Did you raise your family to resemble a manicured garden; traditional, with exquisite shrubs and stately fences? Or did you raise your family to resemble a wild garden; left mostly to nature with a mishmash of wildflowers, grasses, weeds, and some open spaces where wildlife can creep in?
Don’t you sometimes shake your head at this strange group of genetically matched organisms you call your...
Don’t you love colour names? Those in paint stores – baby mauve, banana jellybean, fire brick red – and those colour names that people create, like the artist, James Ensor, when he made up ‘monkey bottom pink!’
When you give someone a gift, especially flowers, it’s a nice added touch to describe the symbolic meaning of the colour you have chosen for them.
Orange is the colour of communication...
(Suggested speech time: 3 – 6 minutes)
When you attend a funeral or celebration of life, after listening to people share their feelings about the deceased person, don’t you sometimes think how wonderful it would be to hear a few comforting and inspiring words from the deceased person themselves; how they felt about significant events and people in their lives, and how they would like to be...
As the days shorten and school buses line the streets, it is time to plan our new indoor projects as we slowly settle into the creative time of Fall.
As the trees drop their leaves in order to conserve water and energy so that they can focus on root growth, this is our time to declutter our lives as we make room for ideas and tools for new projects that ground us in our life’s purpose and...
Do you believe that you, or your family lineage, have an Animal Totem, a constant guide which comes in and out of your life to help you with the tasks that need to be completed on your journey, which aids self-discovery, and which also teaches you valuable lessons along the way? Many believe that an Animal Totem is ‘who you are’ and that it is with you for an entire lifetime.
It is also worth...
An interesting topic for discussion on Father’s Day is ‘the origin of your family name’. Perhaps you could do some research beforehand and then reveal your findings as you give your father a copy of the meaning of his surname, along with a picture of his family Coat of Arms or smaller crest (symbol), and if possible, your family motto.
If you can’t trace your father’s Coat of Arms, create one...
Write a Love Letter to your Mom
Love Letters speak volumes. They can accompany a gift, or they can simply be given quite randomly, for 'love's' sake. A letter creates a wonderful platform where you can express your deepest emotions, and the good news is - the words you write are timeless. Don’t hold back when you write a love letter to your mom for Mother’s Day; simply write how you talk.
Introduction
When separated from their mothers, baby animals will snuggle up to any creature, big or small, friendly or not, for security and love. A puppy to a squirrel, a piglet to a leopard, a kitten to a crow, a porcupette to a …. well, there’s bound to be some brave parent out there!
Unions like these run so deep, words cannot do them justice.
In all seriousness though, the life of an...
How to Write about The Loss of Your Lifestyle
In years to come, as in tree rings, our memories will reflect that in 2020 there was a massive disturbance in our lives; rings of thin lines showing malnourishment, infestation, and trauma, and rings of extra reaction or compression wood that we had to build to support ourselves as we tried to straighten up to our normal position.
We’re all going...
Your words are the most cherished gift you can give to your father on this Father’s Day; words in the form of a poem or a letter, both of which we will talk about here.
Let’s begin with the letter …
Your Connection
Begin by jotting down, chronologically, and in point form, the various stages of your life that highlight the times when your father was a supporter, a challenger, an influencer. ...
If you were to write any part of your life story, that part should be ‘the story of your birth’. Why? Because you had about 1 in 400,000,000,000 chances of existing, and you won! You are here, and you belong.
I encourage you to announce your birth to the vibration of angels’ wings, to the sparkle of the eastern star, to the sound of trumpets … you get my meaning.
You may not know much about...
No one invented peoples’ names; names simply developed and then expanded as the world became more populated. The history of names is a comprehensive one as not only did names advance differently in every country; naming customs within those countries kept changing from generation to generation.
Before William the Conqueror set out to ‘affix England to Normandy’ people were called simple names...
“Will you be my valentine?” Or, “Will you be my partner in designing a magnificent union that is creative, productive, awe-inspiring, and that will stand the test of time?” Sounds like a tall order, but in essence, that’s what a relationship, especially an intimate one, requires.
Like anything built to withstand traffic, climate, and erosion, the relationship needs constant inspection...
Pet loss is normally a devastating loss. We feel lonely. Sad. Dazed. We gaze around at all the empty spaces that are no longer filled with their large presence.
In order to fill the void of helplessness try to express yourself through writing.
An Acrostic Poem Vertically align the first letters of your pet’s name and then fill in anything you can think of about him/her. For example:
MAC
Made...
Depression should not be considered a normal part of aging, yet is the most common mental health problem for Seniors.
Vote now for a program to address this crisis immediately and begin a world-wide Memoir Movement. Vote at https://talks.ontario.ca/ under SENIORS/PRESERVE THE STORIES OF ONTARIO SENIORS.
You can judge a country by the way it treats its seniors. One click of a button from you...
One thing to remember about writing someone else’s war stories, for example, one of your ancestor’s, is that you may be walking through a minefield. But, if you handle the subject with sensitivity and compassion, you will pay a great tribute to your soldier.
MINE ONE - Fact-check. Avoid inaccurate dates, clashes, locations, ranks. Cross-check your facts, and then cross-check again.
MINE TWO ...
As the December hullabaloo fades into memory, Mother Winter tightens her grip. Animals scatter, trees bow, cars cough, children hide in snowsuits. Icy winds stir. Snow falls... and falls. The world looks like the Christmas card you just packed away.
It’s time for knitted socks, lotions, stews, root vegetables, melted cheese and chocolate; a time to rest, look inward, and restore. Before...
Introduction Loss of a young child is a quiet, unfamiliar, and misunderstood grief that has many layers: loss of parenthood, loss of hopes and dreams, and what is paramount – the loss of a little Loved One.
There you were – a new parent. In a different state. Hormones were ramped up. Perhaps you were glowing, empowered, nervous, tired, or overwhelmed with pride. You had...
As difficult as a loss of relationship may appear, this is a new beginning for you, a new venture into the unknown; and how you approach this new venture is up to you.
One way to begin is to write your ‘Divorce Vows’. Don’t think logically here; instead go with your heart, and desire. What you write may seem far-fetched and unattainable right now - it may even go against who you believe you...
The preparation of a eulogy, whether it’s formal or simply a few casual words, normally takes place under extreme emotional upheaval coupled with a tight time frame. Whatever the circumstances of your Loved One’s death – natural, illness, trauma, suicide – together, here today, we will produce a heart-felt tribute that may be treasured forever.
Let us begin ...
People do not belong to us in...
Introduction Love Letters tell all. They can accompany a birthday gift, a graduation gift, or they can simply be given quite randomly, for 'love's' sake. A letter creates a wonderful platform where you can express your deepest emotions, and the good news is - the words you write remain engraved in the history of time.
Go through the stages of your child's life: Working...
INTRODUCTION
For many of you there will be empty spaces during the holidays that were once filled with the presence of your Loved One.
WHY THE HOLIDAYS ARE A DIFFICULT TIME OF YEAR?
SOME WAYS...
Under the PRESENT section in The Biography Timeliner, Question 11.193 asks ‘What would I like to say to the American President?’
Because of the change of power currently happening in one of the world’s major countries, your opinion will be valuable, insightful, and maybe even entertaining to your future generations. Or even to yourself in a decade’s time.
As we look back on our ancestor’s...
English - where all rules have exceptions. Where sounds and letters hardly ever agree.
Where we ‘see a movie’ but we ‘watch TV’. Where a ‘fat chance’ and a ‘slim chance’ mean the same thing, and where a ‘wise man’ and a ‘wise guy’ are opposites. Where a bunch of consonants are often strung together with just one vowel to help us pronounce the word – like in the word ‘strengths’. And what about...
Some of us can only imagine how bleak things must have been for our ancestors to leave the ‘knowing’ of their homeland and to set their sights on the uncertainty of the New World.
Maybe it was an accumulation of troubles that made them decide to leave: smallpox, suppression, debt, food shortages, religious persecution, plagues ... Posters for their salvation flashed everywhere – “Come and own...
As children we are taught what to say and what to feel by parents, teachers, the parish, and when we grow up spouses, censor boards, friends, governments, bosses and the media flood our brain with propaganda. “What should I think?” and “What do I think?” become a moral and ethical calamity.
When Jackie Kennedy stood stoic at her husband’s funeral the world said, “Wow, what a strong woman she...
Mean people, nice people, peculiar trends, awful tragedies; these things keep us involved in our lives.
Without villains there are no heroes,
without creepy relatives – no normal ones,
without disasters – no rescuers,
without hate – no love.
Life is about conflict – conflict with ourselves, with others, with our divinity.
you can always wash your hands...
When writing your biography treat other characters 
how you'd like to be treated if they were writing
about you.
It's a juggling act because you don't want to downplay your story by fudging the truth of how your grade six teacher deliberately threw a box of pins on the floor and made you pick them up, but always be aware of the consequences of writing disparaging remarks about people who could...
We write to solve mysteries
There comes a time in most people’s lives when they grow curious about things like family origins, community, country. “Why was my brother so unhappy?” “Why did we take our war effort into Angola?” “When did I stop caring about school?”
We write to discover who our ancestors really were
As we start digging into our ancestors’ lives we could find hidden treasure...