Life - Blessings

Life - Blessings

So one extremely kind thing at Vancouver Opera. It's my first opera with them. Like many arts orgs, before opening night, we have an Indigenous blessing for all who wish to participate.

An elder speaks a few words, gives us a blessing for our performance and for our creative work. Blesses the building, the land we stand on, the air we breathe, the light we take in and all the things that bring us to that moment.

What I was not expecting, was for the company to have said a few words to the Elder to specifically call out and bless me, as the 'new member of the team' last night.

It was honestly really touching, and gratifying. I had the chance after to shake the Elder's hand and thank him.

In a role that is traditionally often overlooked, dismissed or set to the side as a lesser contributor to the arts in contrast to more 'creatives', acknowledgement and community are foundational to acceptance.

Thank you, Vancouver Opera for seeing me. 

Letters - 6 /15 Dear Past Me

Letters - 6 / 15 Dear Past Me

Dear Past Me,

Find mentors, figure out what makes you happy and don’t let people shame you for it. Learn discipline as soon as you can, because you took a long time getting there and the guilt once you got it...sucked. Go easy on yourself when you find things that other people care about, that you don’t. Don’t force it. You won’t have to. And in the end, it probably won’t matter that much anyway.

Humans of New York - Obama

Humans of New York - Obama

“I first ran for Congress in 1999, and I got beat. I just got whooped. I had been in the state legislature for a long time, I was in the minority party, I wasn’t getting a lot done, and I was away from my family and putting a lot of strain on Michelle. Then for me to run and lose that bad, I was thinking maybe this isn’t what I was cut out to do. I was forty years old, and I’d invested a lot of time and effort into something that didn’t seem to be working. But the thing that got me through that moment, and any other time that I’ve felt stuck, is to remind myself that it’s about the work. Because if you’re worrying about yourself—if you’re thinking: ‘Am I succeeding? Am I in the right position? Am I being appreciated?’ – then you’re going to end up feeling frustrated and stuck. But if you can keep it about the work, you’ll always have a path. There’s always something to be done.

Liminality of Death - Earth

Liminality of Death - Earth

My friend,

You are feeling heavy,

The time has come

for you to start out.

You can no longer open

or close your eyes

Blue, yellow, red, green

are turning to white.

And white to grey

and grey to black.

You try to remember

who you love.

But your memories,

are fading embers.

Life - On Birthdays

Life - On Birthdays

Once a year, pretty much every 365 days like clockwork, you get to celebrate for 24 hours the fact that you exist.  It's kind of a peculiar little thing.  You've not actually done anything of real significance to deserve it, other than having continued to consume food and air and just...well living.