Sitting on the beach with my back leaning against the boulder, I close my eyes. To my right, ocean waves gently lap at the shoreline, while a warm breeze whispers through the old growth cedar forest at my left. Sun rays, filtered through the leaves above me, speckle the sand and touch my skin, warming me. I absorb the sounds around me, focusing on one at a time, to fully appreciate what each offers to nature’s symphony. I taste the salt in the air and breathe in deeply once, twice, three times. With each breath, I relax into a deeper state. I feel grounded and supported by mother earth, while at the same time, feel weightless, like I am floating freely in space.

Tears squeezed out of my eyes as I doubled over, laughing. Our family was looking through old photo albums. Some of the fashion choices and poses struck when the pictures were taken had all of us in stitches. Those glasses, the earrings, the wide flared plaid pants and puffy sleeves had us wondering what on earth we were thinking when we got dressed that day. As we flipped through album after album, we recalled adventures, misadventures, people, places and tragedies of years past. The yellowed, faded and tattered photos were portals, transporting us back in time through the decades, indeed the generations, of our heritage and shared history.

On June 5, 2018, Kate Spade, a famous American fashion designer known for her colourful prints and iconic purses, died by suicide. Unbeknownst to most, she struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts for much of her life. On June 8, Anthony Bourdain, the culinary explorer of ‘Parts Unknown,’ who was also a talented writer, chef, and storyteller, took his own life. Unlike Kate Spade, the demons that Anthony Bourdain battled were well documented, including addictions and depression.

At the edge of the storm
There’s a portal, a way
To cross and be re-born,
Drenched if you choose to stay

Sunlight presses the dark
Darkness fades into light
Weeping clouds leave their mark
As the threshold burns bright

During this week, my husband and I celebrated an important milestone – our 30th wedding anniversary. As a follow-up to my last blog on how marriage is a portal, I’d like to explore how each anniversary of a wedding ca

On September 30, 2017, our son Ben married a lovely woman named Sara. Like many couples these days, they decided to have their ‘first look’ pictures taken before the ceremony rather than waiting until Sara walked down the aisle. They chose this location, a bridge behind our house, to be the spot where Sara would regale Ben with the first sight of his beautiful bride-to-be in her wedding dress and veil.

As I walked along the quickly darkening pathway to the outhouse, a kangaroo sprang out from behind the trees on my left, and in three short bounds, disappeared amongst the trees on my right. Good thing the outhouse was close, so that when my heart started beating again, I could make it in time.

The year had been a rut-filled, challenging journey. I was exhausted and, at times, overwhelmed with grief, stress and the herculean efforts it took to get through mundane, everyday tasks – ‘burnt out’ some might have called it, though I was not in the space to recognize that myself.

The small town of Nanton, Alberta, is located along Highway 2, a 45-minute drive south of Calgary. It is a unique place to visit, a portal in its own right. Stepping back in history is as easy as crossing a threshold; the town boasts numerous antique stores, as well as the Bomber Command Museum, a veritable graveyard of WWII-era planes and artifacts. Even if one merely drives through the town without stopping it is possible to witness history, as these grain elevators stand tall beside the now defunct section of the Canadian Pacific Rail line, right beside Highway 2.

Today is May 23, 2018. It is Week 21, yet here I am posting Week 16. This image of a barrel wave explains, in part, why I have fallen so far behind with posting my weekly paintings and updating my blog.