A NEW POPE, SO?

A new pope has been elected, finally, after a month of speculations and news casts, we have the 76th year old Pope Francis (Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio).

I don't understand all the fuss even if I was raised as a Catholic. For the first few years of my life I was forced to attend Church every Sunday even if my grandmother didn't. I attended a Catholic school ran by nuns and, in grade sixth, I had a great teacher, her name was Sister Cecile, she was full of life and she attended church every day, sometimes twice a day. Soon after a couple of friends and I attended mass once and sometimes twice a day during that school year. I suspect I was looking for Sister Cecile's approval. This piety lasted until the end of my grade sixth year, I guess I did not have the CALLING and my inquisitive mind did not find the answers it was looking for. I guess I lacked faith, that blind faith.

I used to be intimidated by priests until I got to know one better, this one used to come to my aunt's house on a regular basis for many years while I grew up, I soon realized that he was just a man like all the others and that he liked little girls, especially when they sat on his lap. Fortunately for me, that was the extent of my experience with a priest. Then he got transferred and that was it.

However, as I got older and asked more questions that would remain unanswered or avoided, I decided that religion should be a personal affair, I believe in God, but I seriously question the Church and its leaders. Christ was a loving and forgiving soul unlike his Representative.

My impression of the Vatican is that its an institution that has grown on the back of the weakest, I am not sure what they have done for the people that would merit such attention. I couldn't believe the size of the crowd gathered at the Basilica to find out who the next Pope was going to be. The King of the Catholics, a spiritual King, leading a sick Kingdom. Again, I believe in God but not in the Church, at least not this one, I doubt that today's Church is in God's image.

And why do Popes have to have one foot in the grave to be elected, why can't they elect a forty year old one, is it because he may live to long and others won't get a turn? It would be nice to see a passionate person as a Pope, someone with energy and vision. But, they elected an old man, again. Congratulations to the New POPE, you made it !!!

For me the Vatican is nothing more than a fancy Boy's Club where a bunch of men decides what kind of life women and the less educated can have. So, so, so far from our reality.

VENTING

It has been a long time, but lately I have been getting all kinds of links regarding animal cruelty of all kinds, shark finning, dog farming for meat, news of some crazy man shooting innocent children at school. Then you read stuff like inhuman slaughtering of animals, and I wonder what is a human slaughtering? Is instant death what makes it human?

For instance, lets take the sharks, sharks may kill about 30 humans a year but humans kill over 100 000 sharks a year. And what about dogs? How many humans have dogs killed? How many dogs, cats, pigs, cows, chickens and other God creatures are we killing a year? And how many humans are killed by humans?

I am ashamed to say, I killed, yes I did, I directly killed a six week old kitty by stepping on its back in the middle of the night, I was going to the washroom in the dark, the experience traumatized my best friend who was sleeping over that night, and I felt like..., I still haven't found a word for how I felt that night, forty years ago. I am still thinking about it.

Anyhow, my point is I would like to understand, no, maybe I don't, matter of fact I don't want to understand why people become killers, killers of animals or killers of man. Understanding would equal forgiveness. As of late, I take to thanking the part of an animal on my plate for giving its life so I can savor its flesh feeling less guilt. A a few times a  week I try to convert to vegetarianism  but it requires a lot of preparation time, so I compromise by not eating meat a few days a week, I consider its a beginning.

Its a two edge sword, no animals in the food chain, I would eat other stuff, but if I stop eating meat would the demands diminish, would fewer animals get to the slaughter house? I am heading in the vegetarian direction, eventually, one day, maybe sooner than anticipated.

But what about killers of men? War, cruelty, vengeance, passion crimes and whatever reasons people kill people, it doesn't matter if I am a vegetarian or not, it won't impact how many people will die at the hands of a human. I wonder if in our gene pool exist a couple of designer genes, one that makes some of us pacifists and the other, killers. Go figure, what if everyone had the pacifist gene? How would that play out, the planet is over populated in some area as it is, imagine if there was no war, would we also inherit a birth regulator gene? Balance...

To be ....

The food on our plates, what about it?

Have you ever stopped to really think about the food on your plate, where it comes from and how it impacts our world? Recently I read a book called “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer and, although I read many books on the subject, this book spoke to me more than any others.

I love the tone and the stories around the main subject; even if I often question myself about my eating habits this book opened up new avenues of questioning.

I would like to start a world revolution about our relationship with food, awaken a consciousness about the legitimacy of man’s supremacy over the animal world.

It is said that we can not stop progress however; I wish we could use it wisely. I don’t think that using technology for fisheries and depleting our oceans are wise choices. Did you know that the fishing of the precious tuna that everyone loves so much is responsible for the killing of 145 species of sea creatures? And, that for every shrimp fished out there are twenty-six pounds of sea creatures killed as by catch? Check this link about the Seafood Crisis:  http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/10/seafood-crisis/greenberg-text

Over-fishing is dangerous for all of us, it endangers the balance of the oceans. What will we do once all the fishes are gone? http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/photos/oceans-overfishing/

As I walked through the aisles of supermarkets, I can not help wondering if we really need this much food and varieties. Yes, yes…variety is the spice of life! But, isn’t also its death? It really boils down to the choices we make, I am certain that most of our kitchens are packed with things that will either sit on the shelves or be thrown away. I am ashamed to say that I am guilty of this myself.

I am not preaching vegetarianism but I am starting to understand that we can make better choices. If we all started to choose our food wisely, we as a people could have a positive impact on how the food industry manages its resources. For example, we could cut down our meat and fish intake, and when we want meat or fish, we buy it from biological, organic or family farms, and we buy local as much as possible, I grant you it is a bit more expensive but it has its advantages, it is better for us and the planet. I believe this will also bring consciousness to the dinner table and a sense of pride knowing that even in a small way you are contributing to helping the planet and all its inhabitants.Check this article about factory farming: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/10/13/factory-farming-is-not-the-best-we-have-to-offer/

Let’s face it we all know the cruelty animals face in this big corporate food market, unfortunately, we choose to ignore it. So, I am challenging everyone to make changes and raise their awareness. Be aware of what is served on your plate and be grateful for each bite you take.

We have to send a message to the fishing industries that they have to be more responsible in their way of operating. Collateral damage is unacceptable; the killing of tons of sea creatures during fishing expeditions has to stop.

Always remember that "WE" as consumers have power, power by the choices we make and actions we take.

Back to school and mushrooms...

After a sabbatical year from university I decided it was time to finish my Fine Art's degree. This year I signed up for an introduction to color photography and a specialized drawing course.

Our first photo class was the usual overview of what is to come along with a tour of the photography department and its labs. I was impressed and a bit intimidated with the dark rooms, I will have to put my childhood fear of the dark into the closet for the year.

For our first assignment we were able to use a digital camera (since technically, we are not familiar with the old film standard camera), our assignment was to take a picture in response to someone else's picture, I chose the following photo for this assignment:

As I was walking around in the wood trails, I caught a glimpse of this spiderweb shining in the light, it took me several minutes to get back to the exact spot where I could see it. In trying to shoot the spiderweb, I soon realize that the light has everything to do with it, because if you move a fraction of an inch the web disappears, and if the light changes in anyway from that magic moment, all is lost.

While I was looking at things to capture on camera, I discovered that the past days of rain gave birth to a variety of overgrown mushrooms. Last summer I was amazed at the variety hiding out everywhere in our back woods, obviously this year is no different, except that the mushrooms are much bigger, the perfect blend of rain, warm days and cold nights must of had something to do with it all. So, with my camera on hand, I have been shooting mushrooms all around these past few days, the growth cycle is incredibly fast and from day to day their shape, size and color are constantly shifting.

Then, I saw something original, a bit of green life attached to tree bark, I could not resist it, just so out of place yet owning its space. Nature is amazing.

Fools Gold

In my post A Mid Summer Walk I posted a couple pictures of maple leaves wearing their bright yellow and orange autumn colors, I had been surprised by their brightness and vivacity. Now, a couple of weeks later, I walked that same path only to find the leaves dangling in the same position without any changes  in their forms or coloring, that surprised me even more, I expected them to have fallen or changed to a darker tone, so I took a closer look and touched their stems only to realize that they were fake. I had been fooled.

Someone had played a practical joke on us, nature lovers. They had strategically place those leaves in such a way as to draw attention in their direction. I wonder how many people actually stopped to admire this out of place scenery in the mist of summer. How many took pictures, and how many talked about it? How many noticed they were fake? I really have to wonder about my attention to detail...

Amazing how easily we/I can be fool. Now, revisiting the pictures I took a couple of weeks ago I see the unnatural way in which they have been placed, instead of its original beauty I see the staging and the twisted wiring, this unique moment in time has faded and lost its authenticity. I can only hold on to the memory of my first reaction in sighting the unusual display of the perfect autumn leaf in mid-summer. 

Meet the neighbours

Moving to a new community can be a bit uneasy. It has been a little over two years  since we moved to the country side in a village called Morin-Heights. Making friends has been a slow process because not everyone is so eager to welcome you into their group. The first year we arrived I still had my job in the city; so between work, traveling time and my usual household occupations I did not have much time to reach out to make new friends.

However, because of our dogs we were able to meet some of our neighbors and after posting an ad at the village store, we found this great lady who not only loves dogs but is turning out to be a good friend as well.

The first year flew by, we were so busy with getting settled and other stuff that I never really had time to feel lonely. But, in the second year I lost my job, my first thought was: great I will be able to do all the things I love, and I did, and still do. However, I am a people person and I like socializing, I suddenly came to the realization that I did not know that many people in my area, every time I wanted to see my friends or do an activity I would have to drive over an hour to get there and drive back home afterwards and I would have to organize something for the dogs if I was to be gone for more than 6 hours.

It is always a bit scary to fit in a new place and try to make new friends. Most of us have gathered friendships over our life time and are not always that open to make space for new ones. However, when you move far away from you friends and family, somehow you have to start reaching out and build a new network of friendships. Otherwise, it can get very lonely. 

Fortunately, every year our dog sitter and a bunch of her neighbors get together and throw this summer bash, this year was our second year attending and we met more wonderful people. The funny thing about this gathering is that the one thing everyone has in common is living in the same village. Some have been living all year around while others are only doing the part time thing, weekends and vacations. They all have different backgrounds and come from different places. Not too many are born here. It is a bit strange at first, most of us know a couple people and somehow we gather in little groups and find a click that resembles us.

During the evening I gravitated towards a couple of ladies that share some of the same interests, it is amazing how easily you can connect with people when you find a common ground. When we got to talk about art we just couldn't stop, as it turned out we like to paint and draw, we shared our personal approach to attacking a blank canvas, talked about different classes we took and how we benefited from them. They told me about some local artist's association that I should join, and we talked about the local book club that never has any space open for new members and that we should start our own and invite all the people on the other club's waiting list.



I still miss the city from time to time, especially the revolving doors we use to have when the kids were home. There was always something happening, friends and family coming in and out. I thrived with it all, the array of services available, courses, activities, almost everything was walking distance. Very different in the country side, you need your car for pretty much everything and there are less choices around.

However, this place and time has allowed me to take hold of my life, I have come to realize that you don't have to be busy all the time, that taking it easy and smelling all the different aromas the country air has to offer can be very invigorating. Also, it gave me time to work on some personal projects, and time to realize how much I enjoy writing.

For this new year, I feel ready to meet more neighbors and open my heart to new friendships.

Mid summer walk

I am going to borrow part of a phrase I read in a book called The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton, it is only August and the trees are doing a dress rehearsal before autumn gets here.

I was shocked to see these colors at this time. Here they were just hanging around screaming for attention with their bright yellow and orange dresses. My first time around I only had my cell phone camera with me, I took the snap shot scared they wouldn't be around the next day.



You can't be fooled by their colors they have been hanging around for days now, and today I had the chance to use my camera.

I looked around everywhere to see if I could find more, but there was none to be found. Resigned, I kept on my walk hoping to find more peculiar subjects.

I took more pictures, even some with the dogs. Today I was walking four of them, or maybe they
were walking me.

One of them played a trick on me, the black and white dog is called Paco, somehow he decided that he had enough of walking and disappeared, I spent ten minutes looking for him while going back towards his home. There he was, waiting for us, quietly sitting in front of his house. Since he isn't my dog, I was near panic.

I live in an area where there are 168 kilometers of trails going through hills and over streams, a river and small water falls.  

The habitat is left intact beside the paths that are used for snowshoeing and cross country skiing. The owners of the lands have agreed to allow the town to make these trails and maintain them. This makes our area one of the largest network of trails.

The weather this past year has been harsh and lots of trees have fallen due to heavy wind and storms. Everyday this forest unravels a new scenery to behold.

Sometimes during our walk, I run into this elderly gentlemen, I think he told me he was 83 years old, he gets his fire wood from the fallen trees, I think it is a good idea to harvest the dead trees. He drives around his four Wheeler and a made shift trailer, he says this keeps him busy and out of his wife's hair. That is the secret to a long marriage, a busy husband! 

Walking around with dogs also creates opportunities to meet new people, we met some wonderful people, also dog owners,  that have become friends.



I truly appreciate this closeness with nature, it is very grounding.