Change-2 on Late Blooms

COVID-19 Life Lessons

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

[caption id=“attachment_3629” align=“alignleft” width=“525”] “We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails.”
-Author Unknown[/caption]

Life has drastically changed these days for people all over the world since the Coronavirus appeared. Every conversation and move we make revolves around this outbreak. From the World Health Organization and other bodies responsible for health down to health authorities in individual communities, we’re well-informed about what to do.

This post is not in the least bit scientific or medical. Those details are best left to the experts. Any such information on the virus that you need to know is as near as your television or computer screen. You are probably already washing your hands regularly, keeping surfaces clean, and avoiding crowds.

Resilience

Mon, 29 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000

“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.” (Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free)

Resilience is one of those words that I don’t quite understand, especially in relation to myself. When I’ve seen it in other people or heard other people describe resilience, it’s always been in the face of some terrible situation or happening that has taken place or is presently happening in a person’s life. The person speaking usually says of the person experiencing this event or situation that: “he/she is resilient and can get through this” or some similar cliche. Two phone calls I had this past week have given me reason to think about how resilient we are all called to be in this life.

201st Blog Post

Sat, 03 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

It’s hard to believe that my memory is not what it used to be. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that my last post should have been “special” in some way to mark my 200th published post. For a while there, I was thinking what significant title or remarks should be made to mark this milestone. Then, would you believe it - this 67 year old brain completely forgot. Instead, there was the post “Santa’s Mailbox” which was my last one. I am making this 201st post “the one.” That’s the reason for the fireworks you see below.

Random Acts of Kindness

Tue, 22 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000

[caption id=“attachment_2976” align=“aligncenter” width=“300”] “Have you had a kindness shown? Pass it on; ‘Twas not given for thee alone, Pass it on; Let it travel down the years, Let it wipe another’s tears, ‘Til in Heaven the deed appears - Pass it on.” (Henry Burton)[/caption]

Growing Older

Tue, 26 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0000

It’s my 67th Birthday today. I haven’t blogged for a while because my computer was hacked. However, thankfully, it’s up and running now since my brother gave it a complete overhaul. What an age we live in! When I went to do a search on Google, there were all these images of cakes at the top of my screen. I wondered which well-known person was having a Birthday today. I moved over the image to see who it could be - lo and behold, it said: Happy Birthday Jean! For someone 67 years young, it was wonderful of Google to acknowledge my birthday in this way. I am fortunate to live in this digital age and to have this kind of experience. Growing older comes with wonderful surprises!

Changing Notions of Consciousness

Mon, 04 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

[caption id=“attachment_2958” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] From an evolutionary standpoint, human consciousness has not been around very long. A little light just went on after four and a half billion years. How often does that happen? Maybe it is quite rare.
Elon Musk[/caption]

Happy Easter!

Fri, 25 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

[caption id=“attachment_2933” align=“aligncenter” width=“5256”] “The symbolic language of the crucifixion is the death of the old paradigm; resurrection is a leap into a whole new way of thinking.” – Deepak Chopra[/caption]

It’s time to celebrate Easter once again. Like Christmas, Easter is one of the big celebrations in the Christian calendar year. The crucifixion of Jesus took place on Good Friday and the resurrection followed three days later. On Good Friday, many people go to church but not quite as many as on Easter Sunday. Even people who don’t attend church the rest of the year sometimes go to church on Easter Sunday. I once heard a priest lament about the numbers that come out for Good Friday services. He said that people aren’t as much interested in the death of Jesus as in his resurrection. Below are some interesting statistics I found on the internet showing the percentages of persons of different faiths (age-of-the-sage.org). As you can see, there are many people for whom Easter is just a secular holiday.

Another Year Slipping By

Wed, 30 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000

As we approach the end of 2015, thoughts about years past and particularly 2015 come to mind. My own experience of life after 66 years on the planet reveals that there are always many varieties of experience - some that bring untold happiness and some tinged with sadness and grief. This is true of any given day or year. My own personal review of this year finds me thinking about the massive job it was to downsize from the place we called home for 30 years. This job took up most of the year. There were challenges along the way but with wonderful teamwork and support, the job got done. It’s nice that this particular season of life is over and another has begun. “Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul.” (Thomas Merton) What was planted in my soul this year is the fact of impermanence - things change and we move with the changes. I thought at one time that I would live and die in that house but my feelings about ownership and possessions changed - all for the good.

Sunset Struck!

Sat, 26 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

[caption id=“attachment_2569” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] “When the sun has set, no candle can replace it.”
― George R.R. Martin[/caption]

It’s nice to discover new things about oneself. I didn’t know that I was so enraptured by sunsets until I moved recently. In my old home, I rarely saw the sunset. In my new home, watching the sunset has become a nightly ritual - something I don’t like to miss. It’s a spectacular light show watching the kaleidoscope of changing colours. I’ve had to run for my camera spontaneously on so many occasions with the feeling that I couldn’t let the moment pass uncaptured. I’m not sunstruck; I’m sunset struck! It’s such a wonderful joy to see the vast array of colours and all the changes taking place so quickly before my very eyes. Twilight time has become very important for me.

Dust If You Must

Thu, 20 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000

The poem below is a new discovery for me. I came across it on Facebook a few days ago and was fascinated by the insights that the poet, Rose Milligan, was able to present in these four stanzas. I was curious to find out who she was but there wasn’t a plethora of information available on her.

Dust If You Must

Dust if you must. But wouldn’t it be better, To paint a picture, or write a letter,

Big to Small

Tue, 04 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000

[caption id=“attachment_2471” align=“aligncenter” width=“800”] “Making a big life change is pretty scary. But know what’s even scarier? Regret.” (Zig Ziglar)[/caption]

Downsizing has been a big job. I’ve missed blogging during the time that this important life change has been taking place. It hasn’t been one life change really but several, each one hinging on the other.

Poems for a New Year

Thu, 22 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000

My Gratefulness Newsletter arrived in my inbox this morning and there were reminders there that the year is still new and full of promise - which I had all but forgotten. It’s hard to believe that twenty-two days into the new year, I would have settled into old patterns and ways of thinking and being. A poem by Anne Hillman called “We Look with Uncertainty” was shared in this newsletter prefaced by these words: “At the beginning of the year, we stand before new doorways, and the vastness of yet unexplored passages stretching out before us, no matter how old or young we are. Beckoning us are all the moments and opportunities of our future lives in ever-unknown measure, and the only response is a wholehearted “yes.” In this spirit, how grateful we are to Anne Hillman for sharing this tender and inspiring vision through her poem:

Broken Pieces

Mon, 19 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000

“Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.” ― Rumi

I accidentally knocked over one of my favorite vases which has served me well for many years. As you can see in the above collage, it’s a very beautiful one. You can also see that it was broken into many pieces and beyond repair. I was disappointed but not devastated. Whether that has to do with the aging process and the “letting go” stage of life or some other process at work is not quite clear to me.

Top Ten Collages of 2014

Wed, 31 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden (Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe)

As another year comes to a close, it seems like a good time for me to look back on the year past and reflect for a short while on my journey through the course of 2014. It seems that it wasn’t so long ago when I began “Late Blooms” and wasn’t quite sure what I was doing. At the same time that I had the opportunity to make collages, I started writing, scrapbooking, and all the other elements you see displayed in my posts. I`m still learning and evolving as I go along and having fun at the same time. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that there would be 51,727 reads of my posts. It is very humbling and, at the same time, very encouraging. Thanks to all of you out there and especially to my brother of Simply Spectacular Designs who gave “Late Blooms” a totally new look just before Christmas and is hosting this blog.

Indian Dress in Toronto

Mon, 01 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

[caption id=“attachment_2132” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] Gerrard’s India Bazaar - Toronto[/caption]

Culture is transportable. There’s a huge Indian diaspora in Toronto and the Gerrard India Bazaar area is where many people shop for ethnic Indian clothing. I read that it’s the oldest and biggest bazaar in North America. Thousands of people were there recently for its Annual South Asian Festival. “The ethnic diversity of South Asian Canadians reflects the enormous cultural variability of South Asia’s people. About half of South Asian Canadians were born in India, where 14 major languages are spoken and hundreds of discrete ethnic groups exist.” (Canadian Encyclopedia) All the images for the collages in this post were taken in that area.

Celebrating Life!

Sun, 10 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Age does not make us childish, as some say; it finds us true children.
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

[caption id=“attachment_2081” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] “The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.” – Richard Bach[/caption]

Celebrating life whenever we have the opportunity and savoring all the special moments is an opportunity we should never pass up. Sixty-fifth and seventieth birthdays have their own blessings - because we didn’t ever expect to live this long. To wait for a child to be present for the celebration who also had a birthday we were not present for is a gift beyond words. “Love is, above all, the gift of oneself.” (Jean Anouilh) Our enjoyable celebration took place at Sassafraz in the Yorkville area of downtown Toronto. We savored the food, each other, and the passage of time.

On Becoming a Senior Citizen

Fri, 25 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000

“Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.” (Betty Friedan)

Life happens. The day has come that I am officially a Senior Citizen. While I’m looking forward to receiving my monthly pension cheques and all the other discounts and perks that come with my senior status, this post contains some of my observations over sixty-five years.

Sixty-five years is a long life. From the moment we’re born, the process of learning how to live in this world starts. We learn from our caregivers what are the social and cultural mores we are expected to live up to. Each and everyone of them does the best job they can to impact our positive growth and development. By the time one arrives at age 65, it’s alright to admit to oneself, if not to everybody else, that all these well-meaning and trusted souls were imperfect themselves. This means that I can’t be anywhere near perfect or any kind of saint. In our human nature, there are flaws. “Thinking well is the greatest excellence and wisdom: to act and speak what is true, perceiving things according to their nature.” (Herakleitos)

International Women's Day

Sat, 08 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000

What a special day for us ladies! My day was made even more special by a young, handsome, well-dressed man, giving me a rose and saying “Happy International Women’s Day.” This happened in Downtown Toronto this morning. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me. All the images here were taken when I got home.

The first Women’s Day took place in 1911 and we women have come a long way. There is still a long journey ahead though. “International Women’s Day honours the work of the Suffragettes, celebrates women’s success, and reminds of inequities still to be redressed.” Some countries take this day so seriously that it is a public holiday. The United Nations theme for 2014 is: “Equality for women is progress for all.”

Chapters Runnymede - Missing You Already!

Fri, 07 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Architecture is really about well-being. I think that people want to feel good in a space… On the one hand it’s about shelter, but it’s also about pleasure. – Zaha Hadid

[caption id=“attachment_1661” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] “We have no options to renew. We’ve been here 15 great years, and 15 years later, market conditions have changed. That corner is quite a valuable corner. The landlord can get far more money than we can pay, than we will pay,” said McGowen.
“We’ve always loved the location. It’s an iconic building with great architecture and heritage that goes hand in hand with a bookstore. The community has been terrific, supportive and loyal.” (Drew McGowen - Vice-President of Real Estate for Indigo Books and Music Inc.)[/caption]

Happy Canada Day!

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

[caption id=“attachment_257” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] Canada Day[/caption]

Canada’s Birthday - 145 years old. Celebrations everywhere. Lots of parties, birthday cake, and pride everywhere. The photos in this collage were taken over the last two days and hopefully represent the Canada that exists today even if just a little bit.

I attended a Canada Day party on Friday at which there was a BBQ, birthday cake, and watermelon, as well as a live three-piece band. Many people were tapping their feet to the music or swaying with it even if they were too old to dance. Everyone stood proudly for the band’s rendition of “O Canada” as it was sung beautifully by the vocalist for the band.