Did He Die in Vain?

Look around you brother,
Look around you friend.
Everywhere you turn you see the face of pain.

Look down that dark and dirty alley
See the man who trembles there using dirty needles
to shoot the poison in his veins.
Look deep into his eyes,
See the pain.

See the beggar on the street,
Wrapped in rags from head to feet
Pushing all her lifes possession is a dirty rusted cart.
"Just some coins for a meal" she begs
as the bugs run through her hair.
Look deep into her eyes,
See the pain.

Watch the young girl on the street ply her trade
In sheer black stocking and tiny stretchy skirt
Shivering in the winters chill
Her makeup covering her bruised and battered face.
She smiles sweetly for the johns to fill her empty plate.
Look deep into her eyes,
See the pain.

Remember Jesus Christ, the man from Nazareth?
They said He was a criminal and they hung Him on a cross.
They mocked Him and spat on him as they bartered for His clothes.
Look deep into His eyes,
See the pain.

Look around you brother
Look around you friend.
Everywhere you turn you see the face of pain.

Can you let them suffer?
Can you ignore their pain?
Did the man from Nazareth -
Our Saviour die in vain?

Trying to look at the world in a different way

I have been trying to look at the world in a new way! Some time ago I realized that I look at the world in a certain ways because that is the way I learned to look at the world and I acknowledged that a lot of my learning was deeply flawed. As well, I realized that I tend to see the world from the place where I am right at that moment rather than seeing the whole. For example, if the weather is lousy, I am late for an appointment and the dog has decided to throw up her dinner all over the carpet I generally feel that the life is not good and think of all the things that are also going wrong with the world at large. Global warming, the free trade dispute with the US, the war in Iraq and the high price of gas all become much larger problems in my life than they really are just because of the personal challenges that I am facing. Being a feeling person I also tend to see the world more from my inner perspective than what is really happening around me and I have discovered that there are days when I just don't feel up and happy and positive about the my life and the word in general. So from now on I will attempt to see the world from a healthier perspective no matter what I may be feeling at the time or what is happening in the world or my life at that moment. After all, what good does it do to lose faith and hope in people and life.
I promise myself to:

• Try to see the whole picture. Afterall, if Lucy is still there giving me kisses and wagging her tail can it really be such a bad day.
  
• Try to find beauty in different way. Not every day can be perfect, but every day can have some perfect moments. Sometimes the most violent rain storm produces the most beautiful rainbows.
  
• Make the most out of the smallest things. Sometimes the greatest things in life are the littlest things. Morning dew on the grass, coffee with a friend, or a beautiful sunset can mean more than caviar and champagne.
  
• Always give thanks for everything. It is not the problems we are dealt in life that define us, it is how we deal with them.
  

A Weekend Under the Trees

I lucked out and won tickets for Saturday to the Blues and Roots festival that is held every year at Deer Lake. After walking around and getting a feel for the festival grounds we managed to find a spot on the grass to listen to Lhasa. A rather strange entertainer who sang an eclectic mix of English, French and Spanish vocals. The sun was burning down on us and I knew I had to find shade. I spotted a huge tree off behind the concession stands and headed for it. It was so peaceful laying there staring up into the tree while listening to the music being played.
Sunday morning brought even warmer temperatures and as we drove to the park where our family picnic was to be held I kept my fingers crossed that we would find a spot in the shade. Once more we were able to get a spot under a pair of giant maple trees that provided enough shade to shelter twenty of us for a day of games, good food and family eccentricities causing me to ponder how many other family picnics these ancient trees had witnessed.
Trees... we think so little about them. They stand majestic in all seasons. They give us shade in the summer, provide warmth in the winter, shelter from the rain in the spring and in the fall they turn beautiful shades of gold and yellow bringing beauty into our lives making saying goodbye the last rays of summer sun a little easier.

Dealing with life!

Recently I have been feeling stressed out and loaded down with the issues of life so when this message arrived in my in box I took it as a message from God to lay my burdens down if only for a while every day.

• Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
  
• Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
  
• Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
  
• Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
  
• If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
  
• If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
  
• It may be that your sole pupose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
  
• Never buy a car you can't push.
  
• Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, becuas then you won't have a leg to stand on.
  
• Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
  
• Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
  
• You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
  
• Some mistakes are too much fun to only make one.
  
• We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
  
• A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
  

(unknown)

Sweet togetherness on a warm summer day.

Some pictures just say it all and put everything in perspective.
"A true photograph need not be explained, nor can it be contained in words." Ansel Adams

Hiking Challenges!

It has been a glorious holiday weekend here on the west coast. Hot sunny days and warm evenings. My daughters and I had the weekend off and decided to make it a hiking weekend. We started by hiking 10K around Bunsen Lake after work on a warm Friday evening. The Buntzen lake trail alternately winds along the lake side and up the hillside. The views are spectacular. The first part of the trial is the most challenging and leads to a small sandy beach. The second part of the trail is not so demanding and leads you back to the main beach and the parking area. While it is not that challenging a hike it is tiring if you are not used to it and none of us had done this trail in over two years. We were expecting the hike to take us about 3 hours and were pleased with ourselves when we finished it in just under 2 1/2 hours and still has some energy to spare. Lucy enjoyed every minute of it only sulking when I put her on the leash around the cliffs for her safety.

Saturday we plotted our next hiking trip over a couple of martini's and a bottle of wine. Buoyed by our success at Buntzen Lake, (the drinks didn't hurt any either) we decided to do the Campbell Lake trail at Harrison. The trail is described on Harrison's web site as "Harrison's answer to the Grouse Grind". "A real cardio-vascular work out". It went on to say that it was a 10K round trip on an unmaintained trail with a nice little trout lake at the top. The lake was the clincher. We all fancied ourselves having a nice lunch and a dip in that lake after our climb. Sunday the weather office had predicted that we would get a bit of a shower and that is always good on a long hike. However, the sun was bright and hot on Sunday morning and showed no signs of letting up. We arrived at the hike not long after 11 am and were a little disconcerted by how steep and rocky the trail was, but bravely encouraging each other we started our ascent into what was to become the hiking trail from hell. The path rose straight up with barely a break and was nothing but rocks and in some places the rocks were wet and slippery. The temperature rose as fast as we did and with sun beating down on those rocks we were slowly cooking. Before long even Lucy had decided she should have stayed home. By 1:00 pm, exhausted,we had at least gotten to the forest at the top. Inside the forest was green and lush and quiet. We sat inside a canopy of trees and had our snack and let the breeze cool us. Thinking that the promised lake was now only a short climb through the woods we set off in a good mood thinking we had beaten this hike. Almost an hour later were soon to be disappointed. The trail seemed to wind on uphill endlessly. We crossed old rotting wooden bridges and stair cases only to arrive at a bridge that was for me impassable. It was tilted on it's side with only one guard rail in place and two of us refused to cross putting an end to our quest for the lake. We could have gone around the bridge, but we all reluctantly agreed that we were too tired and over heated to try and forge a new trail around it. Eeven Lucy was showing signs of exhaustion. Disappointed we turned back. Our descent did not take as long as our ascent, but was just as treacherous in places. The wet rocks hard to climb when going up hill became lethal downhill and at one point I landed on my butt hitting my elbow on rocks and my daughter came tumbling down beside me. Fortunately the damage was mild and we all arrived exhausted, over heated and tired at the car at 3:00 pm. Today, looking at the pictures, I can hardly believe just how high we climbed on one of the hottest days of the summer. The fact that we did not make our main objective, the lake, means little. The fact that we met the challenges of the worst of the hike is quite an accomplishment for a bunch of weekend hikers.