Christmas Greetings

Almost Christmas and I have noted a change in the air, slight but noticeable from where I stand...People are feeling the energies of change, which starts with each one of us. The journeys we take in life can be defined or ignored and I wish that everyone on this earth can take the time to "define them". This will most likely take one on a individual journey of searching out our truth. Well what the heck does this mean. Only you the individual will know... perhaps it is dealing with past pain associated with family! We are what we have been taught and of course this can be a can of worms for a lot of us... Do we really want to go down that road to question what we have been taught? Can we actually change some behaviour patterns that "do not serve us anymore". Perhaps there is a lot of guilt associated with our behaviour throughout our lives and is it best to sweep it under the rug and keep on truckin rather than make an adjustment. Sometimes this adjustment can change a whole lot of things. Abuse, loneliness, abandonment - can we short circut this so that we do not pass the traits on to our children and keep all of this in our family lineage. Only you or I can make this assessment and deal with it. Perhaps if we cleaned our own house first the world would not be in the mess it is. There is so much material out there to re-educate us! Take 2011 as the year to clean house. Times are a changing.... With the year 2012 fast approaching our spiritual self is what will "define us".... Will the world end, I believe it will not! Will we be living the same as now, I hardly doubt it! Mother Earth is providing all kinds of wake up calls. Whatever our beliefs our we need to go to our heart and not the "ego mind". Forgiveness for ourselves and those around us are paramount to allow the healing process to begin. The earth is slowing down, scientifically proven, and our energies are slowing as well. We are linked people, plants, animals... The feminine spirit is now held in Peru and hopefully will re-create the "feminine devine" to take us to a new level of spirituality and end some of the disastrous events that have and do live with us today. You would think that with all the advances that we have made that all wars and vehicles of war would not be amongst us, threatening our way of life and threatening the survival of this earth and the people on it. We are so consumed with just surviving that we have no time to dwell on what we could or could not do to help any controversial subject let alone the healing of our own lives. I personally think that this is a design flaw but a very radical one placed on us to prevent us from even thinking logically about how we are manipulated in today's world. Lets just go get a movie, let our kids indulge themselves in their ipods and computers so that we do not have to deal with their behaviour or moods. What happened to playing outside until dark, investigating nature, getting down and dirty in the dirt. Falling asleep from great outdoor exhaustion. Waking up the next day at dawn just to get down and dirty again. Eat a bug or a worm, didn't hurt us! We had our minds to create and our imaginations to play with. This does not exist today...Family fun, simple picnic outings, things that did not cost us other than our time....Well speaking of time, is it on our side or not, only you and I can judge this. And speaking of judging - lets take 2011 to analyze how and why we judge. If we can remove this from our life, it will be another start to a new journey, one of forgiveness. Allow the car to move into your lane, hold a door open, speak kindly, love your neighbour as you wold love yourself, heal old wounds, tell someone that you are sorry and mean it, pay pack a loan or two, spend quality time with your children, love your pets, grown a garden in the spring, eat wholesome foods, give back in all aspects of your life... LOVE, LAUGH AND LIVE with kindess and generosity. Take this challenge, pass it on and we will start to feel the energetic shif towards goodness, God and love. Enjoy this festive season with your family and friends, be healthy and may only truly wonderful blessings come your way in 2011... Namastee Maureen

Here in southern Alberta we are heading towards the "last of our summer days" although if you talk to most Albertans we have not had a summer yet. As I look out over the vast landscape I see yet another turbulent "thundercloud" headed our way. I don't think we have escaped a day this summer without the rumble of "thunder" and the vivid lightning strikes. I must admit though southern Alberta has never looked so green. The crops are alive and well around Black Diamond and Okotoks unless you say "hay", which for the most part is a dark brownish color now all rolled or bailed. Lets hope we get another chance at another crop. The canola is bright yellow set against all shades of green. The wind rolls through the fields making waves of green. From my artistic standpoint I cannot express how vibrant and alive these colors are! Vibrant skies full of color and mischief are another delight for me and if you have viewed my paintings you will understand how excited I can get when the storm clouds start rolling bringing chaotic wild shapes and forms. Around the world though things are not well as far as storms and devastation. So I will be content with what we have and endure what we get and send love and light to those around the world who are suffering a much worse fate that we can imagine. We are extremely blessed to have food, shelter and the necessities of life. I would like to take a moment to express my heartfelt thoughts for Cole Irvine and his family. For you "Cole" I would like to imagine every day that you will walk and once again resume your life. Never give up! You have a community of friends to support you with love and light! For everyone "enjoy" your summer and live life to the fullest.....

Today, Saturday, January 16th, 2010 a new decade! I cannot help but wonder what lies ahead for the world. As we all begin to unravel the upcoming decade with the thought of the Mayan calendar edging its way towards 2012 and the impending debate on just this alone. "Haiti" the tragedy.... Do we wonder why we live in a time and place of plenty while others do not.... Today in southern Alberta was one of those days... In the midst of our winter we are "chinooking" as I like to call it! Balmy tropical weather that brings hope that spring is here, but us Albertans know that it is not, but we bathe in the thought, while walking in the sunshine and warm temperatures! I know what privilege is as I sit beside the warmth of the fire that I built. I am looking west towards the foothills. They are etched now as dark jagged shadows against the azure skies. The moon is a sliver with a few stars starting to make their way into the night sky. The hints of yellow are apparent set just above those jagged shadows of the foothills. The dusky blue is next and then as you look upward the shades of blue start to darken. It is peaceful, no wind, just the howling of a few coyotes. My border collies are alert to their yips.... I know that I am privileged. I sit with "mother nature". I hear the call of her heart as it beats, calling to all those that would listen! I listen.... I chose this life style a long time ago.... I think I was about twelve when I realized that there was much more to the bodies that we live in and much more to this wonderous world that we live in... I choose to live where "mother nature" resides, where the turmoil of life can be excluded form our physce... The time has come to pass in our lives when it is all our turn to listen.. There is just to much at stake not to. I know that the larger pictures is just to much to handle so it is up to us individually to make changes, first within ourselves then outwards and onwards to help "mother earth" and the future generations. We all know "instinctively" what we need to do, our choice is do we listen or do we turn our heads. We will not be privileged forever, our choices in respect of our environment, water and food will only become more paramount in our future. But tonight, I sit amazed as the night comes forward and a million starts our mine to gaze upon. There are no city lights to hinder my view and if I sit long enough I will start to see a few of those stars dart and disappear into our atmosphere. I have always thought that those stars that drop from our universe bring new life. For the moment I just simply sit amazed!

Has anyone seen the movie Invictus? I found this to be a very emotionally moving picture by Clint Eastwood. A man with many talents, and this movie makes the statement that with some foresight and thinking outside the box a "man" and a "nation" can be moved. Myself, being part of the older generation and coming with this generation has always been "thinking outside the box", makes me realize that this world can change with the right people in power and the rest having an open heart to seek change. This could not have come at a better time in our history than now! Each individual should seek the change wherein the "ego" declines it's position and the "heart" takes over. Decisions based on compassion over "ego" would take our planet into a higher consciousness and benefit mankind, Mother Nature and all the life that lives on our disrupted and disturbed planet. You can see from a climate conference in Denmark that we can only settle on one thing. "We cannot disrupt our present status of business as usual" to help correct a situation that all nations have caused. What will it take to implement enough change to make a difference. Perhaps not enough in our lifetime to save this lifetime. Big business wins again, not the generation of children to come. We have great minds and no one wants to access them for their insight, because it might disrupt the car manufacturers, the oil and gas, the pharmaceutical companies, banks and the Wall street guys along with numerous others that can only think about their balance sheet and the "status quo". I implore the upcoming generations to step up take the challenge head on and stand up for your beliefs. This is such a passive and complacent society, so caught up in every day living that there is no time to think about making a change within themselves let alone one that would inspire a whole community, province or country/nation. I heard that interest rates might be on the rise. What for? Are the banks not making enough money. NOT! But obviously it is not enough! Too bad so sad because consumers could actually own a home, a car and necessities of life. So what is wrong with this picture? A weakened government that will not commit to helping people so they can enjoy part of their life, let's say with their families. Instead people have to work double time just to make ends meet. This again goes back to the "status quo" of not being able to think outside the box to make changes within and without. Too bad too sad!

Alive in the Foothills

Even in tough and rough times, we can be thankful for what we have. Living in Southern Alberta, set up against the magnificent foothills, we can almost get lost in the purest light of the Alberta skies. People are generous, outgoing, steadfast and can gain even more strength from the heritage that surrounds the vast land holdings. Here the land runs into the Foothills creating majesty beyond words....The last frontier of the "West", lets keep in this way.....