Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The Beginning and the End

Well today is my birthday. It's the celebration of the day I began. My task for today is  to visit a hospice and interview and photograph a woman who is dying and the musician who is helping her ease into the passage of her final days. That's a powerful way to spend time being reminded that our days are numbered and that how we spend our final hours depends on what we valued in life. So today I took a page from many leaders books and followed the suggestion to write my own obituary (you'll note there's no date or age on it ;-) though.

Kelly Lee Marie Parry (nee Mathieu)

Artist, humourist, horsewoman Kelly Parry passed away peacefully on a warm summer day sitting under an ancient Oak tree where she shared time with her hubby, horse, dog and cat.  She was found with a gentle smile on her lips and hands facing upward to embrace the sun and sky. This is a fitting end to a life well-lived and a humble representation of the love of and for the animals and humans in her life.
She believed in God simply because she wanted to not because she had to. The thought of God gave purpose and beauty to her life. She believed in the bond between four-legged critters and their ability to transform two-legged people. She loved deeply towards a few and warmly to all who came in contact with her. Her lesson to others is to meet each other halfway and if you want to be heard you have to first be willing to listen.
With a strong belief in the human spirit to lean towards the good she shared her thoughts and ideas in several books that made the best sellers list. She was known for her ability to put a unique and often humourous spin on the world of human foibles and public affairs. In her final years she enjoyed a satisfying level of success and acceptance by a small but loyal cult following interested in her insights on spirituality, morality, and community spirit.
Here are the words she would want you to remember. "There is something wonderful waiting in the world for you. Something glorious to opened up and explored. It won't come in the excitement of the world but only in the quiet of your heart. So stop and listen. Trust. Love."

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

I Am A Zillion

The one thing I have learned in doing this 26 days of blogging is that I am, in fact, a zillion different things. There's no one word that describes me - or anyone else for that matter - but it's been fun putting on different words like different hats in a thrift store. Now that I'm done I'm not sure where I'll go from here but if you've been following any of this I just want to say a big:

THANK YOU

Sunday, March 24, 2013

I Am A Yardstick

A yardstick measures length and my body measures time. I've grown up inch by inch both vertically and, yes, horizontally LOL. The bumps and scars on my body measure the time I've spent on this earth and tell their own story of my growth. The passage of thoughts and ideas that run through my mind must measure in the trillions of feet if somehow you could lay them out word-by-word. My existence can be measured by the decades and fads of our time with some ideas returning once again from my youth. No matter what, I have inherited and now own, I can take some time to measure the pro and cons and use that information to draft a different blueprint for my life.

I Am A Xylophone

It's really hard to find a word that starts with the letter X. Xylophone harkens back to my letter learning days in elementary school. It's a fun word don't you think? It's also fun to play. I loved the little rainbow covered keys of the toy xylophones I had as a kid and played mostly to make the noise. Of course that memory doesn't explain how I'm a xylophone. But that's all I have right now. Considering it's 2:44am on a Sunday morning I think this is pretty good.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

I Am A Word

I just haven't figured out which one yet.

Friday, March 22, 2013

I Am A Victor

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The other day I was thinking about all of the challenges that I've overcome in my life. A quiet, inner nature made my childhood a lovely thing filled with a rich world inside. When the age of reason began to interfer in my youth and the perplexities of reality overwhelmed me I turned to drinking and lost the years when I should have been figuring out my place in the world. When bottom hit, and it hit hard, I wasn't seasoned to deal with the world but I did, step-by-step figure things out. Life and all it's tradegies seem to come in wave after wave once I got my feet on the ground. It would be easy to feel sorry for myself, and certainly some days I do, but in truth, I am a victor over the challenges in my life. So are so many of the people I love. It's too bad we measure success by what people achieve in the world and not by how brave we all face our failures.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

I Am a Ukulele

Okay, I'm not really a ukulele but I do like them. Today I'm too tired to think of anything brilliant. When I'm like this I often go to Youtube to view my favourite ukulele musicians. Here's a few links for your enjoyment.

It's Time to Get Laid - Bill Macy and Kate Micucci

The Happy Song - Kate Micucci

I Like You - Kate Micucci

An Open Letter to Stephen Fry - Molly Lewis

Wikipedia Breakup Song - Molly Lewis

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve - Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon

There's many more but I'm too tired to go on.

I Am A Teardrop

Sappy. That's me. I cry at many things. TV commercials. Athletes winning big games. Sunrises and sunsets. I'm probably not unusual or unique but I like being sappy. I love it when Geoff watches me at that moment waiting for me to sniffle. My mom and I would watch those "made for TV" movies and she'd say, "Kelly are you crying?" I'd reply, "Nooo...." all the while wiping my eyes. Its a great feeling to tap into the sentimental side of life sometimes. It makes me grateful for being alive.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

I Am A Student

In my mind I'll always be a student. In fact, if I ever won the lottery I'd go back to school full-time just to learn anything that didn't lead to a career. Maybe a masters degree in comparative theology or try and, likely fail, some degree in physics or mathematics. Who knows what I could be good at if given a chance? I miss the days of college when you sat around and had deep conversations about ideas. Just for the sake of exploration. Entertaining different thoughts with a wide range of friends was so inspiring. Most of the time my studies are just kept to myself but I have some wonderful friends who are there to walk the student path with me.