remembrance day

Missing in Action

Scott McPhersonLeave a comment

1028-f-relax-and-suceed-missing-in-actionToday would normally be a Friday Dose, but it’s Remembrance Day here in Canada and I always spend that with my parents, who both served in WWII. It was with great pride that I watched my father marching today. I’m sending the blog late intentionally.

Normally I preset a holiday blog for this day, but this year I thought I could attempt a touch of poetry by using the daytime absence of the blog as a reminder of the millions of spaces in the lines of men and women coming home during war. It’s like my own figurative two minute silence.

We often forget to include absence as a state. But by quieting our babbling mind we enter a place where we can surrender everything and yet it’s one of the richest states to live in. Despite this truth, we always think of expanding ourselves through addition, and yet the Remembrance Day services today will help us grow as human beings by using silence to create more space within us.

The services today are intended to slow down our busy world and clear our heads, preparing us for the deepest forms of empathy. And we will grow closer to having the space for empathy as we all join each other in emotionally experiencing a heart-wrenching rendition of Last Post on a solo trumpet. It’s sound will mournfully lead us into a two minute silence. And despite its incredible stillness; it’s apparent non-existent activity, that silence will nevertheless be the most stirring, poignant and powerful portion of the service today.

May your day be peaceful. I hope you all had a wonderful Friday in freedom.

peace. s

Scott McPherson is an Edmonton-based writer, public speaker, and mindfulness facilitator who works with individuals, companies and non-profit organisations locally and around the world.

Buddhas Among Us

Scott McPhersonLeave a comment

813 LW-R Relax and Succeed - Be soft do not let the world make you hardToday is Remembrance Day in Canada, and so like every year I will be at the cenotaph with my parents , who both served during wartime. Today I leave you with a piece that reminds me a lot of my Dad. May it bring peace to your soul.

Lest we forget.

peace, s

Scott McPherson is a writer, public speaker, and mindfulness facilitator who works with individuals, companies and nonprofit organizations around the world.

The Friday Dose #45

Scott McPherson1 Comment

551 Relax and Succeed - Sending love wherever it is needed

This week we talked about concrete things that you can do to change your life for the better, about how to parent or teach young people, and we also talked about Remembrance Day/Veterans Day. We’ll start off this week’s Dose with a nice way to end the week: an actual list of practices that all apply to things I write about here. You can thank the folks at InfoBarrel for putting this together:

22 Habits of Unhappy People

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When I wrote about teaching and learning, my point was that telling people what to do is meaningless if that contradicts what you yourself do. But if you are leading by example, then no words at all are necessary and you will still achieve success. Even this dog, having seen a jolly jumper before, knows how it works. And it also knows that things learn from experience and example. And so the dog gives the baby an example. It really is a brilliant lesson in how we learn, and that can be profound if the idea is seriously considered. But do that after you watch the dog being brilliant:

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The reason there was a re-blog on Tuesday was because I was proudly watching my father march in my city’s Remembrance Day parade. When I was 18 I was going to beaches and playing video games with my friends. At 18 my father and uncles were in a very very important war. It’s impossible for us to understand that experience today, but we can gain insights into its poignancy via works of art. Canadian guitarist Bryan Adams is also an accomplished photographer and he’s recently completed a series of photographs of veterans. It’s a side of the soldier that too often gets forgotten. Lest we forget.

Wounded: The Legacy of War, by Bryan Adams

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Feel gratitude in your life, invest your time in realizing yourself in an authentic manner, teach by example, and always respect the struggles of others as you would like them to respect yours. Pain is pain. Which direction it comes from is irrelevant. So be kind out there. Big hugs.

peace. s

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The Friday Dose is a collection of cool, interesting and surprising things that are chosen for their potential to distract you away from any painful thought loops that may currently be disrupting your sense of perspective. Focus on these and change your mind. Enjoy.