Anyone who has relocated to a new community, or just moved across town to a new home, can attest that moving is a lot of work and stress. For those who have had to move frequently for various reasons from job relocations to general housing insecurity, this takes a major toll on one’s emotional well-being.
Continue readingThe recent deaths at the end of 2016 (a year that seems to have taken its share of well-known people from this world) of actresses Carrie Fisher, and a day later her mother Debbie Reynolds, made me recall the deaths of my own parents, who died nine months apart in 2009 (my mother in March, my father in December). It begs a question for me: can someone die of a broken heart? I’ve seen some anecdotal evidence that the death of a spouse/partner or other close person can have an effect on the health of the survivor. Continue reading
Like it or not, life is full of tests and trials. That’s just the way it is. Tests are a tool to evaluate how much we’ve learned, how proficient we are at something, and as a way to measure our progress. As I see it, they’re a necessary evil in our lives. I certainly wouldn’t want to go under a knife held by a surgeon who didn’t pass numerous tests with flying colours in order to get his medical degree. Some benchmarks in life can only be reached through a litany of extremely challenging tests for a very good reason. Continue reading
Much has been made in the news about the so-called “bathroom laws” that have been enacted in the U. S. states of North Carolina and Mississippi. While I do agree that there are some legitimate concerns about predatory men who may claim ‘transgendered’ status in order to gain access to a womens’ bathroom, that concern is minimal at best. I firmly believe these laws are rooted in intolerance and bigotry. Already, a lesbian woman, who looks and dresses in a masculine manner, but is still very much female, and identifies as such, was humiliatingly dragged out of a public washroom by police, presumably in one of those states. The video I viewed did not identify the location. In all honesty, what’s between the legs of the person next to me in the bathroom is of no concern to me. Continue reading
In some exchanges on a post I made on my Facebook timeline, we’ve been talking about the increasingly blurred lines between satire and reality. So often, I see news-articles posted on-line about political candidates, political leaders, and other news items, and will get several paragraphs in before I realize that what I’m reading is satire. Likewise, I’ll sometimes find myself reading an actual news story, saying to myself, “this has got to be satire, it’s too absurd not to be.” But, in those instances, it’s reality that has turned out to be the absurd one. One of my friends lamented that satire is a dying art form. She thought this because it is harder and harder to discern the difference between reality and satire. I disagree. I think satire is alive and well, and better than it’s ever been. It’s the absurd reality of our world today that is the problem. It’s reality that is dying. Continue reading
As I wrote in a previous post, I recently built myself a small deck out behind my home. It was a physically demanding job, and the next day I felt quite sore. I’ve come to realize as I get older, that this whole “getting sore” thing is intensifying somewhat. I also realize that in some ways, perhaps it’s a function of my attitude. Now, before you start thinking that I’m going to say that my thought alone is causing something physical, I’ll stop you there. My attitude over the past few years is something that has kept me from doing the physically active things I’ve done in the past that have allowed me to feel better, and not suffer such consequences of intermittent activity. Continue reading
As my regular readers well know, I am not religious, and no longer attend church. I despise the deep hypocrisy I see with many who are religious–not just Christians, but Muslims, Jews, and many others. I just don’t see religion as a force for good in this world. Yes, it claims to be, but in practice it isn’t. Continue reading
Image credit: Emerging Gently.
Over the last six or so years since my parents died, and some major changes happened in my life, I’ve come to realize the true value and meaning of friendship. When you lose all of your immediate family, your sense of family undeniably changes. Continue reading
Image Credit: American Humanist Association (Facebook Page) (https://www.facebook.com/americanhumanist?pnref=story)
The attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine offices in Paris this past week have gotten me thinking about stuff, religious stuff. The good folks at Charlie Hebdo make a habit, some might say a bad habit, of skewering religion in the most pointed and harsh way possible. I can definitely say that from what I’ve seen their cartoons are at best irreverent. At worst, I think they may border on racism. Either way, however, I think the criticism of religion, like all other ideas, is a fundamental right that should never be abridged, by anyone. Continue reading
I wrote this piece a few years ago, and since today is Christmas Eve, I present it here for you, dear readers. I’ve edited it a bit for context to this blog, and for the passage of time since I originally wrote it. Here is my take on Christmas and some of the issues surrounding the holidays that seem to come up ad nauseam and are kind of a kill-joy on the season for me.
For the past five years, Christmas has been a holiday that has brought me mixed feelings. Continue reading
Emerging Gently 