Thank you for being here today with this quiet little conversation, this place where I am holding a space for you to pause and engage with these thoughts, words and images

I have been thinking about the myth that we can achieve our heart's desire by taking the 'easy' path. You don't have to look far to find someone trying to convince you they have 5 easy ways to get x, 3 steps to glorious y. You get the picture. I bet you don't believe those any more than I do. If there were truly a few simple things that would easily bring us everything, wouldn't we all be doing them? And then lying in the hammock with our favourite tropical refreshment?

One of the very few things in life I procrastinate on is deep cleaning of my home (where I would truly welcome a 'these 3 things will instantly clean your home' miracle). I've decided to try a new approach. Instead of this massive oppressive weight that is tempting to relegate to permanent procrastinate mode, I am picking one small area and bringing to mind what I love about the area. Like say my piano (ok, maybe not so small but at least it's one discrete thing).

When I think about what needs to be done to clean my piano, I'm also thinking about the beautiful sound it creates when I play it. I think about the memories of listening to my sons as they learned to play, about the recording I have of my great-grandmother playing and how much I love the sound of this particular piano. As each part of the piano is dusted, cleaned, and polished, I savour the feeling of accomplishment in the result, but even more I relish the feeling of caring for things that are deeply important to me. Caring for things doesn't need to be easy, the treasure is in the delight and nurturing of things that in turn nurture and sustain us.

And as always, I want to express my gratitude to be living and working on the ancestral & unceded territories of the hən̓̓qəmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking peoples.I honour the incredible depths of grace, courage and perseverance of Indigenous Peoples, and look to them as an example as they find their voices amidst the noise and obfuscation of colonization.

until next time,

Mardell