Happy Christmas

Peace, Hope, Joy, Love… Redemption.

These are more than words, they are more than wishes, they are choices.

In thoughts, or in person, may you be with those you love and care about, and celebrate that which is important to you.

Krismasi Njema – Joyeux Noël – Merry Christmas – 즐거운 성탄

 

Happy New Year

It has been made apparent in the past that I find Labour Day to be more of an important transition than January 1st. That being said, one cannot escape the feeling of renewal as the calendar flips over, and popular culture sends us a bit of a bombardment. (I agree with John Roderick here that it is usually too much fluff, especially with useless Top-10 lists).  Yet, things seem to have a bit of a different feel than usual right now. Thus, with nothing more than a gut feeling, a weird hunch, some good friends who feel the same, I think 2011 is to be our year. That is not to say that 2010 was not also our year. Births, marriages, celebrations, accomplishments, reflections, passings, taking on adventure and challenges, we had plenty of milestones, it seems like each of you deserve a congratulations this past year! Just stating though: got a feeling there’ll be something to this ’11.

I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions, so let’s just get to 2011 then, and if nothing else, have a blast… and maybe a tongue in cheek resolution won’t hurt

Happy Christmas

Peace, Hope, Joy, Love… Redemption.

These are more than words.

In thoughts, or in person, may you be with those you care about, and celebrate turning values into reality.

Joyeux Noël – Merry Christmas – 즐거운 성탄

-IR

Canada Day 2010

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Originally uploaded by irober.

As Canada celebrates its 143rd birthday today, the inevitable question arises in some way: what does it mean to be Canadian? The open-endedness of the question, and the ambiguity with which most people respond, are in themselves very Canadian. However, there is something to it. I was in Ottawa recently, and while it was my third time in the nation’s capital, I found this visit to resonate quite deeply. This does not discount the previous visits, as I am grateful my parents took me there when I was young, and was fortunate to travel there on a unique experience as a teenager. Instead, it was likely that the first two visits laid the ground work for this visit to be so meaningful. Further, the personal experiences of this visit were incredible and like any travel, it is the personal connections and events that make the trip worthwhile rather than landmarks and landscapes. That being said, it is my recommendation that every Canadian visit Ottawa at least once in their life regardless of any personal connection to the city. This past visit reminded me we all have a societal connection to our capital. I am well aware that there is an unmistakable bureaucracy present, and some spots are a bit too touristy, but they are easily overshadowed by the value of a meaningful capital visit. By visiting museums, parliament, and taking the time to reflect on what has actually happened there, what does happen, and what people are trying to make happen for our future, you get the sense, or the reminder, that we are working on something here as Canadians. Our nation is not perfect, but overall we are working towards a more positive and intentional life for individuals, communities, our country, and even our world. I can’t imagine calling any other country home. The trouble is, I am not able to fully articulate what that something is. I could certainly give you a laundry list of wonderful generalities, events, efforts and characteristics of Canadians, but that doesn’t specifically answer the question. Perhaps that’s a good thing? Perhaps it’s a sign we are not content with some sort of false balance? The only thing I know is that it’s there.

Enjoy your holiday. Hopefully you are able to spend it with family or friends. If you come up with a well-articulated answer of what it means to be Canadian, then let me know. For the time being I’ll enjoy the ambiguity and the positive potential for our future that it implies.

HUGE thank you to S & M, for without the invitation to their personal event, who knows when I would have gone back to Ottawa. It was also the highlight of my entire trip – congratulations you two!! Special thank you to Y for showing me the inside.

Happy Birthday Canada! Bon Anniversaire!

Happy Robert Burns Day

A couple of the poet’s thoughts to mark the day, one of them being in line with the previous post.

Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn.

There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing.

As you know though, it never hurts to finish things off with a little hope.

Hope springs exulting on triumphant wing.

Enjoy your haggis (if that is indeed possible) and have a great day!

Callin’ It A ‘Cade

Apparently we are going to turn the lights out on a decade tonight. As you may know I personally find September to serve as a more appropriate annual turn-over point, but everybody loves the neatness of numbers and lists, so at the end of 2009, at the end of a decade we’ll do a quick reflection – certainly not conclusive or complete.

A few nights ago it was posed to a group I was with: what single world event had the most impact on my personal life in the past decade? It remains 9/11. Foremost was the emotional impact that reverberated through the world; a host of different emotions filled the world, and no sentient person could have avoided being impacted in some way. Then the repercussions for many personal lives that were not actually directly involved in the event. Every time I, or anyone else I know travels, their experiences have been altered by that event. A nouveau lexicon that everyone uses emerged in both political and popular culture as a result. Canada has made the choice in this decade to spend billions of dollars in Afghanistan. This post is not to make a decision on the rights or wrongs of that decision, just to recognize that those billions in turn effected domestic decisions that in turn effected every Canadian’s personal life, including mine. Much more importantly, with four new deaths today, and one journalist also being killed, on the very last day of this decade, 138 Canadian soldiers lost their lives in Afghanistan in the 2000′s, thus bringing back a more personal nature of veterans and Remembrance Day. All of these factors, and many more came as a result of 9/11.

Time magazine recently called this first decade of the 21st Century to be a complete downer in comparison to the last of the 20th. While there were certainly a host of world events, and many notable U.S. events that led them to make that call, I don’t share the same pessimistic view overall. Although there is credence for some sober reflection when climate change, war, poverty, disease, and the economy is considered, I look back and see a lot of positive events in the past decade, and look forward with hope, as does the same article.

There are some great organizations doing some amazing things to fight what I believe to be one of our most important global battles: overcoming poverty. Kiva, Oxfam, Make Poverty History, and so many more have really grown in this past decade. I believe that most of us have become more worldly, and environmentally aware in the last 10 years and that is a good thing. The advances we have made in health care, and the support and awareness for causes like AIDS, prostate cancer and breast cancer have grown in leaps and bounds. The progression in Education, particularly educational tools and technology has been incredible. The list of positive highlights and changes could go on depending on your penchant for popular culture, sports, politics, literature, music, or any area.

While each of us personally dealt with sadness and there were those who left us in the past decade, it was also one filled with births, and with partners confirming their love. I smile when I think of some personal events of the preceding ten years, and many of them are just simple, yet joyful events, spent with family and friends that I care about. I hope that you can look back and smile as well.

In the next ten years we’re going to face some challenges, some of which are unpredictable at this point. While we’ve made progress in the areas I mentioned above, there is still a long, long way to go in each of these and with many other causes. Whether they be global, local, or personal, please remember that you are not in this alone so long as you strengthen the ties of your relationships. We’ll have hope and joy in the next 10 years if we work on our peace and love. I know that those four words seem airy fairy to some of you, but maybe you just haven’t thought deeply about what those words actually mean, for they are not just words, there are meanings, signs, and tools within each of them. It is up to you and those closest to you to get into those meanings, signs and tools for yourself though. Be open to those around you when they need you, and be ready to turn for help when you need it.

Finally, I think back on the past decade and I am bombarded with images and amazing deeds of the awesome people I call family and friends. I must be the most fortunate person alive to know so many incredible people that have done so many incredible things in the past 10 years – personal and worldly – in the areas of family, community-building, social-work, health-care, education, journalism, literature, writing, photography, music, film, politics, sport, travel, and charity. The list could go on, for I am actually beyond fortunate to know amazing people in so many areas, and that they make the choice to include me in their incredible lives. It actually makes my head hurt just a little bit to think about what so many of you have accomplished. Keep it going!

We’ll let the Kings of Leon, and then David Gray take us out then. With KoL we recognize how uber successful one can become, even in a relatively short period of time, and it’s a bit of a tune about sticking together. Then with Gray we have a tune that might seem like a downer, but it’s actually about hope and going forwards. It’s also one of my all time fav’s.

“Through the windows of midnight, all moanfoam and silver.”

Take care, take care of each other…. Bonne Année!!

Happy Christmas

In thoughts, or in person, may you be with those you care about, and celebrate what is important to you.

Peace, Hope, Joy and Love.

These are not just words. They can be our lives.

Wishing that Peace, Hope, Joy and Love be yours, and all of ours in this season and in the year ahead.

Joyeux Noël – Merry Christmas – 즐거운 성탄

-IR

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving just might be my favourite holiday. This statement has been met with a few quizzical looks lately, but I am prepared to back it up. It is a celebration that combines tradition and flexibility. Friends and family gather or connect without the stress of gift giving or pressure of other holidays. It is of a secular nature, but can be recognized as important for any number of faiths. Most of all, it emphasizes something that is explicitly simple, yet overwhelmingly important: reflection on and expression of thanks. In other words, it has a sublime balance to it.

While it is important to be grateful throughout the year, this weekend’s holiday helps us draw attention to those things we are thankful for. Relationships, particularly family and friends, are consistently first on my list of things I am thankful for. Last year’s Thanksgiving post was focused on relationships, and a year later I am even more appreciative and fortunate to have people in my life that make me a better person. However, on this Thanksgiving I want to note that I am thankful for my health and physical condition. We often say we are glad to have good health, and wish good health on those we care about, but I find recently that I am rather humbled and extremely grateful to do so much that I probably take for granted. Without being healthy I would not have been able to visit so many of the places I have been to in this word. I would not have been able to engage in so many of the activities that bring me joy. Many of the relationships in my life are fostered by activities that would be impossible if I was not healthy. Finally, my day to day existence is completely easy due to my state of fitness. In short, I am extremely fortunate, and as a result, extremely thankful.

From this extends thanks to specific people. I am thankful to my parents who instilled within me a priority for health and fitness. I am thankful to my friends and family who inquire after my health and encourage me to take care of myself (yes, even though I am stubborn). I am thankful to those friends who I go on outdoor physical adventures with as they place safety and health above accomplishments, records, and summits.

On a specific note, I am thankful for everything I have been, and will be involved in this weekend: spending time with a number of close friends I care about, listening to live music, laughing with friends and family, being active outdoors with awesome people I care about, spending time with family, spending time with little buddies I care about, playing hockey, perhaps watching some film, enjoying a fantastic meal, and having the time to reflect and be thankful. What a great Thanksgiving, filled with so many things that bring me joy, and it’s mainly due to some of you who are reading. I don’t think I could ask for a better one.

I hope you get to spend time with people you care about this weekend.

Merci – Thank you – Happy Thanksgiving!
IR

8 from 08

Here are eight shots from 2008. I can’t say for sure if they are my best shots. I guess I could say they are just some of my favourites. I can definitely say there are some great memories associated with each of them, and they are a cross section of places and activities from the calendar year that has passed. If you visit my flickr stream, feel free to let me know which ones stand out for you from 08. More importantly, it would be great to hear from you on what were some of your memorable photos from the past year. Please let me know through one of the many communication means at your disposable.

Happy New Year.

To see the 8th, you can click here. Only thing, you’ll have to be one of my friends on flickr to see it. It’s a great shot of J&D in Maui, maybe one of the best. Want to see it, join flickr, send me a message that you have, and I’ll do the rest.

Happy Christmas

In thoughts, or in person, may you be with those you care about, and celebrate what is important to you.

Wishing you Peace, Hope, and Joy during the season and in the year ahead.

Joyeux Noël – Merry Christmas – 즐거운 성탄