Friday, January 30, 2009

Changes...

Don't know who said this but it seems to make so much sense...

"Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are, for what you could become."

Hmm, maybe that's why the changing seasons are so exciting - winter, spring, summer, fall - every season brings new beauty, each in its own way. It's just the end of January on Vancouver Island and tiny "snowdrops" are already up in the garden..and, of course, the paddling is just fine too!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Amazing Most Complicated Watches On Earth














Amazing Special Construction in the World














Saturday, January 24, 2009

"Time flies" - expanding the moments!

If you've had a sense that "time flies" - it's probably got a lot to do with the possibility that there might be more time to the "east" of you than there is to the "west" of you! Assuming, of course, that life is a journey from east to west. That being the case, I like the wisdom of baseball legend, Satchel Paige who reminds us that "age is mind over matter; if you don't mind, it don't matter!" Ahh, these "middle years"! So, what to do? How do you pack more living into life's precious moments? A number years ago, we discovered what we fondly have come to refer to as, "the 20-minute vacation".

We were living just north of Québec City and I remember that it was a time when life had gotten a little out of control - schedules, responsibilites, "to do" lists etc seemed to be managing us rather than us managing them. Desperate for a small break we found ourselves escaping through the doors of a little local café, in the heart of the Village of Valcartier. It was long before the time of multiple Starbucks, Seattle's Best, Good Earth (our Calgary favourite), and the like. Exotic coffees were, well, exotic. This was one of those tiny cafés that you went into - not just to grab a coffee, but to savour and experience a few special moments.

Anyway, we decided to throw all caution to the wind and ordered two lattés - with a double shot of espresso - not really having any idea what lattés were but thinking they sounded pretty cool. You can imagine our surprise when they were presented in bowls! Bowls?!!! We'd never seen coffee in bowls! But they were awesome - creamy, foamy, rich, and full-bodied. Now this, was more than a "cup" of coffee - this was an experience!

I'm not sure that we were there more than twenty minutes, but time seemed to slow down - every moment and every sip, a significant and meaningful component of that "20-minute vacation". In that brief time over a bowl of delicious coffee, we stopped "doing" and started "being". We left refreshed and renewed, and no, it wasn't just the extra hits of caffeine!

Every morning we try our best to run for an hour - when the body and spirit are willing - which is not always the case. At least once a week though, it's on the earthy and winding trails of Mount Tzouhalem, near where we live. It's a "60-minute vacation" - every time. This morning there were fallen trees to step over or crawl under, a recent (and substantial!) "sink hole" to navigate around, winter streams to hop over, a ridge to run, a small rock face to scramble up, a summit view of the Island and Olympic mountains to enjoy, a little "community" of inukshuks to greet, and the last patches of our massive December snowfall to remind us that even "Canada's Pacific Island" gets winter every now and again!

Every little experience, every visual stimuli, every smell and sound in the deep forest gently ensured that we were no longer doing - we were being - and it is in the being that one so often finds renewal and refreshment in life. It's a "stop and go" kind of thing. As Jon Kabat-Zinn says in his excellent little book on mindfulness, "the stopping actually makes the going more vivid, richer, more textured. It helps keep all the things we worry about and feel inadequate about in perspective. It gives us guidance."

My thought is that we need to discover opportunities for more "20-minute vacations" (or longer of course). It's a "stop and go world" - so go less and stop more. Expand the moments, 'cause time really can "fly". Restored and refreshed, I think we have the resources and energies to live more fully - and care more deeply.

PS Happy birthday, my son! Savour the Chicago C/H - "eclectic and compelling"!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Windows 7 Wallpapers










Windows 7, The new Operating system by Microsoft.
We have been able to get some new wallpapers available on the internet and we are sharing with you all. These Wallpapers are of resolution 1024 X 768. However if you have a higher resolution screen, you need to wait, or you can search them on the internet and let us all know.
Enjoy these beautiful wallpapers of Windows 7.










Monday, January 19, 2009

World Amazing Candle Stands Pictures














 
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