This past week I find myself mourning three people I didn’t know: one child, one columnist, one professor. Two are from our community, one is not. Regarding the child, I wrote once before about the loss of a child, a tragic burden to their family and our community, because with that child’s life goes all the hopes and dreams everyone …
Joy and passion in your work will bring satisfaction
Do you love your job? Do you get up every morning excited to get started? If you are like me, and you love what you do from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m., you don’t need to use the four-letter word — work — when you are heading out the door. Donald Cooper — a man whose family name …
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Be open to finding wonder in the most unexpected places
I don’t think you are supposed to find wonder in a tunnel connecting two terminals in the Detroit airport, but I did. I was reminded of my sense of wonder, and how far I had wandered away from it. When my kids were going through their firsts, I reveled alongside them: the first snowflake to touch their face, the first …
Wanting what you have IS getting what you need
Wanting and needing, getting and having. It seems that our thirst is never quenched. Why do we always want more? I felt small as a child and wanted to be big — worth-noticing “big.” I wanted to be wanted. I wanted to belong. I wanted to play. I wanted to learn. I wanted to see new things and try new …
Live your life so that you will be well remembered
Editorial & Opinion, Wednesday, June 16, 2008 We’re all headed for the same place. The difference is the way we get there, and how quickly we get there. We could be dead tomorrow or around for another hundred years. Who knows. Some of us take the high road and some take the low road, some take it all in stride, …
We’ll have to coin a word for our newly found fear of plastics
Editorial & Opinion, Wednesday, May 28, 2008 The Oxford English Dictionary has no word for fear of plastics. In light of recent headlines, I’d like to coin plastiphobia or plastipanic, because I know I’m not alone in questioning the predominance and safety of some plastics in our world. It may have started with all of the product recalls for plastic …
Teams, organizers changed for the better after Adventure Challenge
Editorial & Opinion, Wednesday, May 14, 2008 On Sunday May 4, 2008, I made more than 171 friends (pretty good for one weekend). I was lucky enough to be part of the provincial High School Adventure Challenge where I met 57 teams of three from 41 communities across Ontario, along with their coaches, parents, guardians, and a number of volunteers. …
Where does all the garbage go? Think about what we throw out
Editorial & Opinion, Wednesday, April 30, 2008 Once a week, most of us pack up our garbage and recycling and it drop it at the curb. From there, it magically disappears, and we don’t think much more about it. I’ve been thinking about it. Shel Silverstein, one of my favourite writers growing up, wrote the poem Sara Cynthia Silvia Stout …
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Find the time to do all the things you want to – and have to – do
Editorial & Opinion, Wednesday, April 16, 2008 Last week, my husband e-mailed me information on a CQI time management/life balance course that I was scheduled to co-teach. He joked and wrote, “YOU’RE going to teach people about life balance?” I know what he’s getting at – I am a very busy person. Here is a snapshot of my world: I …
Business bootcamp is an invaluable tool for entrepreneurs
Editorial & Opinion, Wednesday, April 2, 2008 There is a saying we’ve all heard “when opportunity knocks, answer.” This past week I was disappointed to see how few business people recognized the opportunity called Entrepreneurial Excellence: Business Bootcamp. My informal count was that less than 50 entrepreneurs were in attendance to improve their businesses knowledge. In contrast, more than 90 …