Happy Human Rights Day.
The UN General Assembly proclaims December 10th as Human Rights Day. It is a day to reflect on and celebrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a standard of achievement for all citizens of the world. It is a day for remembering what the Declaration is all about: dignity, freedom, justice, and peace, and for supporting those same citizens who continue to fight for human rights. Defenders of all stripes, from activists, teachers, advocates, writers, and journalists, work to uphold the rights that we often take for granted. It is not an easy job and it will not win you many popularity contests. My hat goes off to those who continue to educate about human rights and to those who continue to work towards a just and fair world. Ask any one of them and they will tell you that while there is much success that deserves celebrating, there is much more work that still needs to be done.
wishing you all the beautiful rights and freedoms that you so richly deserve,
hk
http://www.amnesty.ca/write-for-rights
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Friday, 6 December 2013
Beautiful Peace
It seems like everyone is talking about Nelson Mandela today, his strength, resilience, sacrifices, successes, awards, character, and his magnificent legacy. I remember the day he walked free from jail, how huge of a step for humanity that day was, and how he chose to move forward in peace and love rather than in resentment and hate. I am sure that I do not have any more words on this extraordinary man than has already been said about him.
But something I heard on the radio this morning gave me pause. The announcer I was listening to wondered that since more than two decades have passed since Mandela walked free, does our current generation really and truly understand that history, who Mandela was, and what he stood for? Without a role model like Mandela for our youth, how will they be able to move the world along in a peaceful, positive, and productive way?
This irked me because it is an example of messages I keep hearing about how "kids these days" are lazy, unmotivated, and selfish, and how they do not know how to communicate other than through texting. When these huge generalizations blanket an entire population, there is also another message going on: that we, the older generation (s) are so much better, that we have done so much better. Do we really know this to be true? I think we do know that generalizing and judging gets us nowhere. We need to do less complaining about our young people and do more - much more - towards building them up so that they know their greatness.
Let me step up and say this: I have faith in our youth. We do not have to look far for examples on the beautiful work today's young people: Youth Challenge International is a global development organization that promotes youth innovation to drive positive change; Operation Beautiful is a group that organizes the posting of anonymous notes of encouragement and strength in public places for other people to find; Free the Children is an international charity and educational partner, working both domestically and internationally to empower and enable youth to be agents of change; and there are dozens of peace organizations for youth.
Some of my faith is anecdotal because a lot of young people traipse through my house and spend time here. I have found that when they are given respect and attention, they demonstrate their articulate thoughts about social issues, politics, and environmental issues. They have good ideas. While volunteering for the Salvation Army Kettle Campaign a few weeks ago, I can safely say that at least half of our donors were young people, some of whom looked liked the kind of "punk" we like to dismiss as respectable because of their clothes, slang, tattoos, piercings, and how their cell phones are always in their hands. And they were often generous, beautifully generous.
Of course there are failings and weaknesses in today's youth, but my generation, and those generations before me have them too. We must stop considering ourselves as superior and open our eyes to our youth's tremendous potential for compassion, innovation, hard work, creativity, peace, love, and leadership.
We must let go of how we think our youth should be and start, as Mandela believed, leading from the back. It may look like a contradiction of what we have come to believe good leadership is, but leading from the back requires us to be patient and to have faith in those in front of us. Leading from the back means we need to feel so sure of ourselves that we can let some of our power go and not feel threatened. When we are confident enough to lead from the back, we will be knocked out by the beauty in front of us. And I bet we will know peace.
This is a longer post than usual. Thank you for your patience for my many words and thank you for reading.
wishing you the kind of beautiful day of peace that Nelson Mandela worked so hard towards,
hk
But something I heard on the radio this morning gave me pause. The announcer I was listening to wondered that since more than two decades have passed since Mandela walked free, does our current generation really and truly understand that history, who Mandela was, and what he stood for? Without a role model like Mandela for our youth, how will they be able to move the world along in a peaceful, positive, and productive way?
This irked me because it is an example of messages I keep hearing about how "kids these days" are lazy, unmotivated, and selfish, and how they do not know how to communicate other than through texting. When these huge generalizations blanket an entire population, there is also another message going on: that we, the older generation (s) are so much better, that we have done so much better. Do we really know this to be true? I think we do know that generalizing and judging gets us nowhere. We need to do less complaining about our young people and do more - much more - towards building them up so that they know their greatness.
Mandela said: "Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great
generation. Let your greatness blossom.”
Let me step up and say this: I have faith in our youth. We do not have to look far for examples on the beautiful work today's young people: Youth Challenge International is a global development organization that promotes youth innovation to drive positive change; Operation Beautiful is a group that organizes the posting of anonymous notes of encouragement and strength in public places for other people to find; Free the Children is an international charity and educational partner, working both domestically and internationally to empower and enable youth to be agents of change; and there are dozens of peace organizations for youth.
Some of my faith is anecdotal because a lot of young people traipse through my house and spend time here. I have found that when they are given respect and attention, they demonstrate their articulate thoughts about social issues, politics, and environmental issues. They have good ideas. While volunteering for the Salvation Army Kettle Campaign a few weeks ago, I can safely say that at least half of our donors were young people, some of whom looked liked the kind of "punk" we like to dismiss as respectable because of their clothes, slang, tattoos, piercings, and how their cell phones are always in their hands. And they were often generous, beautifully generous.
Of course there are failings and weaknesses in today's youth, but my generation, and those generations before me have them too. We must stop considering ourselves as superior and open our eyes to our youth's tremendous potential for compassion, innovation, hard work, creativity, peace, love, and leadership.
Mandela said: “Lead from the back.”
We must let go of how we think our youth should be and start, as Mandela believed, leading from the back. It may look like a contradiction of what we have come to believe good leadership is, but leading from the back requires us to be patient and to have faith in those in front of us. Leading from the back means we need to feel so sure of ourselves that we can let some of our power go and not feel threatened. When we are confident enough to lead from the back, we will be knocked out by the beauty in front of us. And I bet we will know peace.
This is a longer post than usual. Thank you for your patience for my many words and thank you for reading.
wishing you the kind of beautiful day of peace that Nelson Mandela worked so hard towards,
hk
Thursday, 5 December 2013
5 Beautiful Reasons to Enjoy Winter
It is easy to be happy in the summer with all it's sunshine and warmth and easy living. I live in a part of the world where in the winter it is not unusual to wake up to -29 degrees Celsius (that's about -20 Fahrenheit to my American readers) that is actually -42 when one factors in the windchill. Finding beauty takes effort on days like this.
1. Snow. It's a barrier for wheelchairs and other devices people use for mobility and it's cold. However, a few blog posts ago I wrote about the incredible photography of Alexey Kljatov, (ChaoticMind75) whose pictures of individual snowflakes will not only take your breath away, but make you never look the same way at snow again. Furthermore, on the right evening, when the sky is clear, a particular shade of dark-denim blue, and sprinkled with stars, I will think of my friend, Kara, and how when we once lived together, we made an adventure out of shoveling snow together. And I always smile.
2. Lights. They may be one of the things that most people, despite their religious or non-religious backgrounds. Lights shining out on dark, cold nights reflect hope and generally just make people feel better.
3. Sledding. Not my thing, but it is for my kid. She lives to sled.
4. Soup. And hot chocolate, hot apple cider, stews, pans of lasagne, mandarin (when I was a kid we called them "zipper" oranges, and cookies.
5. People. It is just a personal theory but I think winter may bring out the best in us. Many people try to be happier and more generous during this time of year. It is as though winter, in it's challenging weather, reminds us of all the things we are thankful for and this gratitude encourages reaching out to others who have less to appreciate. Because for some, it doesn't matter whether it is Christmas or Kwanza or Chanukah or Winter Solstice, they are still hungry or depressed or poor - or all 3. Winter can help us remember that we are all in this life together and that we need to take care of each other.
I'm sure there are a lot more reasons, but like I said, beauty takes effort on days like this.
wishing you your own beautiful reasons to enjoy winter,
hk
1. Snow. It's a barrier for wheelchairs and other devices people use for mobility and it's cold. However, a few blog posts ago I wrote about the incredible photography of Alexey Kljatov, (ChaoticMind75) whose pictures of individual snowflakes will not only take your breath away, but make you never look the same way at snow again. Furthermore, on the right evening, when the sky is clear, a particular shade of dark-denim blue, and sprinkled with stars, I will think of my friend, Kara, and how when we once lived together, we made an adventure out of shoveling snow together. And I always smile.
2. Lights. They may be one of the things that most people, despite their religious or non-religious backgrounds. Lights shining out on dark, cold nights reflect hope and generally just make people feel better.
3. Sledding. Not my thing, but it is for my kid. She lives to sled.
4. Soup. And hot chocolate, hot apple cider, stews, pans of lasagne, mandarin (when I was a kid we called them "zipper" oranges, and cookies.
5. People. It is just a personal theory but I think winter may bring out the best in us. Many people try to be happier and more generous during this time of year. It is as though winter, in it's challenging weather, reminds us of all the things we are thankful for and this gratitude encourages reaching out to others who have less to appreciate. Because for some, it doesn't matter whether it is Christmas or Kwanza or Chanukah or Winter Solstice, they are still hungry or depressed or poor - or all 3. Winter can help us remember that we are all in this life together and that we need to take care of each other.
I'm sure there are a lot more reasons, but like I said, beauty takes effort on days like this.
wishing you your own beautiful reasons to enjoy winter,
hk
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
Magical Books
"She was fascinated with words.
To her, words were things of beauty,
each like a magical powder or potion
that could be combined with other words to create powerful spells."
~ Dean Koontz
hk
Sunday, 24 November 2013
Green is the Beautiful Colour
A few hours ago, the Saskatchewan Roughriders won the 2013 CFL Grey Cup. A lot has already been reported. A lot will continue to be said and written about. We will likely talk about this particular Grey Cup for years, even decades, because it was truly an historic once in a lifetime win.
Rider fans have popular claim that they are the hardest-core fans in the country - nay, the world, and
you would think the story would be narrowed to Saskatchewan residents but it is not. You will find Roughrider fans everywhere, whether they are people who were born here or once lived here, or who have some other connection to the province. To be part of this social phenomena is nothing short of remarkable and tonight I am left again amazed at how much power sport has to bring us together and make us feel like we are members of a positive and hopeful force, and despite our differences, meaningfully engaged in our community. And in a world where we really need each other, that is a beautiful thing.
It is also just very cool to live in a place where we make helmets out of watermelons, cowboy hats from beer boxes, and have a gopher - an actual rodent - for a mascot.
wishing you beautiful Rider pride,
hk
Rider fans have popular claim that they are the hardest-core fans in the country - nay, the world, and
you would think the story would be narrowed to Saskatchewan residents but it is not. You will find Roughrider fans everywhere, whether they are people who were born here or once lived here, or who have some other connection to the province. To be part of this social phenomena is nothing short of remarkable and tonight I am left again amazed at how much power sport has to bring us together and make us feel like we are members of a positive and hopeful force, and despite our differences, meaningfully engaged in our community. And in a world where we really need each other, that is a beautiful thing.
It is also just very cool to live in a place where we make helmets out of watermelons, cowboy hats from beer boxes, and have a gopher - an actual rodent - for a mascot.
wishing you beautiful Rider pride,
hk
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Snowflake Surprise
It is -29 with the windchill in Saskatoon today and our city is covered with a fresh blanket of fluffy white snow. It is no secret that I am generally not a big fan of cold and snow. It is often, or to be completely truthful, it is almost always a complication, a barrier, and a frustration for wheelchair users.
Except.
However.
I just came across these images by Russian photographer, Alexey Kljatov, (ChaoticMind75) that, although do not make my issues with snow any better, certainly do make me see it a little differently. His photos of snowflakes are so beautiful you will probably never look at snow the same way again. This was the last place I expected to find any beauty today. What a fantastic surprise!
For the full story on how he made these photos using the most humble of equipment, and to see more breathtaking photogaphs, please visit his Flickr page or:
http://500px.com/chaoticmind75
http://www.steves-digicams.com/news/must_see_photos_macro_snowflakes_by_alexey_kljatov.html
http://twistedsifter.com/2013/11/macro-close-ups-of-snowflakes-alexey-kljatov/
wishing that you too experience a beautiful surprise today,
hk
Monday, 18 November 2013
Be Yourself
You know who they are. Those impossibly gorgeous, popular, ever-cheerful girls you went to high school with. I ran into one of these girls - now all grown up of course with teenagers of her own - the other day. She's still stunning. She is still sparkly and enviable. And she still has that same lovely personality.
For some of us, 25 years does not mean anything. We are still about two emotional steps away from our high school days. That's because they are formative years. I am always surprised at how often teenage experiences, like first love, are dismissed by adults, as though they were not real or important. I believe the opposite, that the growth, identity development, social dynamics, love and heartbreak experiences are all deeply significant. And yes, an adult life is rife with conflict, problems, stress, intensity, and depth that most teenagers have not even imagined yet, however, the things that we experienced as adolescents still significantly mark us.
If only we could have known then what we know now. I wish I had known that all of the young women I went to school with were sparkly and beautiful and had gifts. If only I had known that none of them, including me, had anything to apologize for, or be ashamed of. I wish I had known that being yourself was all that really and truly mattered. That it still is. And that there is less that separates us from the impossibly gorgeous girls that you went to high school with than you thought.
wishing you a day where you can beautifully be yourself and know that is enough,
hk
For some of us, 25 years does not mean anything. We are still about two emotional steps away from our high school days. That's because they are formative years. I am always surprised at how often teenage experiences, like first love, are dismissed by adults, as though they were not real or important. I believe the opposite, that the growth, identity development, social dynamics, love and heartbreak experiences are all deeply significant. And yes, an adult life is rife with conflict, problems, stress, intensity, and depth that most teenagers have not even imagined yet, however, the things that we experienced as adolescents still significantly mark us.
If only we could have known then what we know now. I wish I had known that all of the young women I went to school with were sparkly and beautiful and had gifts. If only I had known that none of them, including me, had anything to apologize for, or be ashamed of. I wish I had known that being yourself was all that really and truly mattered. That it still is. And that there is less that separates us from the impossibly gorgeous girls that you went to high school with than you thought.
wishing you a day where you can beautifully be yourself and know that is enough,
hk
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