The Challenges of Inner Peace

Last week I listened to our minister talk about balance in life and the importance of inner peace.  She talked about how important it is to have balance in one's life in order to achieve that inner peace.  She also talked about it needing a community to raise a child.  Today I wonder about how someone could be so out of balance in their life as to attack a kindergarten full of children.  How can it be that as a community of caring people that we did sense that this man was falling out of balance before such a tragic event occurred. 


I ask you to pray for the survivors of that horrible event today that they will somehow find a way to not let that evil make a permanent impact and to somehow find something positive from today.  These events today have impacted all of us either directly or indirectly.  The real question is what if anything will we learn about ourselves today.  My calm lake certainly has some waves in it today.

Some people need a little Hope

This is the week in advent where we celebrate hope.  As a stroke survivor, I am truly blessed to have the functionality that I have.  There was a time when I hoped to be able to be able to get out of bed by myself.  To be able to stand up on my own.  Then to be able to walk again.  To me, hope is about opportunity, it is about self-dignity and it is about the future.  However, for some people, the daily struggle watching their plodding footsteps keeps their head too far down to see the horizon, never mind the sunshine that is in the sky overhead.

This is the first week in the Christian calender leading into preparing for Christmas.  Providing hope to someone can be as small a thing as offering a few encouraging words.  So while we are buzzing around in a mad blitz to get Christmas shopping completed, my hope is that we all stop and take a minute to think about providing hope to someone else.  Everyone in our community needs to be able to enjoy the sunshine.

Remember, starting something new requires taking a first step and lean forward, the next step will follow.

Rick Hansen Relay

Although it was awhile ago, I had the opportunity to participate with the relay as an endurance athlete.  The endurance athlete got to start each day with the medal and pass it to the fist medal bearer of the day.  Each day that was someone related to a school.  I got to participate for a week from Oliver to Hope.  I had originally wanted to do more riding and less "carry" mode.  However, I realize now that was more about me than the relay.

I got to meet some incredible people that Rick referred top as difference makers.  A lot of these difference makers were school kids or teachers.  When I see the quality of the kids, their supporters, and the communities we visited it helps restore my faith in the human condition.

Many of the people involved with the relay had significant challenges to overcome and yet almost to a person the joy of them being selected was the forefront of all of my contacts.

The recent Olympics reminded me why I am so proud to be a Canadian.  Yes the medals were a great accomplishment but it was the way in which our Canadian athletes handled diversity I was so impressed with.  You have to really feel for our 4x100 athlete the stepped on the line.  It was a real shame that it happened but I was most impressed with the way he handled it.  Bravo.

Finally, the greatest Olympian ever?  Yes Phelps has the hardware but Ian Miller has competed in 10 straight Olympics.  How can that not be greatest.  And then there is Clara Hughes, only Olympian ever to have multiple medals in different Olympics.  That's not just great its incredible.  She takes 12 years off from professional cycling, comes back to it and finishes fifth in the world almost making it three different Olympics.  Greatest Olympian - you bet. However, it was about how they both handled not winning that makes then great.  I guess that's a true Canadian viewpoint.  Hopefully the Para-Olympics get the same kind of exposure.

Remember, its not about what happens to you in life - its what you do about it that's important.