Before it’s Gone
If you have the good fortune of having brief but beautiful experiences in restaurants, be grateful. Be kind to those who serve you; if you want great, local restaurants, support them. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears go into restaurants, and without community support, these spaces can quickly vanish before you know it. I always feel a bit gutted when I see a closed sign over the windows of a restaurant that I enjoyed.
My Call with the Prime Minister
Being kind, gracious, and respectful are potent elements of a healthy culture. We still have a Canadian culture where a Liberal Prime Minister can call up an Albertan and have a kind and friendly conversation about life.
No One Owes you Coffee
I promise you a mindful cup of coffee tastes much better than coffee made with little effort.
Everybody Knows…
Wisdom is not an exclusive quality…nor is the quality of walking through life unscathed emotionally. Our souls are not Teflon coated in a world stuck in torrential downpour of anxiety.
Last Flight to Florida
The imagination we need to cultivate right now is one where we can see ourselves supporting our farmers, producers, artists, academics, builders, teachers, and other countries in the world. We do this out of hope and love, not out of anger or the intent to destroy something else.
Heretics in the Wild
…My friend was upset because my stance had opened the fence of a well-manicured lawn of cultural comfort. A culture with clear parameters of what is acceptable and what is not. I was allowing the wild to enter a domesticated region of belief.
The Blood of Vikings
You, my friend, are the legacy of survivors. The eyes that read these words contain DNA autographed by generations of survivors from all over the Earth. Your bloodline contains strength.
Why California Burns
When tragedy strikes, it’s like looking at a table full of broken puzzle pieces. We feel compelled to put these pieces together in order to explain an overwhelming crisis. We want to know why it’s happening and who to hold accountable. More often than not, we deceive ourselves into thinking we’ve connected the pieces perfectly.
Jordan Travels New York
I love to travel and tell stories about what I’ve experienced. My dream job would involve both. With that said, I believe it’s always important to not wait for your job to provide an outlet to do the things you love. So, I do make travel content.
Books are the Secret Sauce
If my year is a stew, a reading goal has been the secret sauce I add to my year that has a transformative effect. Again, I can’t tie a direct line from reading to a successful year; it has just been my experience. My best years have had a reading goal attached to it. I have enjoyed more success at work, feel less stressed, and keep learning and growing.
Winter Batteries
We are at the halfway point of winter. Canadians tend to thrive in this season.
This writer does not.
Christmas Clinometer
Christmas is the time to stop and train our eyes to see hope again. It's also an invitation for all of us to work towards a world where peace is the norm.
The Future We Hoped For
But I am learning and constantly reminding myself that frustration is not failure; it's learning. The seeds of hope grow from having some exposure to sunlight, but they must push through the gritty, earthy reality of life.
Thoroughly Used up…
Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.-Shaw
Appreciation and Action
Many wiser people have pointed out that peacekeeping is not a neutral act, and I believe the best way to show respect for our troops is for us to be active in peacekeeping.
Don’t Refund the Future
The road that leads to a brighter future is the one that is always under construction. To take that idea even further, the road to a brighter future can’t be reached with conventional roads- we can only get there with courage, innovation, and vision.
Fireworks and Smartphones
But humans aren't meant to capture every moment we find exciting and store it on a digital shelf for later enjoyment. If we do, the memory is there, but not nearly as potent as it was in real-time. If anything, it may even be a bit stale.
