Untitled

Blog posts have been few and far between due to a lack of time, health and, quite frankly, motivation. Routine is in full stride. After a long day at work, putting out one tiny fire at a time before it spreads, I am too exhausted to do anything but eat and then drink tea with neighbourhood friends.

We are in the middle of organizing the 2nd Annual National Environmental Forum in Mali and I can say I have been well prepared for it, considering the mad rush that took place while planning One Sky's auction. Last week was overly stressful for me and after keeping up for a few days of 10-12 hour days, I succumbed to the flu going around right now. Now you see how interesting my life has been the past two weeks...

After the Forum I will be taking 2 weeks of holidays to travel, particularly to Ségou, Mopti, Djenné and Pays Dogon. I've decided to travel alone because I have never really done so for such a long trip. This will, I hope, give me more space for personal growth outside the "minimum safe distance".

To respond to Monsieur P's post, I can't really say that life in Bamako is very different from the omnipresent reminders of technology. That said, it's much easier to get away from it, even within the city because, for example, I don't have internet at the apartment.

I wish this post could be longer, more inspiring and with great pictures. But it's not...

Blogged with Flock

Snow blind, phone deaf, and internet mute.

Taking a holiday: the pure meaning.

How far is Iroquois Falls? Well I'd say it's just far enough to give you a sweet vacation. Now I'm not gonna chatter on about how I rested so well, ate like a king, drank like a fish, built ice rinks, rode snowmobiles, enjoyed the fresh air, slept beautifully and inspired myself through nature's beauty... I'll say what was most important : the disconnect. GOOD GOD how sweet it is to be free form the chains of technology; as it is so well said by new pop icon Timbaland (god forbid anyone would spell anything correctly) in conjunction with J.T. Anyways, I'm not an addict of any major drug, nor the recovered of such an addiction, but I'm pretty sure I've somehow experienced the withdraw from an addiction. I think usually it's referred to as Blackberry plague, or some other cliché stupidity. A disease widely spread in some areas of public transport. But let me tell you I was FREE. Now really, who cares, all vacations are supposed to be like that. But why can't our lives be like that.

Blah blah blah philosophy, we've heard it all. But I know a close friend who's seeing it all. I would think Mali is absolved of technological chains. Though a complete disconnect would be unreasonable, I think I will continue to emulate the three proverbial monkeys mentioned in the title whenever possible for some time to come. I just wonder what it's like to live it.

An important thankyou to the Lagacé family.

Got Sheep?

Forget political. How do we even know when something is socially appropriate to say?

We all have one. It can be described metaphorically as a filter or, in my case, a little man in a rocking chair that either nods or shakes his head when a thought wants to pass the rope bridge from my brain to my mouth.  It seems like lately my little man has rocked himself to sleep. Case in point. While thinking of a clever way to conclude my article for the One Sky website about my much anticipated celebration of la fête de tabaski, I had written the following:

"It's time to put on my "Got Sheep?" bib and praise Allah. I hope Jesus isn't watching!"

Before sending said article, I decided to consult my friend Carol and she thought it was hilariously inappropriate. As I write this now, I keep thinking to myself how in tarnation I could have deemed this appropriate for anything but, perhaps this blog as a retrospective thought.

I write this now because I find myself having immense difficulties to write diplomatically for the editorial of the newsletter I'm putting together at work. I've always disliked the ordinary but sometimes that feeling just has to be put aside. The problem is that, in this case, the bitter pill just does not want to go down.

With all this said, there is also the other extreme to consider. At what point are we standing still, not even walking on egg shells? Carlos Mencia, a somewhat controversial stand-up comic, addresses this debate in his act where he says that he wishes everyone had the same freedom of speech he possesses. To make his point, he challenges people to try to tell his jokes at work. Game, Set, Match.

Wherever people stand in this debate, I believe the cross-cutting element is culture. This may very well be the rocking chair to my little man. The only solution is to write in a culturally-neutral style. If that's the case, I hope my creativity isn't watching!

Blogged with Flock

Joy

I received an email from Gregory Biniowsky, a One Sky Board Member, who shared an inspiring quote by Uruguayan essayist Eduardo Galeano:

"It is not a certainty that refers to the 'Great Beyond'. Instead, it refers to the 'Great Here and Now', it refers to the joy of the continuing human adventure on Earth. We have the joy of our joys, and also we have the joy of our sorrows, because we are not interested in the painless life that consumerist civilization creates, promotes and sells…and we are proud of the price of so much pain we pay to feel so much love. We have the joy of our errors, stumblings that reveal the passion of wandering and the love of the journey; and we have the joy of our defeats, because the struggle for justice and beauty is worthwhile even when it is lost. And above all, above all, we have the joy of our hopes; when disillusionment is in vogue, when disenchantment has become an item of universal and mass consumption, we continue to believe in the amazing power of the human embrace."

It has not been easy to match people here with their thoughtful wishes/blessings for the new year. I've always been accustomed to say "happy new year/bonne année" and moving on. More to come...

(I'm trying to build suspense to boost readership. It's a foolproof plan!)

Blogged with Flock