The Trump Effect

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anxiety, being present, chaos, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, Donald Trump, Fear, future, growing up, human behaviour, human nature, humanity, illusion of control, impatient, integrity, life, Life's like that, living in the moment, panic, peace, politics, Truth

You lose your grip and then you slip into the masterpiece.

~ Leonard Cohen

I’d like to tell you that I’m even-tempered. That I keep a cool head when my patience or my sense of right and wrong are being tested. That the minute I feel my jaw clench in anger, I am able to say some kind of catch phrase like Breathe or Let It Go and I’m magically transported to the present where the stuff I’m losing my cool about hasn’t happened yet and may never ever happen at all. But I’d be lying.

Truth is, this is something I’m always trying to grow into and although I’m getting better at it, I may never master it. But that’s ok as long as I’m trying, right?

What seems funny to me is that when I’m in the midst of ‘losing it,’ I feel perfectly justified. Yet when I see someone else behave in a similar manner, My mouth forms the word WOW and I think to myself, ‘What a wacko.’

The Donald and how some of us react to him is a good example of this. “Oh those bad Canadians, they’re really screwing us over in the milk industry and softwood lumber industry by doing this and that and the bad Mexicans, something to do with chickens blah, blah, blah…and so I’m going to renegotiate to get us a better deal or just pull out of NAFTA all together.”

And then chaos ensues and people are running around to research if what he is saying is really true and if he can actually do what he says he going to do and the news is consumed with the silliest debates, things we all thought we were clear on like is the sky really blue and we wonder well is it and then we think, hey wait a minute… Ugh I GOT CAUGHT UP IN THIS AGAIN!

I’m seriously starting to wonder if he is a genius in the sense that he can so easily get us so wound up and I bet he’s having a nap, or reading the paper or doing laps in a pool, or worse working on something he doesn’t want the public to know about, while we are reacting to a non issue!

Well as it turns out, he can’t just pull out of NAFTA. The worst he can do is sign an executive order that indicates he would like to pull out in six months and then it would go through this huge process and many others would have to want to do the same – bottom line – it’s a process that goes way beyond Donald’s mere wishes…

Anyway, my point really has nothing to do with NAFTA or Donald Trump or politics or how we should navigate these issues. It merely serves as a globally recognizable example of something I struggle with daily – to not immediately react to a situation, to not get pulled into someone else’s chaos, to just breathe, stay in the present and respond in a caring and appropriate way.

` DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

What’s the thing you struggle with? Can you think of a good Trump illustration for it? 😉

2016 Was A Bad Year???

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being in the now, being present, blessings, children, community, compassion, Diana Schwenk, family, friends, happy, health, Hump Day Chronicles, living in the moment, love, memories, New Year, parents, Purpose, Relationships

It seems to me that I was bombarded with the message of the title of this post continually leading up to 2017.

And I guess I understand why, given over 130 well-known people died in 2016, including Canada’s much-loved Leonard Cohen, who incidentally was born in the same year as my much loved father, and given our Albertan economy has taken a nose dive and many people employed  in oil and gas have lost their jobs. I’m sure you have similar or perhaps worse stories you could share from your corner of the world.

But I can’t help thinking that compared to others; we’re doing well here in Canada.

I mean considering the events in other parts of the world, I am fairly certain that ninety-something per cent of the world’s population would gladly change places with almost anyone in our country, knowing their lives would be greatly improved.

That’s why it’s important for me to be grateful for the blessings, large and small, that made up my daily experience in 2016.

On a personal level, these blessings include that more and more when I remember Dad, it brings a smile to my face instead of tears. That although my family is spread out, we’ve all worked harder to connect more often. That with much practice, I am learning to be more present in the moment; to give the person or situation in front of me my full attention – something I will continue to work on in 2017.

Professionally, I’ve seen that our work to engage the community has started to show evidence of authentic and mutually beneficial relationships. People are wanting to be, and becoming involved on many levels of our organization, making a huge difference in the lives of men and women who are in recovery, while hopefully also increasing their own sense of purpose and meaning.

I hope that you too, can find your blessings in the past year when you look back. Here are just a few of mine in the photo gallery below.

A selfie by my brother’s pool

Visit from Germany

Old stomping grounds

Visiting the house I grew up in

soccer!

A visit from down under

A Corpus Christi Christmas

YYC Rocks for Sobriety

Ride for Refuge

Remembering Josee

Christmas 2016

New Year’s Eve

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Wishing you and yours a blessed 2017 filled with moments you can treasure for a lifetime.

Diana xo

Breathe Deep This Moment And Give Thanks

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Alberta, being present, Calgary, Diana Schwenk, Hump Day Chronicles, life, living in the moment, Observer, people watching, summer

A MAGPIE STANDS ITS GROUND EVEN AS I pass within a foot of the table he’s perched upon – the very table I want to sit at.

Instead, I choose the next table. It’s not bad here; a tree to my right provides cool shade in one of my favourite Calgary parks. I set out my note-book and pen, ready to write what I observe and imagine, an exercise to help me be present in the moment.

Across the way, a middle-aged man sets down his groceries, pulls out a cigarette and lights it up. He sits and looks up to the sky while taking a long, slow drag. I wonder if he stops here often – a break of sorts before heading home.

A young boy rides his bike around the park while his watching mother, seated on a bench chats on her phone. He stops to say hi to me, beaming with an ear-to-ear grin. Moments later, he crashes and mom comes running to help him up, comfort him and convince him to get back on his bike.

Across the way, the smoking man glances my way. His hands on his knees, his brows knit together when we make eye contact and he turns away, seemingly in deep thought. Perhaps like me, he’s wondering where the time has gone; when did he get so old.

A boy and a man divided by decades in age.

Is either one aware that now is all there is?

That longing for the past or being anxious about the future robs them of this moment potentially ripe with joy? 

That they would be wise, as would I, to breathe deep this moment and give thanks?

The Smoking Man

A mother comforts her son

A boy rides his bike

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~