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Trying new things
It’s a new year. I am not one to make New Years resolutions but I do like to try new things. In fact that was one motivation for setting up this blog. Trying something new can break the monotony of routine, stimulate creativity, or get me looking at things from a new perspective. Sometimes simply cooking a new dish or listening to new music can reinvigorate me. One of the new things I am so glad I tried in 2021 was forest bathing. Distinct from walking or hiking in nature, forest bathing encourages you to slow down, even sit down, and connect with the forest (see Forest bathing invitations for…
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Canine University
I don’t like to brag. I don’t want to make a lot of noise, or howl, or stick out my chest (except for a belly rub). But listen up. I know things. Life affirming type of things. You may have heard that having a dog can make you happy. Do you know why? I do. I live by it. It’s me Caramel. You haven’t heard from me in a while. Sorry about that. I would say I have been busy, but that’s not true. I’ve just been living. Quite happily. This is why it’s best if I take over today’s post: how dogs make you happy. For starters, I will…
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Forest bathing invitations
“Place your feet firmly on the ground and feel the connection with the earth. Think of all the roots twisting and stretching out underneath you,” says Beth in her soothing voice. I am sitting in the forest on a collapsible stool. Beth is a certified Nature and Forest Therapy guide. Our small group has paused here, among the trees, to sit, close our eyes and allow ourselves to open up to the forest. She encourages us to slow our breathing and take note of any smells and sounds around us in the breezy forest air. It’s like we are prepping our senses, getting them ready to engage with the forest.…
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Director’s cut
It was an ordinary street sign: a green rectangle, fixed atop a metal pole, white letters indicating the street name. A common sight. But special to me. Meaningful. It was at the end of the street I grew up on: Seagram Ave. And in the summer of 1991 I had to move from this safe and familiar street. As distraught as I was (as teenagers can be) I was determined to apply my surly energy to taking down that sign to stow it with me. Dressed in black, in the dark of night, I met my best friend at the street corner (she also lived on the street and empathized…
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The Garden of Epicurious
A few months ago I awoke in the middle of the night to a harrowing shriek. It was a terrifying sound. My mind started thinking of horrible possibilities, like someone in pain or dying. I got out of bed and looked out my window to the dimly lit street below. There they were. A pair of foxes. One tilted its head back and screamed. The sound was the call of a red fox. No one was dying or in agony. It was simply two foxes out for a midnight stroll. My sense of hearing is not faulty, but my mind certainly did play tricks on me. According to the Greek…
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A crafty lesson
I have been making notebooks lately. Thanks to the Globe and Mail craft club. It was an enjoyable way to spend an hour on a Tuesday evening as Catalina Sanchez shared her step by step instructions on how to craft homemade notebooks. Ever since I have been stitching together these little notepads with random paper I have in the house. I tend to go through phases with making crafts. A few years ago I was obsessed with sewing tote bags. I had discovered an old sewing machine in my family, a 1954 Singer. It’s a dapper little machine, shiny black with ornate gold trim, that folds neatly into a carrying…
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Happy tweets
March 20 is the UN International Day of Happiness. As I wrote last year, it’s all about spreading the message of happiness and kindness (and I had some inspiration from a kind friend to do so!) The day is designated by the United Nations to recognize “progress should be about increasing human happiness and wellbeing, not just growing the economy.” I continue to enjoy the daily little nudges from the Action for Happiness app to remind me of ways to be happy everyday. Today’s message is “Celebrate the International Day of Happiness“. So happy International Day of Happiness! One topic that comes up frequently in the daily nudges relates to…
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Walking and Philosophy
Most of my walking this past year has been on the familiar paths of my neighbourhood streets and woodland trails. However, I do let my mind wander at times to other destinations, say a craggy Greek landscape. Instead of cold wind whipping at my face and geese honking overhead, I imagine sunshine warming my cheeks and bees buzzing in thyme and lavender bushes. This particular image comes to mind after reading about Aristotle’s school (Lyceum) in Athens. Aristotle liked to walk with his students (called peripatetics) while deliberating his philosophies. Of the many topics Aristotle deliberated, human happiness was a biggie. He believed the goal of human life was happiness…
