
March 8th, 2010 // By Carolyn
January 10th, 2010 // By Carolyn
"Now in this world of ups and downs,
It's nice to know that there are jackelopes around."
Boundin Sheep
This won't make sense until you watch the following video. I know it’s over 4 minutes, but it’s cute and packs a giggling punch.I love how the jackelope is kindly curious to the lamb…not judgemental, not dragged down into pity or sadness himself…just ready to listen to the response to his question. He doesn’t shy away, avoid, argue with, get pulled down by, or convince. He asks and waits for the lamb to talk.
And then is:
- Patiently understanding.
- Not ridiculing
- being helpful without taking over or solving anything
- Gently encouraging (OK, so maybe he doesn’t handle him the lightest, but his words are kind and gentle)
- Tenderly humorous
- Kindly confident in the sheep’s ability to move forward
It’s profound how the lamb, after the healing influence of the jackelope, accepts the discomfort of the annual shave: the kick out of the back foot waiting to be yanked as a part of life,
- knowing he will come back to dance,
- knowing that the shave, though unpleasant doesn’t ultimately have to impact his ability to bound and rebound,
- knowing that somehow he will survive being “nekked and bare” because his pink buffness didn’t define him.
The video reminded me to be grateful of the jackelopes in my life…those that are compassionate and caring, spending time with me in the rough patches, and relate to me in ways that gently and supportively challenge me to move forward and find ways to bound and rebound.
That jackelope is deceptively wise. Inspires me to be a jackelope to those in my life who might be pink, blue or heliotrope.
If you need a jackelope, show them this video. If you have no one to show the video to, then go to your boss, your Employee Assistance Plan, book an appointment with a counsellor in your area, talk to your teacher. Keep looking for someone who you can safely share your sadness, your shame, your guilt...don't give up, because there are jackelopes out there. Keep looking until you find someone who can gently show you the way to "bound, bound, bound, and rebound".
Who needs a jackelope in your life? Can you be one to them today?
January 7th, 2010 // By Carolyn
We spend so much time complaining about our jobs, that we often forget to contemplate how good they are for us.
I was looking forward to the break in routine of work over the holidays just as much as anybody. I was looking forward to relaxing mornings when the alarm clock didn’t go off, and I could drink my tea with a good book in hand.
However, I did work a few days between Christmas and News Year Day and on my way to work I heard an interview that was billed as one of CBC’s favorite interviews of the year. It started off fairly benignly, as this April 2nd interview had Marcy Markusa interviewing Kirk, as he and his co-worker were using pressurized hot water to blast out frozen culverts. It was your average spring flood interview with normal people being willing to do extraordinary things to do what it takes to save homes, when the interview took a ninety degree turn:
Kirk: We don’t want anybody’s basements to flood, we’re doing what we can.
Marcy: It’s just terrible for you guys to be out here in this weather.
Kirk : We don’t mind it. We enjoy working in it. It doesn’t bother us at all. And to help out the RM’s and to help out if there is a state of emergency, we’re more than happy to help out.
Marcy (with gentle smugness): That’s what you’re saying but you’re not the guy in the ditch. Are you sometimes?
Kirk: Yeah. And believe it or not, he just won 1.999 million dollars and he came back to work in one week for Unijet –that’s because he loves our company so much.
Marcy (in humourous disbelief): ThIs is a lie, that has to be a lie! (turning to Gennadi, the guy working in the ditch)….You won the lottery for real?
Gennadi: Last week, on Wednesday….Marcy: How much did you win? Excuse me?
Gennadi: Almost two million dollars.
Marcy: Awww….Really? So you’re telling (slowly, in disbelief) me that you won nearly two million dollars, and you’re standing in a ditch full of water and ice on a snowy day out in rural Manitoba. Why?
Gennadi (in a patient, tolerant, deadpan voice): I’m working.
(Kirk, busting a gut in the background, unable to contain the hilarity of the situation, as Marcy is working hard to wrap her head around this situation)
Marcy: Is it because you don’t know what to do with the money yet, or???
Gennadi: Not really, not really, I just want to work. It’s not in my…I don’t like stay at home
Marcy: You want to stay busy. And you want to stay busy at this? (incredulous) Cuz this is a grueling job!
Gennadi: It’s good company, it’s good guys working. I enjoy this kind of work.
Marcy (turning to Kirk, the boss): What is it about this man that keeps him working in a ditch of water. As a co-worker, were you surprised he didn’t just say, “See you later, I won nearly 2 million dollars?”
Kirk: I phoned him at exactly the same time when I found out he won and he said, “Captain, I be back in one week and come work for you guys again, cuz I like you guys”
Marcy: And that was it?
Kirk: That was it
Marcy: And his response…did it surprise you?
Kirk: Not really, cuz I don’t understand what else he’ll do. He really likes working here.
That is one of my favorite interviews too. It reminded me of the value of
working.
Sure, not every day is like a Hallmark greeting card. There are days, or even seasons in life where the job sucks, the co-workers are nasty, and the boss is out to get us. Yup. There’s all that. And more.
It’s important to find work you love, and that fits. It’s important to work to create a work culture that fosters a good spirit, or find ways of getting yourself into an environment like that.
But mostly, it’s important to work. Thanx, Gennadi, for reminding me, for reminding all of us, of that.
November 22nd, 2009 // By Carolyn
Thanx, MCF children, for teaching and inspiring me about life, love, courage with the beauty of your performance today.
October 20th, 2009 // By Carolyn


September 11th, 2009 // By Carolyn
September 3rd, 2009 // By Carolyn
Adversity, setbacks, and even trauma may actually be necessary for people to be successful and fulfilled.

August 26th, 2009 // By Carolyn









There is something in us that is drawn to beauty, recognizes it and it restores the soul. It speaks to us at a level that is beyond words ("wow" seems pathetic, but so do all the other words I might use to describe it). We are refreshed by creation, and it puts us in touch with something, Someone larger than ourselves. Expressing that creativity allows the soul to speak.In the creative state a man is taken out of himself. He lets down as it were a bucket into his subconscious, and draws up something which is normally beyond his reach. He mixes this thing with his normal experiences and out of the mixture he makes a work of art.
August 18th, 2009 // By Carolyn


August 8th, 2009 // By Carolyn
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Step #2: We stop for sushi again. This time…we both eat sushi. We
play it conservative: again with chicken and beef, but we throw in one
with smoked salmon and cream cheese…a small but achievable challenge.
He eats it, and isn’t thrilled, but tries it all—and then has cereal
when he gets home because he’s still hungry. Step #3: We talk about how much she’ll love being taken out for sushi. How this shows he cares at multiple levels. Not a lot of talk, just a little. levels. |
| Step #4: We go to Sushi Train at the Forks—her choice and the destination next week. This is a practice run, right at “Ground Zero”. He does the ordering…with a few suggestions from me. We hear that there is deep fried Mars bars somewhere at the Forks and it is our mission to go find them after the sushi (a little chocolate motivation strategically thrown in—and a reward for teacher and student alike). He selects something that interests him, and orders a couple he know that are her favorites and that he’ll at least have to pretend to like. We get the food, and HE. LOVES. THE. GINGER. BEEF. (I think it must be quite good, but then, I wouldn’t know—I hardly got to taste it). The tempura salmon disappear pretty quick too. And to my jaw dropping surprise, he finds himself not only looking forward to making his girl smile, he’s looking forward to next week’s sushi! There will be no eel or octopus (that’s a ways down the road yet). | ![]() |
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Step #5: Deep fried Mars bar. Heaven. Need I say more? He’s good to go…the “just right challenge” prepared him in a way that surprised us both. |