John Horgan RIP

 

BEND AND FLEX

BEND AND FLEX

I have been trying to make some sense out of oddities that keep creeping up now and then.

For example, I went on a road trip the other day to a city called Chilliwack. There was a grand celebration of the unveiling of new murals in the town center. I came up with an interesting question for one of the key organizers: What’s the difference between a mural and a painting? Blank look. No reply. Then, “I’m not sure actually, good question.” The organizer walks away with no follow-up. He wasn’t interested, not even curious.

To get to the city of Chilliwack, located north of the TransCanada Highway, you actually exit the highway at a town called Sardis, not Chilliwack. The town and its boundaries have been intact for decades yet some people just cannot get their heads to readjust their thinking and get it right. When heading east, exit at Sardis to get to Chilliwack. It’s not complicated. Why don’t people want to get things right?

No one enjoys being wrong. A lot of people don’t like change. They are unpleasant emotional experiences. But, there is no strength nor glory in stubbornness. Both your words and behaviour embarrass the brighter people around you, and you yourself even look embarrassed and lost. Bend and flex. Nobody is perfect so allow your ego to take a hit now and then. Try saying something to yourself like “oh I am wrong. I am actually wrong!”

I can think of a personal example: recycling. The recycling revolution impacted me when I became a homeowner. When it first started, participation was voluntary. I was grateful because at the time there was no way I was going to separate waste. Everything would go into one bin without a second thought. Eventually the voluntary edict wasn’t working too well so policies changed in a way that my pocket book would be impacted. I reluctantly changed my mind and played the game. Eventually I woke up one morning and felt excited about taking out the trash in many separate bins: red, yellow, gray, green and blue. 

I’d stand and watch the pick-up crew empty each in separate sections of the truck and off they’d go to the neighbours and do the same. I still smile not only at the crew, but at myself for slipping away from being dogmatic about something I knew little about, to setting the dogma aside to embrace something new and important to me, and the world around me. Of course there will always be naysayers and skeptics, but that’s a whole other story. 

Another personal example would be stepping aside from mainstream dogma when it comes to trying to figure out life and how the world started. Dogma does not make sense to a thinking person.  When questioning and debating some of the expectations of various traditional or quasi traditional evolutionary theories, I realized that blind acceptance of things that were perplexing to me, did not sit well with me. I am not a ‘that’s the way it’s always been’ person. 

I get that some people need to hold on to the preordained explanations and theories about a lot of mysterious stuff, but nowadays a lot of people are stepping out of that mould. Some of those identify themselves as agnostic or atheist, others develop their own spirituality and understanding. It’s both daring and impressive. Bend and flex in action. Not blend and flex — bend and flex.

The moral of this story is: the world, like the Earth, is constantly evolving. Knowledge is expanding. We need to open the tightly closed box of preconceived notions, often blindly adopted,  and bring in some fresh air. Smarter decision making has become normalized for the greater good of all — don’t get left behind. 

When you stop walking forward, or walk sideways or backwards, what’s in front of you gets further and further away. You get left behind, left out. You do become the sad kid on the block. 

Not only that, the world and the Earth depend on constructive and responsible decision making for the greater good of all who live here, including the flora and fauna. That success depends on a diversity of people getting along, not necessarily agreeing on everything, but agreeing to walk side by side in real time with mutual respect and honour at the helm of decision making — yes, for the greater good of all.  

Bend and flex. Let’s not indoctrinate or assimilate or articulate dogma;  let’s walk forward together by opening the box in which we have placed ourselves or in which we have been placed, and let in the fresh air.

CANADA DAY 2024

 

 

WE ARE ALL PEOPLE

MY chosen country turns 157 this weekend. When I was a teenager I can remember how exciting it was to learn 10 million people lived here.  Today, nearly 40 million live here.

A lot has happened since then and I am especially proud of what has been happening on the Indigenous file. I know it is a contentious issue and a difficult one for a certain type of personality, but I continue to hope more people will open their eyes, accept their education was flawed, and realise we do have the ability to step back and figure it out. We are all people.

MY pride in Canada extends to many other things as well: I live comfortably in a quiet neighbourhood and a quiet home. I hear birds chirping every morning and coyotes howling a few times a week . I can easily pick fresh berries seasonally and buy locally produced honey. I can happily breathe in fresh air everyday, and go cycling on flatland anytime when the weather suits me. I always salute democracy and recycling efforts, proudly pay taxes, and steadfastly, but subtly, wear 'proud' on my sleeve. 

Happy CANADA DAY !

Collection of short stories

 

It’s been launched!

ORDERING INFO

Any bookstore can order it in for you. Just provide them with my full name: 

ANTOINETTA DEWIT

BOOK TITLE: Journaling The Journey

ISBN 9781035861798

I recommend you order from amazon.ca …they are on the ball and getting orders out quickly. Chapters/Indigo have signed on too. $14.00 CDN 

SYNOPSIS

The stories in the book follow the main character, Tulip: a dutch lady who cycles around looking for interesting people, things and experiences. You will smile, laugh, think and imagine as you travel along.

Enjoy the ride

JOURNALING THE JOURNEY INTRODUCTION

 

BOOK TITLE

A new published book entitled Journaling The Journey is about to hit the market and I am pleased to give you some background and ordering information.

BOOK AUTHOR

The author is Antoinetta DeWit, a retired British Columbia Public Servant who has built on her passion for thinking and imagining since childhood. She is now ready to transcribe that skill into entertaining and educational short stories that fit the genre called Reality Fiction. 

QUOTATIONS DEFINE THE GIST OF EACH STORY

The general moral or theme of each story fits into one or all of the five quotes below:

1. Writers don’t just write things. They and their work are the bricks that create a writing community. The writing community holds a wealth of thoughts and ideas that have been imagined, experienced,discussed, debated, vetted, published, and shared. The final product is read, evaluated, kept or passed on. The stories live & entertain; they may make people think, smile, and laugh; but, ultimately, they enjoy life for as long as the paper or screen upon which they are written bind them together.

§§§

2. Life is a beautiful ride when your senses are in the saddle, when you are listening, feeling, smelling, touching and tasting what is going on. Hold on to beauty in it all for that beauty is the force and fuel that will keep the wheels turning, and moving you forward.

§§§

3. Give yourself a hand and a hug every step of the way.

§§§

4. Journaling The Journey follows some of the life experience of the main character named Tulip. She is a Dutch lady whose life travels along much like a bicycle meandours through the winding pathways of meadows, parks and neighbourhoods. For her everyday is not just a story but quite often many stories, and she loves to stop now and then to write them down. 

§§§

5. There is but one life to live and one direction to go; one heart, mind and soul, and one mission to fulfill.  Treat life as a journey, a journey worth embarking upon, one step at a time. Tackle the uphills and downhills, navigate the swamps and deserts, reflect during the rain showers, and dance when the sun shines. Always, always strive to come out ahead, holding your head up. 

ORDERING INFORMATION:

Author name : Antoinetta DeWit

Book title: Journaling The Journey

ISBN:9781035861798    For the print copy 

ISBN:9781035861804     For the digital copy 

Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers LTD

1 Canada Square,

Canary Wharf, London, UK

E14 5AA

Website: www.austinmacauley.com  

—you can order directly from them 

After June 21, 2024 you can go to a bookstore and ask them to order it for you or check out Amazon Books because they plan to have access to it as well.

 

COVID time is a great time to find interesting things to do and interesting topics to discuss with friends and family.  My weekly newsletter features such ideas and I hope they help you too.