My Unique Perspective

My cousin blogged about the 30 Day Photo Challenge a while ago (it originally took place in August) and I think I may finally have some time to participate in it myself.  Actually, I probably don't have the time, but I'm going to try and make some time.  My camera has been collecting a bit of dust lately and it's as good a reason as any to start snapping away again.

I've changed the rules a bit (other than the fact it was supposed to happen in August!) - I'm still going to use their themes, but I'm going to post them over the month of October in my own order.  Also, I can't for the life of me remember where I read this but, in an photography article, the teacher gave an assignment and had their students go out with point-and-shoot cameras instead of SLR's to work on their composition (instead of worrying about focus and white balance and ISO and aperture and shutter speed. . .) which is what I'm going to do as well.  Lately I have also felt that I need to "take a break" from injustice for a bit.  Of course, injustice never stops and it's a burden I carry in my heart all the time, but October's posts will be photographic in nature.  Enjoy My Unique Perspective (or don't and take a month's holiday from My Step by Step Journey)!

Heading Back to School

This year has been SO strange.  Most of the spring I just waited for work to come my way - subbing was slow, Jolica parties were not happening - and I felt like I had no direction at all.  Literally overnight, everything changed.  At the end of April I started tutoring at Sylvan in Winnipeg, which I really enjoyed.  And then 3 weeks after that job started, I got the manager position at Ten Thousand Villages.  My life went from boring to crazy in such a short time span.

I was only at Ten Thousand Villages for a month and a half because of the fact that I also sold Jolica (both Fair Trade companies).  I had run my butt off, driving to Winkler for Villages and then to Winnipeg for Sylvan (sometimes both in one day), and, at times, I wasn't sure which way was up because of the busyness.  A term position then opened up at Genesis House, the woman's shelter where I was a casual worker, and so I signed up for 4 months of nights (midnight to 8 a.m.).  Seriously, looking back at it all right now, I can't believe what I all signed up for this year!

Originally the nights term was to end on November 11, but then I got word that it would end 3 weeks sooner.  Since I didn't have anything else lined up once the term was finished, I got my paperwork together to substitute in Winkler.  And in the mean time, a science position opened up at the high school that I used to teach at 6 years ago and today I found out that I got the term!  It's only from mid-October until the end of January, but I'll take it!  So, I'm heading back to school!!

Carly

InvisiblePeople.tv revisits Winnipeg.  The reason I continue to check out these videos and post them is because the people all give homelessness a voice and a face.  You can choose to ignore it or walk away from it, but it's still there, right in front of us.

invisiblepeople.tv/blog

Trade

I am in the midst of enjoying my month of free Netflix movies online and my cousin recommended I watch "Trade".  As with "The Whistleblower", it's about human trafficking, though this movie brings it a little closer to home as it features Mexico and the U.S.A.  Both movies were hard to watch and I really do want to watch "The Whistleblower" again, but I think "Trade" will have to wait a long while before I even consider watching it again.  It was just SO hard to watch.  Depravity was the word that continued to come to my mind.  And I continued to wonder where our humanity has gone when people become commodities and are bought and sold without regard to the victim, only regard to the money that traffickers gain.

Breaking the Mold (to Smithereens!)

My 30's have been far from perfect, though I'm enjoying them so much more than my 20's.  In your 20's, you think you know everything but in your 30's (at least for me), it's been a realization that I don't know everything - I don't have to know everything - and that's ok.  I think a large part of it for myself has been coming to terms with the life I have lived, and will continue to live.  I have no idea who came up with the word 'normal', but it should be taken out of our vocabulary.  There is no such thing and comparing to what we believe is 'normal' just doesn't get us anywhere.

People will ask what I've been up and I talk about a job here and a job there; some travel here and some travel there.  I've heard the comment that it must be so nice to have so many adventures or the fact that I'm free to do what I choose having nothing to tie me down.  It's doesn't really feel that way - certainly not when you're in the midst of it.  Everything about my life, breaks the mold - there's been no stable job or career, no marriage, no kids, just me and the path that I've been journeying on.

My response to people about my life and its variability has changed as of late.  Don't get me wrong - I still hope to find a partner to journey with and to have a family with, but I'm finding peace, sitting in that pocket, in giving up expectations - my own first, and then those that other people have of me.  So not only do I need to break the mold - it must explode to smithereens!  No trace is left.  We're starting from scratch.  People can think what they want.  I have to live my life.  My journey is uniquely mine - no one else can lay claim to it.  I must embrace it.  Mold, what mold?

The Redeemer ~ Sanctus Real

Sometimes I just wanna start over
Cuz everything looks like a wreck
And I need the courage to carry on
Cuz I can’t see what’s ahead

And there are places I’ve wished I could be
Battles I’ve wanted to win
Dreams that have slipped through my hands
I may never be back again

But I’m still a dreamer
A believer
Oh, I lost my faith in so many things
But I still believe in You
Cuz You can make anything new

Sometimes I just wish we could say
All the things that are easy to hear
Ignore the injustice we see
And explain every unanswered prayer
But I’d rather speak honestly
And wear a tattered heart on my sleeve
Cuz in the middle of my broken dreams
Redemption is here

And I’m still a dreamer
A believer
Oh, I lost my faith in so many things
But I still believe in You
Cuz You are the answer
The Redeemer
Oh, I’ve given up on too many things
But I’m not giving up on You
Cuz You can make anything new

I don’t have every answer in life
But I’m trusting You one day at a time
Cuz You can make a weak heart stay alive
Forever
And this is where heaven and earth collide
I lift my hands, I give my life
This is how my weary heart stays alive

Oh, I’m still a dreamer
Still a believer
And You are the answer
The Redeemer
Cuz You can make anything new
Yeah, You can make anything new

'Progress isn't Enough'

CNN is hitting the chocolate issue hard this week (it being the 10th anniversary of the Harkin-Engel Protocol, signed by major chocolate companies).  I LOVE this interview - Max Foster keeps asking the hard questions and does not accept fluffy answers!

 

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com

At Arm's Length

I was reading an article in Sojourners (August 2011) a while ago and I made note of this quote:

"'Being willing to sit with another person in their pain is something we Americans seem to fear.  This type of intimacy requires a lot of our "self"; it requires that we not hold another person at arm's length, but walk side by side through life.'"

It's so much easier to live life at arm's length, isn't it?  We don't want to get involved and don't want things to get too messy.  But then one day, you wake up and wonder why it feels as though you haven't lived life or why you're all alone.  It's hard to take the risk to share - not only in another's pain, but sharing our own pain with another.  And yet as hard as that is, I have found that there is no other place I'd rather be.  There is nothing easy about it; but there is also nothing as rewarding.  Your heart breaks and heals - all at the very same time.  It requires truth. . .trust. . .and time (all qualities in short supply today).  Some days you want to run the other way as fast as you can; other days, the pain is your only comfort in life and you cling to it as if it were the very thing keeping you alive.  If I'm honest, it's probably the thing that scares me out of my mind, while being the thing I long for the most.

I've heard a lot of movie quotes lately and I want to share one from my VERY FAVORITE movie (of all time - check it out if you haven't seen it yet) Martian Child:

"But right now, you and me here, put together entirely from Adam, sitting on this round rock with a core of liquid iron, held down by this force that so troubles you called gravity, all the while spinning around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour and whizzing through the Milky Way at 600,000 miles an hour in a universe that very well may be chasing its' own tail at the speed of light, and, amidst all this frantic activity, fully cognizant of our own imminent demise, which is a very pretty way of saying we all know we're going to die, we reach out to one another.  Sometimes for the sake of vanity, sometime for reasons you're not old enough to understand yet, but a lot of time we just reach out and expect nothing in return."

I don't want to live at arm's length - I want to reach out instead.

Chocolate's Dark Side

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/19/the-human-cost-of-chocolate

Introducing Freedom

One amazing year together and here's to many more!  Introducing Freedom:

Freedom is Her Name

Freedom is her name.  We've spent a lot of time together in the last year.  Journeying through good times and bad.  I mean, I really don't know where I would be - literally - without her in my life.  She's a great listener and I can always count on her to be there for me.  The road has lead us in many different directions, but we continue venturing on in the path laid out for us.  More about her tomorrow. . .

A Simple Meal for East Africa

Just because today is the deadline that our government is matching donations for the East African Famine does not mean that these people and their plight should escape our thoughts and prayers.  PLEASE DONATE RIGHT NOW - click on the picture to the right and connect with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.  While you are there, check out "A Simple Meal for East Africa" and take some time to consider making this meal as you stand in solidarity with all the children, women and men of East Africa who long for such a meal.

www.foodgrainsbank.ca/ration_meal.aspx

Quick Reminder

Just a quick reminder to get your donations in towards the East African Famine - the government is matching funds until tomorrow (Friday, September 16).  If you don't know which organization to support, you can always click on the picture to the right.  It will link you to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank where you can donate.  Just because the story is not headline news, let's not forget about those who are still suffering.

My Turkish Family

This past week the 5th anniversary of the tragedy at Montreal's Dawson College hit the news and it finally occurred to me why that was significant to me - it means that it's been 5 years since I went to Turkey!  I left home on September 11 and once in Ottawa, I met the 3 other teachers who would become family for the next few months.  We completed our paperwork and on September 13th, while waiting to fly to Istanbul,  we heard about Dawson College just before leaving Canada.

Five years ago today, we landed in Istanbul, Turkey.  I remember arriving late in the day and the drive to our apartments was a bit disappointing since we couldn't really see the city under the darkness of night.  So here's my shout-out to my Turkish family!  Thanks for all the memories!  I miss you guys!

"No road is long with good company."

~Turkish Proverb

Beautiful ~ MercyMe

Days will come when you don’t have the strength.
When all you hear is, you’re not worth anything.
Wondering if you ever could be loved.
And if they truly saw your heart, they’d see too much.

You’re beautiful.

You’re beautiful.

You are made for so much

more than all of this.

You’re beautiful.

You’re beautiful.

You are treasured.

You are sacred.

You are His.

You’re beautiful.

Pray that you have the heart to fight.
‘Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight.
For all the lies you’ve held inside so long.
They are nothing in the shadow of the cross.

You’re beautiful.

You’re beautiful.

You are made for so much

more than all of this.

You’re beautiful.

You’re beautiful.

You are treasured.

You are sacred.

You are His.

You’re beautiful.

Before you ever took a breath.
Long before the world began.
Of all the wonders He possessed,
there was one more precious.
Of all the earth and skies above,
you’re the one He madly loves enough to die.

You’re beautiful.

You’re beautiful.

In His eyes.

You are His.

I know I posted this a few months ago, but the song has been on my heart and I wanted to share it again.  My head knows the truth it contains, but not my heart and so I pray that God would reveal His perspective of me to my heart.

War Refugee

War Refugee from Partners Relief & Development on Vimeo.

A Decade

Moments in history. . .when time stood still. . .forever etched in our memory.

I am not old enough to have witnessed man's first steps on the moon or the assassinations of notable people like Martin Luther King Jr. or John F. Kennedy.  I do remember where I was the night Princess Diana died (and it's almost a miracle that we got the news because we were staying at a remote cabin with 1 TV channel!).  Of course, I remember where I was a decade ago today.

I had somehow just survived my first year of teaching and I think I spent the entire summer trying to catch up on sleep.  I was certainly re-evaluating if I even wanted to teach any more, given how horrible the year had gone, and I was wondering if I had wasted 4 years of my life in university for nothing.  I lacked direction and purpose.  I was 22.


The morning of September 11, 2001, I remember getting up and then heading to town to pick up the mail.  I was frustrated that the radio station was not playing their regular programming and so I started to try various stations, only to find out that all of them were reporting on the same thing - airplanes flying into buildings. . .chaos. . .horror.  From that point on, I couldn't turn off the radio or TV and it took me a number of days to finally say that my life had to go on, even though so many other people lost theirs - either because they died that day or lost someone special in their life and it was as though their own life had ceased.

It feels like yesterday and forever ago, all at the same time.  I cannot have even begun to imagine the life I've lived in the 10 years since that day.  I did go back to teaching - a few times over in fact.  But here I am again, trying to figure out if the classroom is where I'm supposed to be.  I don't question that I'm qualified (not like a decade ago) or that I lack the passion to teach, I just don't know if that's where God desires me to be His hands and feet.

I no longer wonder about wasted years.  I've had so many good and bad experiences since 2001 and if I've ready to take the good, then I must be willing to also take the bad.  Both make me who I am today.  I certainly would never have guessed that I would travel on 3 major trips in that time, visiting 5 different countries around the world.  I don't have quite the direction in life that I'd like, but I am confident that I personally know the One who holds my life and my future.  I am 32.


When we stop to reflect on this day in history in 1 year, 5 years or in 10 years to commemorate the 20th anniversary, what will our world look like then?  When we stop to reflect and think back on that day in 2001, will we see change - in ourselves, in our world?  So much can change in a decade, and even in our world, so much can stay the same.  I can't imagine what the next 10 years will look like for me.  What adventures are around the corner.  The people who I'll meet.  I'll be 42.

The CNN Freedom Project: Free the Slaves

 

thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com

When?

My DVD copy of "The Dark Side of Chocolate" finally arrived and I am urging you to support Not For Sale by purchasing your own copy (donation of $10 is requested) and understanding the issues for yourself.  Many things went through my mind as I watched big chocolate companies and government officials negate and ignore the issue of child trafficking and slavery, all for the sake of their bottom line and their own interests.  But the question that resonates the most is:

When did it become ok to SELL CHILDREN for the sake of OUR OWN INDULGENCE so we can have chocolate - something that these kids will probably never even taste?  When???

nfs.webconnex.com/darkside

Human

I was on Romeo Dallaire's website (www.romeodallaire.com) and wanted to share 2 quotes from it:

"Go now to make a difference in this perilous and broken world.

May you all hold each human life in the same regard as your own.

May you bring serenity and peace to the lives of others.

May God's Loving Spirit go with you and guide you this day and always.

Amen."

~ Convocation Benediction Given by The Rev. Brian Yealland,

Queen's University, 30 October 2003

"ARE ALL HUMANS HUMAN?

OR. . .ARE SOME HUMANS MORE HUMAN THAN OTHERS"

First Day Jitters

You can feel it in the air. . .it's almost like Christmas Eve. . .the anticipation, the excitement. . .the night before school begins.  As I biked to work late last night and passed house after house, I imagined the new outfits, all laid out for the big day (it might be the only day of the year this happens!).  I'm sure that lunches were packed, waiting for the school year to start (again, probably the only day of the year this happens yet too!).  Some type of bag sits in the corner or on a stool with newly sharpened pencils and a clean eraser, anticipating what this year holds.  Yep, you can feel those first day jitters rising in the air. . .I just wonder if all the students are experiencing the same feelings!

(FYI - Teachers may be more nervous and excited for today than their students - I know I always was!)

Your Beloved ~ By the Tree

Lord it was you ~ You created the heavens ~ Lord it was your hands ~ That put the stars in their place ~ Lord it was your voice ~ That commands the morning ~ Cause even oceans & their waves bow at your feet ~ Oh God

Lord who am I ~ Compared to your glory

Lord who am I ~ Compared to your majesty

Cause I'm your beloved ~ Your creation ~ And you love me as I am ~ You call me chosen ~ For your kingdom ~ Unashamed to call me your own ~ Cause I'm your beloved

"My beloved is mine and I am his"

~Song of Songs 2:16

Falling Back into School

I don't know if there's been a change in weather where you are, but it has certainly felt like fall around here this weekend (until today at least!).  We've had the most amazing summer with little precipitation (not great for farmers, but wonderful for the fact that mosquitoes have been almost non-existent in these parts!).  But I guess that the change in weather is good timing as people are heading back to school this week.  For those of you who are excited or miserable, ready or not, the school year begins again and I wish you all the best!

New Heroes

The Whistleblower (that I blogged about a while ago) is playing in Winnipeg for a limited time and I URGE you to check it out.  I don't know that I've ever gotten madder as a movie played - my blood boiled by the end of this movie.  I don't want to give away too much, but while in Bosnia as part of the UN, Kathryn Bolkovac discovered human trafficking in the country.  And if that wasn't bad enough, other police, UN personnel, and diplomats were directly tied into the trafficking by accepting bribes from traffickers trying to avoid jail and/or were literally bringing girls across the border (simply because of their powerful status - no questions were asked).

Kathy is my new hero (as is Larysa Kondracki, the Canadian-born director of the film). . .we need more people like her, working for good.  People who don't use their power to tower over others, but rather use their influence to pull people up from injustice.  People who can't be bought, but rather embrace humanity, no matter the cost.

It's not an easy movie to watch but it's such an important movie, especially in the fight against human trafficking that we face around the world today.

Showtimes (Grant Park):

September 4 & 5:  1:10, 4:20, 7:30, 10:10

September 6, 7, & 8:  4:20, 7:30, 10:10

www.thewhistleblower-movie.com

NOTHING IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN THE TRUTH.

Living in Winkler

I've been living in Winkler for about a month now, enjoying the fact that I can hop on my bike to get to work or to the pool.  It's a totally different living arrangement than I used to when living on my own - it's the basement of a house.  The lower window you see between the front door and the garage is my bedroom window.  Downstairs I also have a living area/kitchenette, bathroom and shared laundry.

Southern Manitoba Concerts

Check this out - it's the Southern Manitoba Concerts and if you look at the Valley Arts Concert, you'll see "Southern Manitoba Community Band".  That's the band I played in last year and I'm waiting for it to start again this fall.  Mark February 25 on your calendar!  More information at:

 www.southernmanitobaconcerts.org/valley-arts-concert

Quote-Book Closes

If you've not been following my Quote-Book this summer (I've added 1 quote per day), click on the tab at the top and check it out.  Hopefully you'll find a few favorites for yourself in the list!