get the ball rolling for a better and more resilient world. 

Hey, there's my word of the year!

I'll get off my soapbox now and post happier things for the rest of the month, I promise!

Encampment stories

The start of this year has been brutal for our homeless sisters and brothers in Edmonton. Not that life isn't brutal for them all year round, but for the last few weeks, it's been particularly bad as the Edmonton Police Service and City of Edmonton cleanup crews decided, in the days before Christmas, to demolish larger encampments that homeless folks pulled together so they could stay warm within their communities. 

As soon as the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness became aware of the EPS and City plans, ECOHH put out a call for people to stand in solidarity with the folks on the street and to witness the process. A list of the encampments and the dates they would be torn down appeared on the ECOHH website so that concerned citizens could be present to support the communities, and document the process for the public to see. We stood in early morning darkness with people who were losing their only homes, feeling helpless with them, taking pictures, and assisting with moving their valued possessions away before the crews arrived and trashed everything. 

Billy-Bob at church

Pastor Quinn and I helped Gary last week. Gary had a decent tent covered with a couple of triple-layered tarps, two camping cots with pillows and sleeping bags for him and his girlfriend, a dog bed for his 14-year-old dog (Billy-Bob), a cooler, hibachi, and bins full of tinned goods, clothes, and blankets. We did what we could to sort items and get them out of the tent and onto a couple of rolling carts before workers in white hazmat suits came to throw everything into a garbage truck crusher. Billy-Bob, a little black and white pug who sometimes comes to ICPM Sunday services with Gary, burrowed into a pile of sleeping bags while we worked -- and let me know that I was a stranger when I brought him his breakfast kibble. Cute pooch, bad temper! But that's how he's survived this long on the streets. 

As the city trucks moved down the street toward us, the pressure was on. We managed to fold up the tent and pile it onto a cart, but Gary could only move one cart at a time. Running out of time before an appointment, I walked toward the LRT, and ended up following Gary as he pushed his most important cart to the next block, where he started setting up all over again. I don't know if he managed to collect two other carts before the crews tossed all his stuff.

Quinn helps Gary take down his tarp

A block further south on my walk to the train, people from previous encampment demolitions were in the process of rebuilding. See the pallet platform under the tarp in the foreground? Smart folks don't sleep on the ground if they can help it. They probably got the pallets at the bottle depot four blocks away. Imagine the effort just to move them four blocks without a vehicle. Yesterday when I walked past, there were three tents huddled together on those pallets.

These people have no where to go, no matter what you hear Jason Nixon (Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services for the Alberta Government) saying about investing millions in shelter beds. Shelter beds are not, and never will be the answer. 

Why not? 

Imagine having to leave little Billy-Bob on the street to fend for himself (as I write, it's -31 C with windchill making it feel like -43). Pets are not allowed in shelters...
Imagine having to separate from your partner and sleep in a room with many other noisy people of your gender. There aren't enough spaces for couples...
Imagine having no place to store your possessions so that they aren't stolen as you sleep, and trying to stay awake so you can protect them...
Imagine being kicked out every morning to wander around looking for warm places to wait until you can go back in the evening... 
Imagine saying the wrong thing, as a friend of mine did, and having a mob beat you up...
Imagine being an introvert forced into a room of cots with too many other people, or having a mental health challenge that makes overstimulation overwhelming... 
Imagine being separated from family and friends from your community, people who support and care for each other in ways that shelter staff can't...

Of course, Jason Nixon is clueless about these things. And his government chooses to ignore the true costs of homelessness. They've handed over tax-payer money to employ hundreds of police and cleanup crew people to demolish camps over and over again these last years, not paying attention to the fact that it would cost far less to provide homeless people with proper spaces to live, good healthcare, safe consumption sites that can help them with their addictions, and other necessary services that those of us with homes take for granted because we can afford to care for ourselves.

Government is so stuck in the way they've always done things, they refuse to consider other options. It would be a lot easier and more fiscally responsible if these little encampment communities were offered places where they could not only survive, but thrive together. Like Halifax's ice fishing homes at City Hall. Or Kitchener's Better Tent City. Or better yet, actual affordable housing units with social service providers onsite, like the one Homeward Trust is building just a few blocks from where I live. 

On Tuesday, I spent an hour with some of the folks living in the eight tents at the encampment that was demolished yesterday. We stood around the fire watching Chad chop wood with the dullest hatchet I've ever seen, swapping stories, and enjoying Big Man's attempts to entertain the youngsters with magic tricks (though he kept dropping the loonie because his hands were too cold). He asked, "What do you see when you look around this place?" 

A young mom who brought her teenage daughters to spend the day in solidarity with the campers said simply, "I see people trying to survive together."

The Edmonton Police Service go on and on about weapons and gangs and safety issues to stoke public fear. The media eats that up. But for all I know, my neighbours down the block might have knives and guns and drugs in their basements, and EPS is not sweeping us out of our homes into these freezing temperatures. Imagine the uproar if they did!

Yesterday, Big Man and a few others were arrested. I haven't heard the actual reasons for the arrests, but perhaps it was "obstructing police officers" by refusing to leave their tent homes, perhaps something more. Other than that, we've heard only vague references to fires and unsafe propane tanks (how else do you keep warm without electricity?), gang activity (were there any arrests related to that?), weapons and drugs (did I miss hearing about charges actually being laid?) 

The bottom line is that most people living in encampments are "people trying to survive together" when they can't afford high priced housing in our cities. If they had homes like my friends and I do, these issues would disappear.

To all Edmontonians who are afraid and feel that encampments shouldn't exist, I say, get to know your homeless neighbours. A lot of them are simply people who need us to see them and work with them toward solutions that actually work, one person at a time.

On Tuesday afternoon, my MLA came for coffee to talk about homelessness -- I wrote him a letter and he responded with an in-person visit because he's worried about people freezing, too. I asked him what grassroots folks who care can do when our government keeps ignoring the problem, and he said, "Keep writing letters. Keep making noise. Keep telling your government that we're not doing enough. The more, the better."

Up until 30 years ago, our governments invested in social housing. They have a lot of catching up to do for ignoring the need for the last 30 years. We need to remind them of their responsibility to "people over profit," especially with so many immigrants who need homes coming from around the globe due to climate-related challenges or war in their homelands. Homelessness is an issue across Canada and around the world. And those of us with roofs over our heads can speak up for those who don't.

Yesterday, I stood with Quinn at the table where we pass out winterwear to folks downtown. A woman came to me wearing a jacket with a thin lining. "Do you have a warm coat?" she asked. Quinn said, "Yes, I'll get one." She stood with me, shivering like crazy, tears rolling down her cheeks, until I asked if I could wrap my arms around her to warm her, and she said, "Oh yes." And the moment I did, she began to sob until Quinn returned with the coat five minutes later.

It's so hard out there. Please, friends, write a letter to your elected representatives today. Or even better, phone. 

Simply remind them that housing is a human right and that government needs to ensure that everyone has a home. Even a one-sentence letter/phone call packs a punch. 

Believe it.

Sunday Reflection: One good word for 2024

Happy New Year, friends!

A symbol of 2024's word of the year

Every year since 2003, I've tried to keep a special Word of the Year in mind, a touchstone of sorts to hold me steady when life becomes challenging. My word for 2023 was Appreciation, and there definitely was lots to appreciate. (Don't worry, though I'm picking a new word, I'll continue with the Monday Music Appreciation posts I started in 2023 just because I love to share music here!)

It's interesting to look back on my words of the year -- moodled here since 2017 -- and other words before that can be found in letters between myself and Cathy, my best friend (we've been keeping each others' letters since we were 10 years old, so there is a record of words in New Year's letters if we go back and look). 

Just for fun, these have been my words for the last seven years:

2023 Appreciation

2022 Light

2021 Unity

2020 Community (which was an interesting choice because Covid-19 meant we all had to isolate!)

2019 Blessing

2018 Me (a year to rediscover my personal way of being after full-time motherhood)

2017 Tenderness

And in years before that, Freedom, Joy, Balance, Trust, Hope, and I don't remember what all!

2023 was a very difficult year in my books. I just deleted a long paragraph about its challenges because I'm sure most of us had enough of our own -- we don't need to read anyone else's!

Of course, there were good things, too. Friendships. My dream job at the Winspear Centre for Music. The garden my family planted for me when I broke my foot, and which really produced. My mom and dad's lovely new condo. A trip to Vancouver Island, and visits with special friends out there. Rafting on the Athabasca River near Jasper with favourite folks from Belgium. Calgary coffee breaks on our trips south to be with Lee's dad. His new apartment, and the fact that he's not spending this winter alone. Time with my sisters and parents. The first trip to Jasper with our kids in 6 years, and pubbing with them (they're all of age now)! 

Like most years, 2023 was a mixed bag. The good thing is that I've become better at handling life's ups and downs thanks to a 14-week online Wisdom School program through the Centre for Action and Contemplation. It helped me to let go of unhealthy expectations (mostly, ever in progress!) and live out of an undivided heart, to be more "grounded" -- though it's going to take the rest of my life to grow into the way of wisdom. 

The Centre for Action and Contemplation and a few recent experiences have helped me to decide on my Word of the Year for 2024. RESILIENCE is also the CAC's focus for 2024, and it's something that I suspect we human beings will need more and more as our world continues to face so many challenges. 

Resilience means not giving up, moving forward with compassion and determination even when things get difficult or seem impossible. Resilience comes from working together to improve creation's situation in whatever ways we can. Resilience arises when we remember that we are not alone.

What's your word of the year? Or your focus for 2024?

I rediscovered a Psalm Prayer from 2016, one that I will be praying as I try to live into the kind of resilience that our planet needs right now. 

A New Year's Psalm

We praise you, 
O Creator,
for new beginnings -- 
fresh footprintless fields with unplanned paths,
clear calendars and unwritten words,
unperceived passages that we will discover in the year ahead.

We thank you for the year that has passed

with its many challenges, 
loves and losses, 
ups and downs.

We offer you our struggles and sorrows 
from the last twelve months
and ask that you bless us and heal us as needed.

We are grateful for the joys

and the moments that set our hearts to singing!

We invite you to become our home
in the twelve months ahead,
our joy and strength.

In all the twists and turns of life 

that we cannot foresee,
be our refuge.

 

In the days to come,
bring your justice and peace into our world through our actions.

Make us mindful of the difference we can make 

as individuals -- and collectively.

Help us to love as you love, without reserve.

Please be gracious to us and bless us
so that we may also bless those you send into our lives,
especially those most in need of blessing.

Align our hearts with yours in the year ahead, 
O Lover of all,
and bless your world 

with the kind of peace that is found in love.

We exult and rejoice in your presence with us
and trust in your goodness to us.

Let your face shine on us 

and on all of your creation in this New Year,

for you are our courage and our resilience.

From the rising of the sun to its setting
and all the moments in between
we praise you,
Creator of life.

+Amen.