Midwives and Mediators: Facilitating new beginnings

Midwives and mediators have much in common.  I’m convinced. Last week I read Ami McKay‘s excellent, and popular, novel, The Birth House. Set in small town Nova Scotia in the early 20th century, the story initially orients around an elder midwife, and her young protege.  Using traditional herbs and remedies, they help local women through […]

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life: Video Book Review

Compassion is an attitude.  It’s principled and consistent concern for another. It’s about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, feeling their pain, as though it where your own, and entering generously into their point of view.  It’s not about pity or feeling sorry for someone else. To be compassionate is to live the golden rule; […]

First things first: The "Fairway" to mediating divorce

Nothing like following through on an idea, that’s what Karen Stewart did after an ugly divorce.  Her personal experiences led her to starting Fairway Divorce Solutions, an alternative common sense approach to dealing with family divorce.  An approach where the order of resolution matters, a lot!Others seem to agree, as Fairway Solutions is now being […]

You are not alone

Before my parents passed away, I was a family caregiver, from a distance.  Mom and Dad lived half a country away, in southern Ontario.  They lived apart, although in the same city.  I would visit multiple times a year (as would my siblings, who also lived at a distance), usually a week or two at […]

You COULD Live a Long Time: Are You Ready? a video book review

In our western traditions we often overlook the value of elder’s wisdom.  You Could Live a Long Time: Are you Ready? by Lyndsay Green, is a wonderful, easily navigated book that shares elder’s wisdom in a very accessible way.  The author is a pioneering sociologist and researcher who has spent her career helping people use […]