Gratitude is the Memory of the Heart.

So my wife and I decided to take our two granddaughters  for a Christmas lunch and show at the Famous People Players.  The Famous People Players is a dinner/theatre group set up especially with and for youth and adults who are developmentally challenged.  The meal is cooked, hospitality is provided and the black light theatre is performed by these challenged individuals whose participation in this effort gives them hope, skills and learning and, most, importantly, a sense of value and purpose.  I have been to FPP numerous times but the gift planned for the kids was a gift I received once again.  Truly.

This year they celebrated 40 years of existence.  Their founder, Diane Dupuy, has devoted her entire adult life to this work and clearly believes in the value and worth of each of the young people who come to be with this troupe.

So back to the gift I received.  2014 came rushing over me with memories.  A funny kind of year with new excitements and letting go of old friends.  Horses who have taught me life lessons and exhausted this old body.  Very young Sisters I met in Quito who gave me hope and renewed energy for the mission of Good Shepherd in our world.  Significant friends whose lives were cut short by disease caused me pause about what is most important in the many 'things' we do.  I became somewhat overwhelmed by the many sentiments flashing through my mind...most of those sentiments were of mindful gratitude.  How blessed I have been to have life long friends everywhere.  How fortunate I have been to have crossed paths with folks like Diane Dupuy, Jean Vanier, John Howard Griffin, Tom McKillop, Bob Carty.  And then there is Sam, Larry, Jack, Joe, Ann and Myron,  Frank and Nancy.  Yes there was Irwin, my mentor and, of course my wife Judy, the journey's companion who keeps me honest.  By the end of the show yesterday, I was in tears as the the music to the Impossible Dream played in the background.

Yes I have had my dreams and ideas.  What have we done with those dreams shared in our hearts? Who has helped us achieve them along the way?  Who inspired us to carry on?  What/who made a great impact on you in 2014?  Have we been true to the path we set out on in our own journey?

My dear, dear friend, Rose Virginie Pelletier came through significant trauma and side tracks in her life yet remained steadfast in her commitment to serve others as a nun.  Diane Dupuy is very similar to Rosie in that there is a single minded commitment to get it done.  Rose founded an international congregation of sisters and it expanded around the world.  All the time she never lost touch with the most important value she had embraced.  "That one person is of more value than a world"  And so "always lift them up in their own eyes".   

So the ending of 2014 is a time to feel really grateful for the many friends and loved ones who have kept me on the path.  I am no Rosie or Diane but I had had my shared of dreams and high aspirations. I have been so gifted by all those who have shared the pathways with me....they inspire and challenge me.  What about your pathways this year?  Have you been able to move forward with your own dream ideas?  What has been the most remarkable experience and person in your own life this year?

So let's share a box of tissue, pull up a seat and be mindful;  for what are we most grateful?

Have Yourself A Very Mindful Christmas

It was, indeed, a very long time ago when like most youth, I was trying to find my way.  I was searching for what I was meant to do and didn't have the slightest idea.  It was then that I came to Toronto to study Theology at U. of T.  It was then that I met the likes of Bob Carty and Tom McKillop, a couple of men who had an incredible influence on my life and yet-to-be-determined journey.  In that first year of meeting them, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend an event they had planned at Massey Hall in Toronto featuring two heroes of our times,  Jean Vanier and Mother Teresa.

Bob opened the night with some beautifully inspiring music and then Jean Vanier spoke.  Wow it was really powerful.  Then came this diminutive nun who had started a religious order of nuns in India, "to serve the poorest of the poor" and now she was in North America to arrange to send her sisters, as missionaries to the U.S..  "How do these places compare, what do they hold in common?", I asked myself.  Then came the most resounding statement I have ever heard.  This little, humble nun said with the greatest certainty of her faith, "I come here to serve the poorest of the poor, because the greatest poverty of all is LONELINESS!"

From that moment in 1971, Christmas has never been the same.. At times I have struggled with the superficial contradiction between the spiritual essence we celebrate and the gift-giving, commercial part of the holiday.  It has caused me often to remember with some pain (and guilt) that there are many folks who have absolutely no one to share Christmas with.  They are, indeed, the most lonely and therefore so poor (even as some live in their fine condos).

For me the wondrous resolution of this tension has been to remember in some special ways those who are most lonely during this time of the year and, in addition, to embrace with profound gratitude the cherished friends and family that I do have.  The greatest gift we give one another is really ourselves.  So while I will enjoy the new toys, sweaters, etc.  the happiest part of this season is being with those I love and who love me.  Turning off the technology could help us focus on time for and with one another.  Singing some songs, whispering some pertinent prayers, perhaps saying thanks to a cherished friend or partner may just spark a deeper bond. 

Being mindful of one another, including those who are alone, does nothing less than help us to remind ourselves why this season came to be in the first place.

A Baby is born in Bethlehem, and Mary, did you know he was the great 'I AM'!

So have yourself a very mindful Christmas!

The Heart of the Things that Matter

There has been some time passed since my last blog.....My wife had a heart attack and, needless to say, this has been a profound event in our lives.  I am happy to report that Judy is doing very well and being a good girl following the doctors' directions and rehab follow up.  BUT THIS BLOG IS NOT ABOUT MY WIFE'S HEART ATTACK!

The events that surrounded this are really significant.  While dealing with our family crisis, I had occasion to spend many hours in waiting rooms at the hospital....Trillium -Mississauga to be precise.  They have one of three specialized cardiac units there and they did a grand job of their work on behalf of my wife.  Herein lies the heart of the matter.

While in those waiting rooms my eyes and mind would always wander and inevitably, as I am want to do, I found my way to their posted vision, mission and value statements.  I am a mission oriented person and my work calls me to focus on this constantly.  So, here I went looking at their statement and wondering to myself, "Do they live it?"

Since I truly believe that the most important part of these statements is the expressions of what an organization values, that is the place I go to.  That is the place where, 'The rubber hits the road!'  So in my own way, I set out to assess the work of the doctors, nurses, maintenance etc. and how they all fulfill their values statements.  What I found was truly inspiring.

At Trillium they espouse the values of  Compassion, Excellence and Courage.  In our dealings with their staff we were treated with the kindest, warmest and supportive relationships.  (I must admit, I was shocked never having experienced such in other hospital settings, especially in Emerg.)  The level of hospitality and the establishment of compassionate relationships with both my wife and myself gave us great confidence at a critical time.  

I listened to a doctor explain heartbreaking news to a couple whose father was in his final stage of life due to a severe stroke.  The doctor's courage to be honest, forthright and tender with this couple almost brought me to tears.  Judy's cardiologist came to apologize to her thinking he missed the blockages she had in two arteries....and yet he had not neglected to test for these.  Once found, she was on her way to recovery and while humbled, he had not played God.  The professionalism of this staff was truly beyond reproach.

I could ramble on with praise and other examples where the maintenance staff were warm and smiling, cleaning up routinely around patients with the joy of providing warm hospitality.  Just remarkable!

This all hit home to me in a different way.  In my work and training, I always talk about how that which our organizations value must be integrated into the very fibre of our work, our personal presentation with clients, and in the DNA of our agency practice and policy.  During this experience I was on the receiving end as a consumer of service and felt the vibrance of values well lived out professionally.  It has caused me to renew my own commitment to living our values as people who are the service providers through Good Shepherd.   This has caused me to reflect on the ways that I demonstrate how much I value a certain passion(Zeal) for this work;  what are the little ways that my professional presentation is one of compassion for our people (both clients and staff);  how do I show that I really value each individual person?  Will I have the courage to seek reconciliation knowing more intimately my own vulnerabilities in the face of others or in challenging times?

I guess it can be inspiring to see glowing, well articulated mission and value statements on the walls of our agencies;  but, really the heart of what matters most is how we make those statements alive in our own work and relationships.  Thank you, Trillium, for renewing my own faith in the possibilities that this can be REAL everywhere!