The amateur photographer in me saw Rich Lam’s photograph of the kissing couple in the middle of Vancouver’s June 15, 2011, riot and thought, “Wow, lucky guy. What an incredible catch.” I was considering the photographer lucky, not the boyfriend. Canadian Alexandra Thomas and Australian Scott Jones have become media darlings as a result...
When I was growing up, I was proud to be American. I ate national pride with my breakfast cereal. I still love the country of my birth, but now I’m embarrassed by a lot of what I hear and see. Too much of what’s happening these days eats away at the values I embrace....
I have an almost magical belief in books. I expect to find guidance for whatever question or problem I’m wrestling with just by picking up the right book. And why not? I know I’m not the first person to go through whatever it is that’s tripping me up at any given time. While I...
My life is sailing along pretty smoothly these days so I don’t need to keep looking in certain folders on my computer, the ones labeled “Nice Words”. This hasn’t always been the case. During some lonely and unsettling times, I wasn’t sure I could justify taking up space on the planet. Those nice words...
I feel tender toward the uncertain young woman I was when my life seemed to be spinning out of control. I want to tell her things will turn out all right. She’ll survive the crashes. Sometimes she’ll soar. There will never be a day when something good doesn’t happen. She’ll find happiness, not as...
Robin’s daughter, Michelle, once gently reminded me to be patient with people who had not yet wrapped their minds – or hearts – around acceptance for people whose sexuality was different from what they considered “normal”. She was right. She is a wise young woman, and that’s good. Because soon she will be the...
“We all deserve to have fun, live large, and be ridiculed by less imaginative people existing under the erroneous assumption they get extra credit for being prudent and safe.” Patti Digh, Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally I’ve spent a lot of time in my life...
For a long time, I’ve known my communications deficiencies were deeper than being limited to English, with a smattering of French and German. My animal communication skills are weak. (I’ve written about some of my attempts on Catching Courage: Compassion of crows, Participating in a miracle, Standing broad jumps, Black Boy). Sometimes I mess...
Regular readers of Catching Courage will recognize the name of this poem’s author, Marilyn Raymond. This is the sixth of her poems to appear here. The others are Sunflowers, That Apple, Baba Yaga, Sucking on Stones, and Anne. Marilyn wrote the poem for a special Women’s Day service at the Unitarian Fellowship of Kelowna....
Earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan. Floods in Australia. Battles in Libya. Rising food and fuel prices. The sobering news never ends. Our brief human history is rife with human and natural disasters. So how best to live? One of my role models was a small, fierce chicken. The chicken had nothing more to...
This video of Patrick Henry Hughes was uploaded just over four years ago. It bears re-visiting. Born without eyes and unable to walk or fully straighten his arms and legs, Patrick might have become just another sad story. His father’s fierce love and Patrick’s own determination changed the ending. Patrick showed an aptitude for...
The playground scene haunts me still. Kathleen stood in the middle of a circle of chanting children. Her eyes were wide, haunted. Her body was taut. The chorus was loud. “I can see London. I can see France. I can see somebody’s underpants.” We all knew the ditty and used it when a boy’s...
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