Picking Up Where We Left Off

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British Columbia, Canada, Diana Schwenk, family, friends, growing up, health, Hump Day Chronicles, joy, laughter, living in the moment, love, memories

On April 20th I boarded a plane to visit a dear friend and celebrate her birthday. Sue and I first met in 1981 when we were neighbours on Rue Narcisse in Chateauguay, Quebec. Our thirty-seven year friendship saw us cross paths many times over the years, from Montreal to Kamloops to Calgary, with Sue eventually leaving for Vancouver to stay. Our friendship, in all honesty feels more like we are sisters.

The last time I saw Sue in Vancouver was during a business trip in 2009, and then we planned a Thanksgiving trip in our old stomping grounds in Kamloops in 2012, even making time to drive up the mountain to Pinantan Lake where we both lived until Sue and family moved to the mainland.

The really cool thing about a friendship like ours is that it doesn’t really matter how much time or distance comes between us, we pick up right where we left off when we finally see each other again.

Pinantan Lake, BC in the late 80s

While there, on this recent visit, I also had an opportunity to catch up with other friends, like Stephanie who was a teenager when we met at the Mustard Seed. And Scott, who also hails from Chateauguay, and Marie whom Sue first met in Montreal, and I later met in the late eighties in Pinantan Lake, British Columbia.

Stephanie, me and Sue – April 2018

It was so wonderful to sit around a table sharing meals and memories with these wonderful people. And walk around Sue’s neighbourhood, including a five kilometer hike to the falls in Golden Ears Provincial Park. I’m also very grateful to Scott for giving us a tour of the Fraser River on his boat.

Marie, Sue and Diana

Scott, Diana and Sue

On the Fraser River

Golden Ears Provincial Park

The air in the rain forest is so rejuvenating

Who knew that three days with old friends in beautiful British Columbia could be so energizing and good for the soul?

Thank you my friends for your over-the-top hospitality. I’m already looking forward to the day when I can visit again!

~ THE HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

There’s nothing more precious than friendship.

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Beauty

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200 words, beauty, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, life, living in the moment, love, peace, Purpose, Relationships

While you are upon the earth, enjoy the good things that are here.

– John Seldon

We tend to see imperfections, things, that at first glance, don’t fit right. They stand in our way like obtrusive obstacles.

But what would happen if we purposely looked for beauty?

I think we would find beauty. I think we would see how each inanimate object, each living creature, including you and me, can bring balance and create beauty in our world.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Of beauty, khalil Gibran writes,

…a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted.

It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear,

But rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears.

It is not the sap within the furrowed bark, nor a wing attached to a claw,

But rather a garden forever in bloom and a flock of angels for ever in flight.

People of Orphalese, beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.

But you are life and you are the veil.

Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.

But you are eternity and you are the mirror.

What If She Forgets Me?

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200 words, compassion, courage, dementia, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, laughter, Life's like that, living in the moment, love, memories, Mom, Relationships

Mom in the Dominican Republic

This loss spills out over things I never thought it would touch and i am shattered by the falsehood of permanence.

– Chloe Frayne

She’s slipping away, bit by bit. In many ways I’ve already lost the woman I’ve known as mother all my life. She’s being replaced with a new woman, one who has endearing qualities of her own, one who although a stranger to me, I’m struggling to know.

What a conundrum to build a new relationship, when memories created moments ago, are forgotten as quickly as they are experienced.

Yet what a gift it is in teaching me how to ‘live in the moment, love in the moment,‘ right in the moment we have.

She may not remember my visit, or the laughs we shared at the dinner table, or the conversation we had on the phone, or that the big-comfy-after-bath-housecoat I bought her, is hanging in her closet, but I hope with all my heart, the love shared in these moments transcends the moments, and makes its home in her heart forever, even if one day, she forgets me.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

I’ll remember for us both, love you mom.

 

My Word For 2018

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believe, courage, encouragement, Fear, growing up, growth, Happy New Year, letting go, love, mindful, power, powerlessness, release, resiliency, surrender, trust, Truth

Have you ever noticed that the circumstances in life that you struggle with the most seem to repeat themselves over and over again, until you finally find a way to handle them differently?

In past years, I have chosen a word for the upcoming new year. Words like tenacity and service, or perhaps the words actually chose me as my friend Louise Gallagher, over at Dare Boldly has often suggested.

I am certain that my word for 2018 chose me.

Let It Go.

Yes, I know those are three words, but no single word I’ve found, such as release, or surrender, or acquiesce, have fully meant to me what those three little words have come to mean.

I realize, as well, that those three little words have not just made their debut in 2017. They have been waiting patiently at the sidelines for three years, maybe more.

You see, in my family, an issue arises and we scramble to “Fix It”. This works well when it’s a manageable situation like, my car won’t start – call AMA, or my computer is acting up – have you tried rebooting it.

Yet there are many situations in life where you can do all you know to do, and it doesn’t get fixed. There are variables that are simply out of your control, and those are the very things, in my case, that can roll around in my head like a PowerPoint presentation or video that has been set to ‘continuous loop.’

That loop can take over, and more often than not, it prevents me from taking action in other situations, over which I actually have some measure of power to make a difference.

And so, those three little words unassumingly step forward for the millionth time to gently nudge me, encourage me to recognize, to really see that it is time to let it go, to trust, and accept, and even embrace the natural unfolding of what is.

And yes, it really is as simple as that.

Wishing you all an amazing 2018 filled with courage, growth, resiliency and love,

Diana

The Sheer Force of Sorrow

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connecting, courage, death, destroy, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, force, grief, health, humanity, life, Life's like that, living in the moment, loss, love, memories, paradox, power, save

When you use the sheer force of your sorrow to crack open your heart, it promises to drop you down into a deeper capacity for compassion and care for all living beings. You become initiated into your own humanity in a way that connects you to all life. Such is the paradox of grief. It holds the power to either destroy or to save you. Which one is up to you.

Katherine Woodward Thomas

● DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ●

What gives your life meaning? What helps you to remember it?

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200 words, Calgary, caring, compassion, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, Louise Gallagher, love, mission, Purpose, Relationships

Symbols can be so beautiful, sometimes.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr

Yesterday I had the pleasure of Louise Gallagher’s company. It has become a tradition for us to meet each year before Christmas. And I always leave our time together re-energized.

Among the many topics we cover, we talk about Louise’s current move to a new home. I imagine, because of Louise’s creative soul, she must have lots to pack as she’d be inclined to keep things that might be used in a future art project.

“Yes I do,” she affirms, and holds up a print out saying, “I look at this and wonder how I could use it for art.” She goes on to tell me about an empty container she keeps that reminds her to ‘hold space’ for things she cannot change, like the hurts she has caused others, or others’ have caused her.

I pull a black, shiny stone out of my pocket – an Apache Tear – and tell her when I feel it in my pocket I remember those whom I have lost in this life, and those who still struggle.

Do you have a meaningful object? What does it remind you of?

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Obstacles

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bigger purpose, community, compassion, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, encouragement, Fear, greater good, humanity, joy, kindness, life, Life's like that, loss, love, making a difference, mission, perserverance, Purpose, Relationships, sorrow, trust, vision, world issues

Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal.

– Vince Lombardi

Two things that stand out to me, when Dad taught me to drive are, don’t let the guy behind you pressure you. Don’t drive faster for him. Drive the speed you feel comfortable with. And, Look where you want to go. Look as far up the road as is visually possible. Don’t look at the sharp corner you’re on. You saw that a while back, you knew it was coming, you’ll get through it.

Sometimes while in the curves life throws at us, we feel the pressures of life pushing us to do something we’re not comfortable with. We can’t take our eyes off the current situation. We’re looking for a quick fix. It is then when we must fight the urge to focus on the trouble we’re in and keep our eyes on where we’re headed.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Perspective: Maybe God is taking you through troubled waters because your enemy can’t swim.

One Way We Can Tell…

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apathy, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, doing the right thing, Earth, Fear, God, greater good, greed, growing up, humanity, integrity, kindness, love, mission, nature, peace, Purpose, Religion and Spirituality, systems, world issues

 

Love is always the answer.

One way we can tell if something is done in love or not, is to ask ourselves if it is inclusive or exclusive.

This seems an easier question when practiced individually. For instance, I can easily judge my own actions and motives and determine if they are inclusive or not, and match up with my personal values.

But it becomes harder to live this in our global systems, whether that be governments, corporations, religious groups, educational systems or any other groups. These systems often benefit the few and leave everyone else out in the cold. They contradict what we hold dear individually, and most shockingly, we seem ok with it and deem our values irrelevant because that is what needs to be done if we want to ensure the economy thrives, and our belief system stays intact, and (insert any other terrifying disaster) does not come to pass. At least that is what we have come to accept. We think that we must either play along, or fall into chaos. It’s either this or that.

How do we reconcile that? How do we cherish the truth which love; love for humanity, love for all living creatures, love for our planet reveals, and continue to buy into a system that serves the few and excludes the many? Is it really only this or that, or is there another way?

One way we can tell if something is done in love or not, is to ask ourselves if it is inclusive or exclusive.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

The Mess

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200 words, caring, community, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, Fear, growing up, idealism, integrity, Life's like that, love, next generation, Purpose, world issues

Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.

 — George Orwell

Hear about that car accident? Yeah, probably a teenager on drugs. They’re all on drugs you know? They have no idea of the worth of a dollar. They’re lazy. They don’t care what they look like – no respect for anybody. LOVE LOVE LOVE – yeah right, loose morals if you ask me!

Sound familiar? Not so different from words I hear today about the next generation.

But we were the generation that wanted to see the end of war, that wanted to feed the world, that wanted to give peace a chance, that felt we were handed a mess. We were idealists.

And then something happened. We grew up. We had families. We got tired. We looked out for #1. We wanted to make sure our children would be looked after in our little corner of the world. We put blinders on. We forgot about the grander picture. And the next generation says we left them a mess. They are idealists.

Well maybe they won’t forget. Maybe they won’t grow tired.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

A Story of Gratitude on Thanksgiving

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200 words, Dad, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, family, Gratitude, growing up, happy, health, life, love, parents, perspective, Relationships, Thanksgiving

Me, Shannon and Dad in 1985

Never let things you want, make you forget the things you have.

In the summer of 2015, Dad called and insisted that I visit that September. Looking back, I am grateful he did so, as unknown to any of us, Dad would pass away two months later.

When I reflect on what I am grateful for, Dad is at the top of the list. I know how fortunate I am to have had a father who loved me, and kept me safe, who was in my life for 52 years.

Dad also was a grateful man. During that 2015 visit, from the couch he practically lived on due to the back pain he’d suffered, he looked at me and said, “You know, Diana…I cannot really complain about anything, I’ve had a great life.”

“A great life, Dad? You grew up in war-torn Berlin. Your windows imploded when bombs were dropped. You were hungry much of the time!”

I don’t remember his answer verbatim, but it was something like, “yes, but we looked out for each other on our street, we shared everything. I was loved.”

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

This Thanksgiving, don’t forget what you have…