I see glimpses of what makes this community resilient, in these images - shared by Ricardo Lau, Michelle Beks, Valerie St Arnaud and Blair Kaplan - I see a willingness to sweat and tackle hills and heartbreak, the unbelievable adaptability of local businesses, the strength and grounding that practicing culture and ceremony offers, the magic … Continue reading This is who we are: resilient

Here is something I learned about the power of a circle -- it holds together under stress. It pulses and surges and can expand to hold someone in grief or sorrow. It is a container and a community, is big enough for us all and for all of us. What you bring into the circle resounds, … Continue reading The Circle

The National Portrait Gallery in the UK put together a beautiful community-sourced exhibit called Hold Still, as a reflection on 2020. Inspired, I invited local photographers to share some of their favourite images of the year, thinking perhaps we could offer a kind of advent calendar through December - reflections of a year of holding … Continue reading A year of holding strong

My father was a pharmacist, my mother a nurse. In my household, we took stale-dated medicine (because it was still good even if it was illegal for him to sell so why waste it) and we were never indulged a day off school unless we had a serious fever. Feeling bad had to be evidentially … Continue reading The Language Your Body Speaks

Stress is caused by being "here" and wanting to be "there", writes Eckhart Tolle. Show of hands for anyone experiencing this, these holidays? (If you're not and you're making merry, I wish you well. Close this page and go and embrace the ones you love. You can come back to this post at any time, … Continue reading Tolerance for Uncertainty workbook: Improving Distress

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIThZQcB7Hz/ When the library issued a request at the beginning of December, to help decorate their tree, I was inspired. I mean, how can I not, when the library literally responds to every single request I ever make from "can you please print out this return label" to "can you please get in this obscure … Continue reading Hang a poem, a wish, a compliment, on your tree this year

"There's a romantic idea, at least in my mind, if you play the sounds of endangered species, hopefully it will encourage them to come back." youtube.com/watch?v=Ksh1XOPNi5s&feature=emb_logo I'm a fan of this "wake up call", instead of the alarm... Even confronting growing urgency, can we sing each other awake, instead of screaming? Can we tune in … Continue reading What does a wake up call sound like?

First, may I say that to be a poet doesn't require an English literature degree, an A in English, a fancy way with words or any external designation. There are poets everywhere, and poems everywhere, waiting to be discovered, plucked from a laden tree, picked up from a rocky shore, or to snag you like … Continue reading How to be a poet (to remind myself): a poem by Wendell Berry

Dr. Lorna Williams, Wánosts’a7, Member of the Order of Canada, with her daughter Megan Q’emayts’a7 Williams, at her virtual investiture ceremony, on Tuesday, December 15 2020. Photo: Daniel Nevin from First People's Cultural Council https://www.youtube.com/embed/vv3xZQsq7sk?start=750 We offer our warmest congratulations to Her Excellency, Dr. Lorna Williams, Wánosts’a7, who was invested in the Order of Canada … Continue reading Lil’watul Dr. Lorna Williams, Wánosts’a7, receives the Order of Canada at virtual ceremony on Tuesday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aupFpmLMUf0&list=PLeH0_x6q9Iodn2ho68ntETSoznGavcDsb&index=7&fbclid=IwAR3TX4IY88UQaNXqkN-MA_zD-CJiW6t6GKkn34PQLwZZoyhbTqFFLk76r7U Proud to see the Lil'wat Business Group and Lil'wat Holdings be recognized by the BC Achievement Foundation for Indigenous Business, for their effort to create opportunity within the community. The businesses run through Lil'wat Holdings redirect their profits into the community and provide salaries for community members, not to mention services like the Lil'wat … Continue reading Celebrating Lil’wat Holdings for their nomination for the BC Achievement Indigenous Business Award