Don’t you love it when you find a phrase or a piece of advice that totally resonates with where you are at the moment? To me that is a light bulb moment, where my heart gives a little leap and my mind says yes! I received a mantra from a very special person in my…
How do you find joy when the going is not easy? Why is it important to lean into joy, especially during difficult times? Recently I’ve had the opportunity to practice looking for joy when the world feels heavy. My first introduction to the idea of embracing moments of joy, even when times are tough was from…
Do you struggle to get everything done in a day, to find time for yourself? How do you cut through the overwhelm? We all know self care is important, but how do you wade through the to-dos and make the time you need to re-charge? It can be simple – really. As I enter the…
Do you have a dream you’ve been waiting for? Thirty-nine years ago as a younger woman I visited Saltspring Island with a dream of becoming an artist and a writer. I travelled the Gulf Islands, walked the beaches and sketched and wrote to my heart’s content. I returned to my home in Ontario and life (graduate…
Fall feels to me kind of like falling in love. It has the qualities of cocooning, discovering new pleasures and of sensuousness. What does September and the beginning of fall mean to you? For many it means new beginnings, getting back to familiar routines. In the Northern hemisphere fall represents the return to cooler weather,…
Do you have a favourite song? One of my favourites is What a Wonderful World. I love the line “I see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do? They’re really saying I love you.” I’ve been reflecting lately on what brings me joy. I’m sharing this with you today in hopes it will inspire…
I’ve been reading The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks and it has me thinking – about wonder. The author talks about letting go of worry in order for abundance, love and creativity to come in. One idea from the book that really interests me is when we worry, what purpose does that worry serve, and…
I’d always believed this at some level. However, it wasn’t until I was recovering from treatment for breast cancer that I really understood it at a deep level. I had been struggling with my scar. It wasn’t the tiny, beautiful scar I had imagined going in to surgery. I had some complications after surgery, plus…
There is this little grass-like plant that has been growing out of a tiny spot of moss near where the Halifax ferry docks. It has been growing and thriving here for months, through all kinds of weather. It keeps slowly growing. It makes me think of tenacity and opportunity, of making the best of a…
What does being part of a community mean to you? Have you found your communities changing as time goes on? Has your sense of community changed? As life changes, so does our community. When my children were young our community revolved around them and their friends. Our friends were the parents of their friends. In…
When is the last time you played like a child – carefree, full on, with abandon? The ability to play is something I have been thinking about lately. When I ask participants in my Hook a Healing Mat workshops what drew them to take the class, a common theme is the need to learn how to…
What does enough look or feel like? How does it feel to have enough? To be enough? Do you find yourself needing to sit and relax, but keep thinking of one more thing to do? Do you accomplish a goal only to race off to the next goal? Or do you take time to…
I think we all have the capacity to know what is best for us and to listen to our own inner wisdom. I call this listening to our own inner wisdom heart listening. Many of us are out of practice. We spend a lot of our time overriding our hearts and letting our minds…
I’m very pleased to have my story featured on the Women for One Truthteller series. Click on the link (highlighted) to leave comments on the Women for One website. One Loop at a Time: A Story of Rug Hooking, Healing, and Creativity
My word for 2017 is Inspire. I want to inspire women to take a step towards life – to love, to joy, to creativity through my work. Inspire is to breathe in, to take in all the good the world has to offer. To keep breathing, taking breaths deep and slow and long. To concentrate…