Chasing Home - Or Finding It

Hands Painted Like the World

This week I was fortunate enough to have my application accepted to attend a curated audience for the TedxWaterloo event, held at Centre in the Square.  It was an exciting moment - and so inspiring!  The theme was Chasing Home.  It begged the questions, is home where you live now, where you're from, the building you live in - or is it the people that you are surrounded by that make home, home?  From microbial biologists, particle physicists, slam poets, paediatric oncologists, singers, the creator and deliverer of the Mars Rovers to a female handy woman - it was an awe-inspiring event!

For me, the past is not home.  It was a place that led me to where I am today, but it's not home.  My home is in the here and now.  In the walls that make up my house.  In the laughter of my kids, in the smell of coffee made by hubby, in the wagging tails of my two dogs.  It surrounds me in the friends that make me smile, in the bed where I lay, in the garden where I grow.  It fills me with love, hope, and laughter.  It grounds me when I am too excited, too sad, or too stressed.  My home is where I can kick off my high heels, slip my feet into a pair of floppy, pink slippers, and be myself.

Others may argue that home IS where they come from - especially if their parents still reside in the house where they grew up.  That symbol of home may strike the flame that warms the heart when thinking of home.  I have come to learn that home is as personal a place as the shelves of our hearts where we store the memories that made us who we are.  The microbial biologist argued that the community of bacteria and creatures that live in our gut - have a right to be there.  They WANT to be there.  It is there home.  We live in a symbiotic relationship with them - even though we can't see it.  The work they do for us is often ignored - but they are living creatures - without whom our bodies would not be in good working order.  So maybe home is where everyone or everything is kept in balance.  Instead of a location, it is an existence.  An existence of having symbiotic relationships with those that think of you, when they think of home.

Try acting as if your entire community were your home.  Treating everyone within it with respect and appreciation!  Because if we all thought of home as broader-reaching and made meaningful by connections as opposed to thinking more of the walls of our physical home, we could potentially make the world a much warmer place.

I can't believe it but...TEDxWaterloo was a thrilling experience! 

Happy home-making,

Kathy Pettit :)

Sharing the Splendor

 

Totally NOT the bunny I saw but cute!

I recently shared this story with my colleagues, and wanted to pass it along to you.  It was a tiny moment, but I felt it deeply.

 

It was early morning, and before I headed downstairs into the morning zoo that is my family, I opened my bedroom drapes and looked outside.  In the brown, dirty remnants of grass in the fenced patch of land we call our backyard - a tiny, but significant moment was taking place.  Under the bird feeder in my backyard, a giant brown bunny was gobbling up the scattered seeds, surrounded by a flock of chickadees.  Side by side they scavenged the damp ground for the treasures from above.  They weren't at odds with each other, they weren't jockeying for a better position - they were co-existing in this beautiful world in utter harmony.  They recognized there was enough to go around.  They each could get their fill and be content.

 

Amongst the happy (and, let's be honest - at times disgruntled - noises perculating up from downstairs) I recognize how blessed I am to live a life of "plenty."  I have to learn to share more.  There are times when I feel like I don't have "enough."  I have to blink, shake my head and look around and realize I have what I NEED and much, much more!  That quiet moment in my backyard has reminded me that if we all could exist in an environment where we are MOST happy when we make another human being happy, then we have found true and pure joy. I believe all the fighting in the world could be diminished if people really treated others happiness as their own.  I need to share more. Do you have room to be happy making others happy? 

 

I can't believe it but...a bunny and some chickadees shared wisdom with me!

 

Happy sharing,

Kathy Pettit

 

The Future - My Version

A gum commercial that advertises what a "taste experience in the future" will look like, got me thinking.  You know that creepy one where they're in a grey room and some weird black shapes appear in the sky?!   (And before you ask - that's my fireplace smoking - not my brain...seriously you guys are harsh!!)

Why do authors, film makers, and the general public visualize the future as bleak, stark and grey?  There seems to be excessive amounts of metal and concrete associated with our future, along with big random numbers painted on the walls.  The "futuristic" people are typically decked out in dismal colours, all looking alike - and no one appears "happy" in these circumstances.  Why?  Think back to the movies and commercials that reflect the future.  Is there one that I am missing that spins the future in a bright and sunny manner?  Are we so certain we are on the path of destruction and tree killing that we portray the future in that clinical way?  At that point have we used every can of yellow, pink, blue, and green paint that all any store has left is fifty shades of grey (totally included that randomly and then re-read it proud of my literal reference to literature - if you consider that literature...jury's out!)?

On all accounts companies, people and organizations are starting to take a more environmentally-friendly approach to life.  Which is great!  But should these changes not start to have a positive effect on our prediction of the future?  Can we actually attempt to paint a wall yellow in the next futuristic movie?  I would like us not to have to be living in a spaceship and eating some chemical concoction of a sea slug genetically altered with corn!

Here's my challenge to you:  Jot down what your future would look like.  Look around your home and imagine what will change, and what will stay the same.  Picture yourself there - with a smile.  I imagine in 1950 they predicted 2012 to be pretty dim and depressing.  Yet here we are.  And now we drive orange cars, have energy efficient lighting, plug our cars in to charge, recycle our paper and waste products, and the majority is not choosing grey as the sole colour to decorate their home!  (Although - on a side note - grey is hot right now.  Not for me though...if I'm going to be stuck with that in my future I'll surround myself in some colour!)

My future is bright and sunny!   Reducing the chemicals we use in our gardens and farms.  Eating more natural, whole foods and avoiding over processing anything into unrecognizable bundles of garbage.  Having neighbours of different cultures, beliefs and backgrounds all respecting each other and supporting each other.  A world where the populace recognizes that stealing, violence and hatred fuel a negative and unsustainable model of survival.  A community where we share the plenty with those that need it so they don't have to resort to the negative measures to meet their basic needs.  I may just write a book about it.  My Little Utopia.  Impossible...nah!  Nothing is impossible.  Difficult, yes...impossible, no! 

I can't believe it but...I referred to 50 shades of grey (paint) and the future in one posting!

Happy jotting,

Kathy Pettit

If YOU Think a Fish Should Climb a Tree...

...and it doesn't - you're going to be very disappointed in that fish!  A friend and neighbour shared Einstein's insight with me, after a glass of wine (or two) and it took me a minute to realize what he was really trying to say.  Then I got it.  Wow. I poured my self another glass of wine to really get into "ponder" mode!  I pondered so much that it's a wonder I remembered this conversation at all :)  The other side is, not only will the fish believe itself stupid, but so will those who judge and believe it should be able to climb a tree.

How many times in life do we put expectations on others on what WE think they SHOULD do?  Or what WE would do if we were them?  I don't live in a glass house - but I'm still not throwing any stones.  I am plainly guilty.  The easy solution to criticize those around us is to assume we are better, smarter and more experienced - we think we have all of the answers to everyone else's problem.  Those assumptions are based on our own personal experiences, and we relay that knowledge assuming every detail is identical to our own.  Life doesn't work that way.  God blessed us each with unique talents and experiences.  If instead, we used those experiences as a stepping stone to HELP those that are struggling - rather than judge them - we would be doing such good in the world. 

If I think a fish should climb a tree, and base my judgement of that said fish on the fact that it can't - then of course my perception is going to be negative!  If I humbly (and this is a hard thing to do - no doubt!) took a step back and really thought about it, I might discover that the task would be an impossible feat.  Instant reaction, however, is to judge, give advice and criticize.  Shame on me.  It is the kinder, more thoughtful person that pauses before speaking and shares that knowledge with me, that in actual fact, it would be impossible for that fish to climb a tree.  My perspective was the assumption that animal was defective in thought, and action.  But that would be wrong.  Only from taking the time to learn about that creature could I discover that the task is impossible.

My goal is to work harder at pausing before giving opinions and advice.  To not judge harshly on decisions made by someone else that is prepared to take ownership for their actions.  I want to really try and see their side of the story and LISTEN to what they saying.  This will be hard for me.  I am going to try, readers.  I hope this posting has made you think about yourself, and how you can positively influence those around you.

I can't believe it but...I discovered something really deep and meaningful whilst enjoying my wine.

In deep thoughts,

Kathy Pettit