Category Archives: Blogging

The Booker Award

I compare the world of blogging to living in a small community. We meet each and acknowledge each other. We get to know some people better than others, but recognize something unique in each other.

Mimi from Waiting for the Karma Truck recently honoured me with The Booker Award and I am grateful she recognized me.

I look forward to Mimi’s each day.  She shares various gifts and lessons from life, work, and, family. She provides wisdom drawn from those sources through her blog, public presentations, and writing.

The fun and challenging aspect of this particular award is to list my five favorite books.  Similar to Mimi I can’t do that, but I offer five books which I found compelling at some point. I enjoy reading and this list is sorely incomplete. I read very few fictional books, but that is a product of the doctoral journey I undertook.

The Alchemist – Paolo Coehlo (actually any book by this Brazilian author is a worthy read).

To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee (I cheated and left this on from Mimi’s list, but it was and remains an outstanding social justice reminder).

The Executioners – John D. MacDonald (I read almost anything by this author. This book became Cape Fear, but he is famous for a pulp fiction character Travis McGee).

The Courage to Teach – Parker J. Palmer (I first read Parker Palmer’s Let Your Life Speak before returning to university for my education degree and read this author extensively.

Why I Wake Early – Mary Oliver (I could have included a number of this poet’s books or books by Wendell Berry, Billy Collins, Robert Frost, etc. I love poetry).

I nominate others who I hope can add into our libraries and expand our literary worlds. I tried to expand and move beyond those who received earlier awards from me. I think their blogs are diverse and we will receive a range of new ideas for our ‘cosmic library.’

I tap into the libraries of:

Elizabeth’s Ramblings

Nick Falkner

Thinking is Writing

Thought Baker

The Blazing Trail

Colour the Day

Katz Ideas

Practical Practice Management

Sylver Blaque

Elke Teaches

Illuminating Blog Award

I received an award while we were on the road and took time to consider this one, as there were few rules, but it arrived at an opportune time. The blog recently surpassed 350 followers and has 1400+ likes which is remarkable as most growth occurred over the past 2 months while I rehabbed a weary body and spirit. I rediscovered some creativity and things that feed the spirit through the process. That is attributable to those who follow the blog, like it, and comment on it.

I received the award from Carolyn at ABC of Spirit Talk.

Carolyn has a diverse and award-winning blog with poetry, photographs, her love of nature, and reflects on many aspects of life. I enjoy her posts and look forward to the her surprises each day.

Carolyn indicated there was only one rule and that was to thank the person who nominated me.

THANK YOU Carolyn

She did pass the award on to me so I am passing it to two people. Melody at Meanwhile, Melody Muses is a daily respite for me. I look forward to her poetry and fantastic photography. The subtitle of her blog is:

“God’s not finished with me yet. Until then, I muse.”

and

The second blog is Mike at Mike’s Look at Life. Mike photographs the ordinary things I often pass daily and reveals their extraordinary nature for me. He shares a wicked sense of humour and his creativity through prose and poetry. The subtitle of his blog is:

“communicating issues around life including horrific loss and overwhelming joy, and many things in between.”

One Lovely Blog Award

David nominated me for the One Lovely Blog Award.

Thank you to David at Lead. Learn. Live for acknowledging my blog. I enjoy his sense of humour and advice he shares.

This morning, when I got in the car The Sound of Sunshine was playing (Michael Franti is a wonderful singer/songwriter) and I felt energized. Just like a good song, I receive a gift each day from blogs I follow.

Here are seven facts about me.

(1) I’m a terrible swimmer (I stole this from David. Swimming is an alternative to drowning for me).

(2) My favourite breakfast as a hockey player was warm beer and cold pizza.

(3) I am a goalie in hockey which explains some of my quirky behaviour.

(4) I watch Simpson reruns and learn something new each time.

(5) Teaching is my second career.

(6) I was a banker in my first career.

(7) Kathy and I met in Prince George BC, but were born in Alberta. We moved to find each other.

I mentioned I struggle with this rule on an earlier post. I follow amazing blogs and feel I am leaving someone out. I nominate the following for One Lovely Blog Award.

To accept the award, the rules are:

  1. Link back to the person who nominated you
  2. Post the award image to your page.  (Here’s the Link)
  3. Tell seven facts about yourself
  4. Nominate 10 other blogs
  5. Let them know they are nominated

Metamorphosis

I struggled today. Starbucks’ Internet was intermittent and my day was cleaved in half with an appointment. I reflected on what my blogging and there has been a substantial change in the tone and voice of the blogger. When I began, I was doing it for all the wrong reasons and was driven from ego. Transformation is about my self and not about what goes on outside me.

I influence the world and as Gandhi wisely said, “Be the change you want to see in the world” is important.

Change

Occupies an idle mind.

Denies, oppresses

Another self.

Transform

Inner terrain.

Who is this self?

What life does this self live?

Mature

Through life.

Define

the self who lives this life.

Emerge

from chrysalis each day.

Present

A thoughtful gift

Transform my self.

Reveal through selfless acts

Flourish beyond rhetoric

Beyond fad.

Journey with others

Appreciate

Valorize.

Driftwood’s Wisdom

Kathy took this picture while we walked along Waterton Lake’s beach. She thought it would inspire me. I wondered what might emerge. Last night, I scribbled ideas into my journal about wisdom and its sources. I enjoy and enjoyed listening to stories told by my parents, Kathy’s parents, our grandparents about life in past generations, and many others I come in contact with each day.

Flotsam on the shore

Washed up and unusable

Life’s wisdom wasted.

Polished piece of wood

Fine tuned by life’s travails

Reveals the wisdom.

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

I received a nomination for a Very Inspiring Blogger Award from Ricardo at Film Photography is not Dead.

I am learning about virtual communities and their formation. It is about learning and not predetermined outcomes.

Virtual communities emphasize reciprocal practices which include a sense of trust that someone views and validates our contributions. We measure practices with followers, likes, and regular comments which resemble conversations. Since July 14, 2012, this blog went from 500 to 1000 likes, gained 75 followers, and has daily, running commentary.

We are involved and remained in virtual communities as a result of an ethic of relationship and this makes returning a conscious choice and mindful. Active participation is receiving and giving gifts thus has emotional and personal components.

An aspect of my gratitude is the face-to-face conversations Kathy and I have. She contributes to all the posts in many ways: takes pictures, edits, and questions purpose in a post. I am grateful to her and others who valorize what I am doing each day.

The rules are:

  1. Link back to the person who nominated you
  2. Post the award image to your page
  3. Tell seven facts about yourself
  4. Nominate 15 other blogs
  5. Let them know they are nominated

1. Thank you Ricardo for nominating me, it’s an honour and privilege. Check out his blog called Film Photography is not Dead for insightful ideas about photography and great pictures.

2.

3. 7 facts about me

  1. I love nature.
  2. I am a collector of many things.
  3. I am a very nervous flyer.
  4. I am completing a PhD in Leadership Studies.
  5. I love brewed ice tea.
  6. I listen to the Old Radio Shows.
  7. My favourite fictional genre is westerns.

4. This section is challenging. I follow many blogs and feel guilty each time I do this, because I know I miss some great blogs.

My nominated blogs:

  1. Meanwhile Melody Muses
  2. Mike’s Look at Life
  3. Words/Love
  4. Colour the Day
  5. The Jog
  6. Waiting for the Karma Truck
  7. Nonoy Manga
  8. Brian Gaynor Photography
  9. Seedmind
  10. Fun and Fabulousness
  11. Thinking is Write
  12. Simply Jan
  13. Live. Learn. Lead.
  14. ABC of Spirit Talk
  15. Valerie Davies

Appreciate Neighbours

The Internet is slow particularly when uploading images. I may need to wait until tomorrow morning and post early before we head off for the day. In the meantime, I jotted this as we walked to Kootenai Lake.

Neighbours near,

Some visible

Ducks laugh and swim

Distract us, grouse–

Protect family and spouse

Woodpecker’s fly by lunch

Delectable larvae, I’m sure.

Others less evident

A fish plays–

Teases with hide and seek

Loon momentarily there

Beaver away from lake house

A moose–

Tracks and droppings

Insects whir in the stillness

Butterflies flit and feed

And move seed

A phantom breeze brushes floor

A solitary leaf responds,

And waves

Up high

Trees sigh.

What watches me?

I am not sure

Neighbours present,

A community–

Puzzles pieced together

Each a part

Seamless, yet not form fitting.

We are part of communities and this past few months I feel more of that; at Gonzaga, with my blog, and on nature walks with Kathy. I appreciate being one small part of communities made up of many parts.

Inspiring Blog Award

Before I post, I wanted to acknowledge inspiration is reciprocal. Each day, with anticipation, I check my email and follow blogs I subscribe to.

I have gained a considerable amount from blogging, but is humbling. When I began, I had few visitors, no likes, and no comments. Gradually, this changed and blogging became rewarding in and of itself as I learned its nuanced context. It is still humbling in two ways. First, when I check creative blogs posted about passions people hold dear, it impresses me with the process and product. Second, I keep it real . Statistically, the blog I follow with the largest following has about 15, 000 followers. This is about 0.000002% of the world’s population and my 300 followers is about 0.00000004%. Against the odds we form a small, appreciative community and share parts of our lives. Thank you.

Thank you Kay Lynté at Thinking is Write for nominating me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. I am glad to know my blog inspires others, including Kay. I appreciate the gifts others share and in various ways they inspire me in my journey 🙂

1. Link back to the person who nominated you: Thank you, Kay

2. Post the award image to your page:

3. Tell 7 facts about yourself:

    • I have a fairly large (ice) hockey memorabilia collection.
    • I was a banker before becoming a teacher.
    • I was a single digit handicap golfer before my car accident.
    • I have never seen the Atlantic Ocean live.
    • My best friend is my wife, Kathy
    • I love the Blues and saw John Mayall in concert on Sunday
    • I am a Montreal Canadiens (ice) hockey fan.

4. Nominate 15 other bloggers and let them know they’ve been nominated:

Waiting for the Karma Truck

Nonoy Manga

The Blazing Trail

Sharmishtha Basu

The Literary Man

Thought Baker

Fun and Fabulousness

Timothy A Cooper

Tracie Louise Photography

Travel Culture Food

Doli Photo

Subhan Zein

The Living Notebook

Wallpaper Tadaka

Leanne Cole Photography

Take care,

Ivon