There are many lessons to be learned from sport: focus, determination, hard work, commitment, and striving for excellence to name a few. The Olympics are full of stories with these themes. Sometimes though, the lessons are bigger and more beautiful. And for Canadians, today is one of those days. Today the lesson was not giving up and when things look dark, choosing to have faith.
Let's face it. Pulling a goalie with seconds left in a hockey game does not often work. It is an act of desperation, of pulling out all the stops, of grasping at straws. With seconds left in the game, our women's hockey team had many more reasons to give up than continue on, but here's the beautiful thing about sport, and heck, about life: you are always given a choice. And even when it doesn't work out the way you want, it is always best to go with hope over resignation. This day will go down in our history of being one of those days to choose hope.
wishing you the beauty of true patriot love,
hk
Thursday, 20 February 2014
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
Beautiful Olympics
I think the Olympics are a beautiful thing.
Admittedly, I have a vested interest. I've been to 2 Paralympic Games, I have 3 Paralympic medals, and I acted as an athlete mentor to an Olympian at the 2012 Summer Games in London.
The Olympic haters out there would love to argue with me about the Olympic's beauty, and I understand their perspective. The Olympics cost too much and often create astounding debt. There are other problems like corruption and politics and I agree that there is much more that the IOC and the Olympic Games could do better at, and that they could make better decisions about many important issues.
At the same time, I still want to believe the Olympics are also about the very best of what it means to be a human being. Based on the values of equality, fairness, and respect, the Olympics are one time when the whole world unites and celebrates human achievement and excellence. I am an advocate for sport at all levels, and it is an incredible achievement to make it just as a participant of the Olympic Games, no matter where you rank. The Olympics remind us of what depths the human spirit is capable of, and so the Olympics are about hope. And that is a beautiful thing, no matter who you are and where you are from.
wishing that you find at least one story from the Olympics that you find beautiful,
hk
Admittedly, I have a vested interest. I've been to 2 Paralympic Games, I have 3 Paralympic medals, and I acted as an athlete mentor to an Olympian at the 2012 Summer Games in London.
The Olympic haters out there would love to argue with me about the Olympic's beauty, and I understand their perspective. The Olympics cost too much and often create astounding debt. There are other problems like corruption and politics and I agree that there is much more that the IOC and the Olympic Games could do better at, and that they could make better decisions about many important issues.
At the same time, I still want to believe the Olympics are also about the very best of what it means to be a human being. Based on the values of equality, fairness, and respect, the Olympics are one time when the whole world unites and celebrates human achievement and excellence. I am an advocate for sport at all levels, and it is an incredible achievement to make it just as a participant of the Olympic Games, no matter where you rank. The Olympics remind us of what depths the human spirit is capable of, and so the Olympics are about hope. And that is a beautiful thing, no matter who you are and where you are from.
wishing that you find at least one story from the Olympics that you find beautiful,
hk
Monday, 10 February 2014
It's more than soup
It's a beautiful thing. It's soup!
Have you ever come in from a frigid day, a day when your fingers ache from the cold, only to be soothed by a comforting bowl of soup? If you are from this country, chances are you have. Remember how it made you feel? Taken-care-of? Loved? Maybe even hopeful that although it is cold today that tomorrow is one step closer to spring?
I am happy to announce that Soup Sisters is launching in Saskatoon at SIAST this week in support of Interval House, a shelter for women and children who have experienced domestic abuse. SIAST Chefs and Guest Chef from Truffles Bistro, along with the inaugural soup sisters will create 200 servings of soup for children and their moms.
Women, children, and youth are the focus of Soup Sister's organization. It is their belief that when your life has been plagued by violence, a simple and nutritious meal made with love is much more than just soup. It can mean hope, support, encouragement, and care.
Who wouldn't want to be a part of that? Here's a little more information:
Soup Sisters are a unique organization in that the volunteers that come to the event pay a $55 fee. However, there are many good reasons why. The fee covers the cost of the soup's ingredients, venue, equipment, and a Chef or professional facilitator. The events are well suited to clubs and teams as they provide lively conversation and camaraderie that finish in a simple, sit-down supper of soup, salad, bread, and wine for the participants. Each event produces from 150-250 servings of soup that sustains the Interval House for a month.
The Soup Sisters organization does not profit from the $55 participation fee as ninety-five percent of the $55 participation fee goes to the culinary partner.
Soup Sisters and Broth Brothers was founded in 2009 by Calgarian Sharon Hapton, who began with the simple but powerful belief that soup can make a difference. The message is catching on - soup is now being delivered regularly to over 25 residential shelters across the country.
For more information, please visit saskatoon@soupsisters.org
wishing you beautiful things,
hk
Have you ever come in from a frigid day, a day when your fingers ache from the cold, only to be soothed by a comforting bowl of soup? If you are from this country, chances are you have. Remember how it made you feel? Taken-care-of? Loved? Maybe even hopeful that although it is cold today that tomorrow is one step closer to spring?
I am happy to announce that Soup Sisters is launching in Saskatoon at SIAST this week in support of Interval House, a shelter for women and children who have experienced domestic abuse. SIAST Chefs and Guest Chef from Truffles Bistro, along with the inaugural soup sisters will create 200 servings of soup for children and their moms.
Women, children, and youth are the focus of Soup Sister's organization. It is their belief that when your life has been plagued by violence, a simple and nutritious meal made with love is much more than just soup. It can mean hope, support, encouragement, and care.
Who wouldn't want to be a part of that? Here's a little more information:
Soup Sisters are a unique organization in that the volunteers that come to the event pay a $55 fee. However, there are many good reasons why. The fee covers the cost of the soup's ingredients, venue, equipment, and a Chef or professional facilitator. The events are well suited to clubs and teams as they provide lively conversation and camaraderie that finish in a simple, sit-down supper of soup, salad, bread, and wine for the participants. Each event produces from 150-250 servings of soup that sustains the Interval House for a month.
The Soup Sisters organization does not profit from the $55 participation fee as ninety-five percent of the $55 participation fee goes to the culinary partner.
Soup Sisters and Broth Brothers was founded in 2009 by Calgarian Sharon Hapton, who began with the simple but powerful belief that soup can make a difference. The message is catching on - soup is now being delivered regularly to over 25 residential shelters across the country.
For more information, please visit saskatoon@soupsisters.org
wishing you beautiful things,
hk
Thursday, 6 February 2014
Beautiful Family Dinner
Families come in all sizes and configurations. Some immediate families are huge; my aunt and uncle had 11 children if you can imagine. Some families do not have children at all. Some families are made up of a single person and a dog, the "fur-child." From same-sex parents to blended families to clusters of friends who do not need shared blood to bind them, family matters.
Connecting with that family also matters. For some of us, it is our number one priority. Which brings me to Family Dinner. It can solve a host of issues. Do you want a way to spend meaningful time with your children during a busy day? Solution: Family dinner. Are you wishing for a moment of peace to connect with your spouse? Family dinner. Do you want to live healthier and feel more in control of your life? Family dinner.
The Norman Rockwell picture of what this looks like does not exist for most of us because the way families look and function varies from home to home. In our house at least, family dinner is not always peaceful, happy, and calm. We have spirited conversations, or the dogs bark too much, or someone is tired or had a bad day and buttons are pushed, and although it does not happen often, someone might even leave the table. That's real. And that's okay because family life is often disruptive and difficult. But a family is also full of unconditional love and acceptance so the next night we will try again. And the next night dinner might not see a lot of conversation but rather a listen to Pink Floyd's "The Wall." And it might include our son's girlfriend, family from out of town, or some little kids who were over to play and thought the food smelled so good that they begged to stay. Sometimes being part of a family means letting go of the image of how you thought it is "supposed" to be and making space for something different. It's the effort that matters. It's the effort that makes it beautiful.
Last night my husband looked at dinner and said, "Take a picture of that. That is beautiful food." So I did. Here it is. It's sesame orange chicken on top of fried rice with bok choy, cabbage, and spinach and it came together in a haphazard, creative way. In fact, the plan I had for dinner was originally some kind of chicken sandwiches and a salad but obviously it turned into something completely different and just as good. Maybe better. Dinner and family is like that.
wishing you the beauty of a warm dinner shared with someone you love,
hk
Connecting with that family also matters. For some of us, it is our number one priority. Which brings me to Family Dinner. It can solve a host of issues. Do you want a way to spend meaningful time with your children during a busy day? Solution: Family dinner. Are you wishing for a moment of peace to connect with your spouse? Family dinner. Do you want to live healthier and feel more in control of your life? Family dinner.
The Norman Rockwell picture of what this looks like does not exist for most of us because the way families look and function varies from home to home. In our house at least, family dinner is not always peaceful, happy, and calm. We have spirited conversations, or the dogs bark too much, or someone is tired or had a bad day and buttons are pushed, and although it does not happen often, someone might even leave the table. That's real. And that's okay because family life is often disruptive and difficult. But a family is also full of unconditional love and acceptance so the next night we will try again. And the next night dinner might not see a lot of conversation but rather a listen to Pink Floyd's "The Wall." And it might include our son's girlfriend, family from out of town, or some little kids who were over to play and thought the food smelled so good that they begged to stay. Sometimes being part of a family means letting go of the image of how you thought it is "supposed" to be and making space for something different. It's the effort that matters. It's the effort that makes it beautiful.
Last night my husband looked at dinner and said, "Take a picture of that. That is beautiful food." So I did. Here it is. It's sesame orange chicken on top of fried rice with bok choy, cabbage, and spinach and it came together in a haphazard, creative way. In fact, the plan I had for dinner was originally some kind of chicken sandwiches and a salad but obviously it turned into something completely different and just as good. Maybe better. Dinner and family is like that.
hk
Monday, 27 January 2014
Family Literacy Day
Pain and an infection have kept me from sleeping well for several days, so I am a bit fuzzy and bleary-eyed lately, but I can't blame that for last night's lack of shut eye. No, I have to 'fess up. It was a book that would not allow me to close my eyes until 2 a.m.
Fitting then, to learn that today is Family Literacy Day. According to ABC Life Literacy Canada's website, Family Literacy Day is a national awareness initiative created to raise awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family. To mark the day, we are encouraged to engage in some kind of literacy activity with people we love today, whether that is learning something new together, playing a game, or simply reading time.
Reading our respective books has provided beautiful quiet time together in our home over the years, but reading aloud has been provided some of our best family moments: tears in my eyes and choking out the words while reading the battle of Molly Weasley and Bellatrix Lestrange; not being able to get through the passage where Beth dies; the look on my son's face when we learned the meaning of Ender's final battle scene; feeling compelled to stop and re-read parts of alarming beauty between Atticus, Scout, and Jem.
To mark Family Literacy Day, I offer my top 10 list of beautiful books to read out loud:
1. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
3. Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel
4. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
5. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
6. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
7. The Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osbourne
8. Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park
9. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
10. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
This list, of course, could be a lot longer. What are your favourites?
wishing you a beautiful day of celebrating literacy in your own way,
hk
Fitting then, to learn that today is Family Literacy Day. According to ABC Life Literacy Canada's website, Family Literacy Day is a national awareness initiative created to raise awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family. To mark the day, we are encouraged to engage in some kind of literacy activity with people we love today, whether that is learning something new together, playing a game, or simply reading time.
Reading our respective books has provided beautiful quiet time together in our home over the years, but reading aloud has been provided some of our best family moments: tears in my eyes and choking out the words while reading the battle of Molly Weasley and Bellatrix Lestrange; not being able to get through the passage where Beth dies; the look on my son's face when we learned the meaning of Ender's final battle scene; feeling compelled to stop and re-read parts of alarming beauty between Atticus, Scout, and Jem.
To mark Family Literacy Day, I offer my top 10 list of beautiful books to read out loud:
1. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
3. Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel
4. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
5. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
6. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
7. The Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osbourne
8. Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park
9. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
10. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
This list, of course, could be a lot longer. What are your favourites?
wishing you a beautiful day of celebrating literacy in your own way,
hk
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
How are you?
Everyone in the part of the world I live in asks it: "How are you?"
This question is so much a part of our culture that most of us ask this several times a day without even thinking. Around here, even the faceless voice taking my coffee order in the drive-through asks it. And we don't normally answer honestly. We say something like, "Fine. You?"
This essay is not going to delve into the origins of "How are you?" nor will it offer a cultural explanation for why this question is such a systemic part of our language, but I have to say that of all the things that could and should bug me, "How are you?" nears the top of my list. Perhaps this is because most days, due to the reality that I live with a complicated body which then tends to complicate my life, I can't answer in an honest way. No one really wants to know, or so I tend to believe, how I *really* am. Certainly not the person taking my coffee order. I realize that we don't intend to be insincere. We don't mean to be superficial. Of course we don't. People are generally beautiful beings, after all.
My pragmatic husband would say that we do not have room in our day for every single conversation and expression to be deep and meaningful. He's probably right. We're busy. There is always a lot going on. Furthermore, I am not saying that we should stop saying it. What I am suggesting is that we pay more attention to these words that so easily roll off our tongues, that we ask with genuine concern more often, and that when we do, we lean in and listen. That's when I believe something beautiful might just happen.
wishing you the beauty of meaningful interaction...at least some of the time,
hk
This question is so much a part of our culture that most of us ask this several times a day without even thinking. Around here, even the faceless voice taking my coffee order in the drive-through asks it. And we don't normally answer honestly. We say something like, "Fine. You?"
This essay is not going to delve into the origins of "How are you?" nor will it offer a cultural explanation for why this question is such a systemic part of our language, but I have to say that of all the things that could and should bug me, "How are you?" nears the top of my list. Perhaps this is because most days, due to the reality that I live with a complicated body which then tends to complicate my life, I can't answer in an honest way. No one really wants to know, or so I tend to believe, how I *really* am. Certainly not the person taking my coffee order. I realize that we don't intend to be insincere. We don't mean to be superficial. Of course we don't. People are generally beautiful beings, after all.
My pragmatic husband would say that we do not have room in our day for every single conversation and expression to be deep and meaningful. He's probably right. We're busy. There is always a lot going on. Furthermore, I am not saying that we should stop saying it. What I am suggesting is that we pay more attention to these words that so easily roll off our tongues, that we ask with genuine concern more often, and that when we do, we lean in and listen. That's when I believe something beautiful might just happen.
wishing you the beauty of meaningful interaction...at least some of the time,
hk
Thursday, 16 January 2014
The Beauty of Slowing Down
Time is the coin of your life.
It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.
~ Carl Sandberg
If you are a regular reader of this blog (and I thank you if you are), then you might have noticed that I have not written in a few weeks. The reason is not writer's block or depression or that I have given up on finding beauty every day. It is, very simply, that I have been busy. There was Christmas, a notable anniversary in my family, projects with strict deadlines to finish, health concerns that needed my attention, and kid's activities. You know, busy stuff.
At first I was anxious when I realized so much time was passing where I was not writing any blog posts, but I also realized that feeling anxious about it did not serve me well at all and I then decided to just give myself a break. After all, I wrote 80 + essays last year.
Those 80+ essays have reached so many people and helped me remember why I love the Internet. I love having readers from every continent and I enjoy Facebook for keeping the relationships I would otherwise have difficulty maintaining. Sometimes though, the Internet moves too fast for me. I have yet to "get" Twitter - the play by play action makes me weary. It just seems to yell at me to hurry up! catch up! go faster!
I think many people with mobility disabilities have issues with time and the "normal" pace of life. It takes us longer to get things done and we use more energy in the extra time to get those things done. It is often tough for us to hurry up, catch up, and go faster in many daily activities, from getting in and out of a vehicle to using the bathroom.
It is probably no coincidence then, how I tend to appreciate show things. Like bread that takes the better part of a day to properly rise twice and braised ribs that require hours to become fall apart tender. Like writing and receiving a hand written letter instead of a text to the time it takes to think about a response to a question instead of answering right away. Like sitting around a table with friends and sharing a leisurely meal and listening to an entire LP - an actual concept album that tells a story.
Thank you for being patient with me while I took a little time out.
wishing you the discovery of finding beauty while slowing down,
hk
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