Category Archives: heritage

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A Quiet Strength

(internet photo – Ricke)

The past several day I’ve had the pleasure of seeing owls when I am out for my walk. Standing in the space of their presence brings me a sense of joy and calm – a moment to forget everything that is happening in the world around me.

A Quiet Strength

Hope is a great-horned owl.
It is yellow eyes 
that harness strength.
It is open eyes 
that face shadows.

Hope allows you to soar
on winds of change
to leave some old habits
and bring something new 
into your life.

Hope settles 
on a tree limb,
listens, looks
for subtle signs,
sees what usually goes
below your radar.

Hope uses the beauty
of night
to inspire creativity.
Little can stop
an owl once it has set
its sights
on "the prize"

Some Fun Facts About Owls

Owls have specialized feathers with fringes of varying softness that help muffle sound when they fly. Their broad wings and light bodies also make them nearly silent fliers; which helps them stalk prey more easily.

An owl has three eyelids; one for blinking, one for sleeping, and one for keeping the eye clean and healthy.

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Bill Evans: "Here's That Rainy Day" 

By Jan Zwicky

On a bad day, you come in from the weather
and lean your back against the door.
This time of year it's dark by five.
Your armchair, empty in its pool of light.

That arpeggio lifts, like warmth, from the fifth of B minor,
offers its hand - let me
tell you a story...But in the same breath,
semitones falling to the tonic:
you must believe and not believe;
that door you came in
you must go out again.

In the forest, the woodcutter's son
sets the stone down from his sack and speaks to it.
And from nothing, a spring wells,
falling as it rises, spilling out
across the dark green moss.
There is sadness in the world, it says,
past telling.  Learn stillness
if you would run clear.
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Spring Equinox

internet photo of a Hawthorn tree
Today I am sharing from Sharlyn HiDalgo's "The Healing Power of Trees."  In her book March 21 - April 17 is Hawthorn Month Here is a sample of what she says: "Despite the jubilant celebration of spring's arrival, this month is a time to quiet oneself and go within.  ...it refers to personal sovereignty in which we reclaim our personal power and pay attention to our own inner life.  Fasting, ritual cleansing, and refraining from one's usual habits and patterns is encouraged.  We may want to seek retreat and silence in order to reconnect with the divine and the unseen worlds."  How timely!!
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This Is My City #23

“Those who came before planted the trees so that future generations can enjoy the shade.”
This is an art installation in Sien Lok Park.
The Chinese first landed on Canada’s West Coast (Nootka Sound) in 1788, as carpenters and craftsmen of a trading vessel. It was not until 1858 that thousands of Chinese immigrants came to Canada with hopes and dreams of a better life.
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This Is My City #22

Sien Lok Park
The name means “happiness comes through good works.” The Sien Lok Society of Calgary was formed in 1968. In cooperation with the community they preserved and developed Chinatown’s only green space. The park reflects the vision of all Canadian Chinese and their ancestral heritage.