Kirk Thoughts

Wow, it’s been a millennium in blogging terms since I last posted here. That’s not to say I haven’t been blogging. I’ve just found my interests have been elsewhere.

I’ve been working on a few initiatives, now that family life is a little less demanding. Now that the twins have passed the one year mark, we’ve managed to catch our breath a little more often.

Blogging on parish life after losing pastor

In April, a few days before Palm Sunday, my pastor was granted leave by the bishop. My response to this shocker was to set up a blog to try and keep people informed as to what is going on and also to spark conversation. I see blogging as a voice for the people in the pews, who sadly often don’t have much say or influence over the affairs of their own parish. So far, the responses have been mostly positive, it’s affecting what happens in the parish in a good way (I think) but most people are afraid to post comments. I’m hopeful that fear will fade over time.

Building local sustainable living network

One of my passions is the environment and sustainable living. My inner fabric pushes me to make healthy, positive choices in all that I say and do, choices that benefit me, those around me and creation. Here in the Sault, the envrionmental movement is small and not welll connected, especially for individuals. I want to help build a network that can support and encourage people, business and local government to make sustainable choices. I’ve started a local mailing list called Rocks and Trees (lots of that around here) to connect people, and we get together on a monthly basis for good eats and conversation. Each month more people are signing up, which is encouraging. On Earth Day I launched a blog at greenmeans.ca. It’s a pitiful start to a bigger project I’ve wanted to do for a while, but hey, it’s a start.

Organizing the home-based remote worker scene

Working from home is great, but I do miss the personal interactions from an office environment. In January I started yet another mailing list for people working from home, in particular people working remotely for an employer. We also do the monthly lunch thing as we’re all happy to escape from our tower or dungeon every once in a while. There has even been some talk of sharing some office space for a social working experience every now and again. I think it will happen eventually.

So there you have it. I do need to get back to this blog, and there are plenty of blog posts waiting to emerge. I’ll have to set aside some work time I guess.

Ever feel the grind of daily life wearing you down? Truth is, we all feel that from time to time. That’s how I’m feeling these days, between a hectic life at home getting ready for twins coming in December (new house needing lots of work, need bigger vehicle, etc) and challenging moments in the workplace. I could use a little more sunshine during these grey, chilly days of October here in northern Ontario.
Sure enough, God sends me some inspiration, this time through one of the blogs I read each morning. Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert shares with his readers the happiest day of his life, the day his voice came back after 18 months. He has a rare condition called Spasmodic Dysphonia, where the part of the brain that controls speech just shuts down. *No one has ever recovered from this*. Perhaps until now.
I admire Scott’s determination, and search for answers for a disease not well understood:

“Just because no one has ever gotten better from Spasmodic Dysphonia before doesn’t mean I can’t be the first. So every day for months and months I tried new tricks to regain my voice. I visualized speaking correctly and repeatedly told myself I could (affirmations). I used self hypnosis. I used voice therapy exercises. I spoke in higher pitches, or changing pitches. I observed when my voice worked best and when it was worst and looked for patterns. I tried speaking in foreign accents. I tried “singing” some words that were especially hard.”

He eventually found that missing link, in an unexpected place, something he hadn’t considered trying. While helping with a homework assignment, he discovered rhyming was easy for him to do:

“I repeated it dozens of times, partly because I could. It was effortless, even though it was similar to regular speech. I enjoyed repeating it, hearing the sound of my own voice working almost flawlessly. I longed for that sound, and the memory of normal speech. Perhaps the rhyme took me back to my own childhood too. Or maybe it’s just plain catchy. I enjoyed repeating it more than I should have. Then something happened.

My brain remapped.

My speech returned.”

I’m reminded that often our answers and direction come not so much from our own efforts and ingenuity, but from our willingness to be open, to listen to the Voice calling us in directions we wouldn’t choose to go ourselves.
What a happy day for Scott, and an extra dose of sun for me. Now back to the daily grind.

Technorati Tags: inspiration, Douglas Adams