Whose Streets are they Anyway? Leh, India — By day they lay sprawled out asleep in the shade, only getting up every now and then to munch on some trash. By night they spring to life, turning the streets into a high-energy doggie dance party. A constant soundtrack of barking, yelping, and whining plays from [...]
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CHECKMATE: Play the game with mindfulness and equanimity
A stray cow is walking toward me. I cross the street to give it space, careful to avoid stepping on a tail of one of the many sprawled out, potentially rabid, dogs that lay on the other side.
Present mountain
I yearn to know your many sides
No, you are too vast
Embrace the mystery, I remind myself
It is in not knowing you that I can truly know you
Forget maps, I wish to see you with child’s eyes
Drop the judgment
You are perfect in your many imperfections
You are my greatest teacher…
Aimless in India
AIMLESS IN INDIA To be or to do, that is the question of The Mindful Word’s new blog “Aimless in India.” The meaning of aimlessness, according to Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, is "that you do not put something in front of you and run after it, because everything is already here, in yourself." “Does [...]
Acceptance through meditation
While meditating today I started by focusing on whatever my senses picked up in the environment. I tuned into the various sounds of nature without fixating on any of them. After a short while I began to feel my right leg itch, then the other. Ants were crawling up my legs. My initial impulse was to swat them away, but I didn’t because I wanted to continue focusing my awareness.
The final stretch.
After getting dropped off in downtown Fredericton, thinking the bus station would be downtown (as it is in most cities), I asked the first person I saw if she knew where the bus station was located. A local woman told me about the controversial decision to move the station to the outskirts of the city. [...]
IRVING OR CHRIST: Religion by the roadside
IRVING OR CHRIST Religion by the roadside Rides came easily today. My first came from a Subaru Outback driven by a younger guy named Duncan. Like many Outback drivers, he’s an avid outdoorsman with canoeing being his favourite pursuit. He told me about the work he’d done taking kids out on canoe trips and all [...]
CAPE BRETON: The rugged beauty of the Highlands
CAPE BRETON The rugged beauty of the Highlands A familiar truck towing a McDonald’s sign pulled to a stop in front of me. “I saw you back there and didn’t pick you up,” the driver said in a Newfoundlandish accent, referring to my under-the-bridge-in-the-storm attempt at getting a ride earlier in the day. “So I [...]
The test (part 2)
THE TEST (PART 2) (See Trip of trust for blog introduction) The time was rolling by. I assessed my situation. It was now mid-afternoon, I had three more hours of daylight and about 300 km to go. Being cold and wet, I knew I’d have to get into a warm car or go pitch [...]
The test (part 1)
THE TEST (PART 1) (See Trip of trust for blog introduction) I left Fredericton early this Monday morning, intent on traveling the 600 kilometres to Cape Breton by nightfall. It’d been an average daily distance on this trip, though I hadn’t taken the low traffic of the Maritimes and the effect of the weather into [...]
Nouveau Brunswick
NOUVEAU BRUNSWICK (See Trip of trust for blog introduction) David and I left Québec City at noon, taking the ferry over to Levis, then on to the Trans-Canada. From the top deck of the ferry, I bid farewell to this magical city sitting high above the mighty St. Lawrence. Driving east, I watched the river [...]
New lessons from the old school
NEW LESSONS FROM THE OLD SCHOOL (See Trip of trust for blog introduction) I left Maelle’s Montréal apartment with a bounce in my step, thanks to our post-breakfast dance session. A fitting end to a fun time in Montréal. Though hopeful I’d easily make it out of the second largest city in the country, part [...]
City to city
CITY TO CITY (See Trip of trust for blog introduction) After a long night with little shut eye, I was primed to leave the 24 hour diner that had become my home for much of the evening and get on with my journey as soon as the sun arose from its slumber. I brooded over [...]
Vampires, soldiers and security guards
VAMPIRES, SOLDIERS AND SECURITY GUARDS (See Trip of trust for blog introduction) Mauricio and I parted ways in Sudbury. He was continuing on to Toronto and I’d made the decision to go further east. The first bits of snow on this trip were falling from the sky as I said my goodbye, wishing him all [...]
Timeless in Mantario
TIMELESS IN MANTARIO (See Trip of trust for blog introduction) I packed up camp after a hearty meal of oatmeal and walked to the roadside, this last stretch of Manitoba's Trans-Canada. Also known as Mantario (portmanteau of Manitoba and Ontario), this is the borderland skirting the two provinces. With a name like that, [...]
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