Repeatedly this week I have heard the ominous phrase, “dark winter.” It’s been spoken by doctors and health professionals on both sides of the border. It’s been echoed as a warning by politicians and sighed by nurses exhausted by the demand. 

Our thoughts are a private world. We can share them with our lips, pens or artistic expressions, but they are not revealed in the mirror. Since they are hidden to all but ourselves, we can be deluded into thinking that they belong to our personal realm.

Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever!”   Ps.48:12-14

During the decades of my growing up, drinking water wasn’t a concern. You drank from the tap, a cold jug in the fridge or the garden hose in the back yard. Water was abundant and flowed like -  well, like water! However, I’ve witnessed a transformation in our H2O habits. Our supermarkets are shelved with brands and bottles of various size and flavours.

Miriam and I live within sight and sound of the ocean. So, it means we are graced to visit the beach most days. We walk the dog and still our souls. It’s a different shore line this time of year. Once autumn arrives, the bluster of July crowds yields to cold winds and seasonal storms. But the dog still insists on daily visits. I frequently encountered a gentleman on the shore. Regardless of the weather, he slips off his running shoes, drops his towel and wades into the water.

I was once advised to “listen to my body.” I believe it to be good counsel. When hunger pangs strike, don’t ignore them. Our body is craving energy. If we struggle to keep our eyes open, it is time for a nap. The pains of our bodies are not meant as a problem, but a warning.

Years back, Miriam and I were late to the film, "Les Miserables." We got stuck in the second row from the front, gazing straight up at the screen. I am not a film critic, but.... if you don't enjoy musicals, if you are tired of period pieces, if you know nothing about the book, if you have a lousy seat...it is still a film worth seeing.

As reported in the New York Times last week, there are now flights that go nowhere. Various airlines in Brunei, Japan and Australia are selling tickets for flights that take off and land in the same place. They range in length from a couple of hours to more lengthy excursions - but they all have this in common. You don’t get anywhere.

One night a mother was in the labor ward. But in spite of all we could do she died, leaving us with a premature baby and a two-year-old daughter. 

At the center of the earthquake in Nepal, in 2015, the residents lost everything. They were as poor as could be. Yet when the believers worshipped, they sang and danced as though they were the richest in the world. In the midst of great loss, they were content. Choosing to live thankful and satisfied lives takes time and work.