Day 49: See Snow Patrol Live.

Posted on April 18, 2012 by LaLa

Today was an opportunity to lighten things up a bit, as I got to see one of my favourite bands in concert for the first time ever, and from the front row to boot!  Actually, it was a stroke of luck that I even discovered they were in town.  Since I like to give credit where credit is due, thank you again, Mr. Procrastination.  You are hands down my longest term relationship, ever.  Because of you, I still haven’t done my taxes, but I have some pretty amazing new things lined up for the next few weeks, starting with tonight’s show.

In weirdly connected coincidence, I found out that the band wrote many of the tracks for their latest album, Fallen Empires, in Rancho de la Luna Studios in southeastern California.  (You may recall that Luna was the name of the tree Julia Butterfly lived in, whom I heard speak just yesterday).  Spooky!

In any case, it was a really great performance tonight, especially since Snow Patrol played at Massey Hall, one of my most beloved music venues of all time.  Ed Sheeran (@edsheeran) opened for them, as he is reportedly doing on all of their North American tour dates.  He seems to be the UK’s latest incarnation of Eminem.  All of the young girls in the crowd were screaming for his crazy R. Patts styled hair, low-fitting jeans and tattooed forearm.  He represents the nicer type of bad boy you could probably get away with bringing home to Mom.

After the crowd was suitably warmed up, it was time for the main event.  In case you are not familiar with them, Snow Patrol is an Irish/Scottish band, who try hard not to sound like Coldplay, but there does seem to be some similarity to their sound if you ask me, particularly on their latest album.  I became addicted to its hit single, Called Out in the Dark, which got a fair amount of air play while I was still over in Ireland this past year.  Their video for the song is pure whimsy, and the behind the scenes version (in four parts) is even more so:

The front man of Snow Patrol is Gary Lightbody (@garysnowpatrol), the dude in the green t-shirt in the above clip.  He writes down his random thoughts in more or less of a blog format on tumblr, which I love him for, because he doesn’t stay inside the lines and use it primarily for photos, like the rest of the world.  The fact that they write their own lyrics is probably what hooked me on this group in the first place.  I mean, what other band do you know that can use the phrase ‘drunken semaphore’ in a hit single?  Fantastic!  Probably Snow Patrol’s best known song ever is Chasing Cars.  Here is an excerpt from that tune performed during the show tonight, with Gary getting lots of love from the ladies:

They played for a solid hour and a half, with a lovely mix of old and new songs, including a touching ballad about love, which really made the crowd swoon.  What’s not to like?  Thanks for a fabulous evening, guys!  Come back and visit us anytime! xx

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Day 48: Turn Inspiration into Action.

Posted on April 17, 2012 by LaLa

It only seemed appropriate to follow up Oprah’s Lifeclass by going to hear Julia Butterfly Hill speak about Turning Inspiration Into Action.  This is someone who not only talks the talk, but truly walks the walk, or rather, climbs the tree.  What, you haven’t heard of her?  Yes, you have – you simply forgot her name.  This is the chick who clambered 180 feet up into the branches of a 1000 year-old redwood tree in northern California, and refused to come down for like two years, until they reached a settlement to protect ‘Luna’ (that’s the name of the tree) forever.  Don’t worry if you still don’t remember…  It was the late nineties, and her best-selling book. The Legacy of Luna, is being made into a dramatic feature film to help refresh your grey matter, so it’s all good!

Now, Julia wasn’t always an activist – quite the contrary, in fact.  She rebelled against her preacher father and meagre upbringing by attending business school and becoming a successful restaurateur and consultant, using a lot of what she calls ‘unhealthy coping mechanisms’ in the process.  It wasn’t until after she recuperated from a traumatic car accident, where a steering wheel was literally lodged into her skull, that Julia put her feelings into actions, and climbed up that tree on December 10th, 1997, becoming a writer and a poet along the way (turns out she had a little time on her hands to reflect, up there in those treetops).  Here is an excerpt from a documentary made about her at the time:

A self-proclaimed introvert, Julia has followed in her father’s footsteps of public speaking engagements rather reluctantly, but was positively luminous on stage when philosophizing about helping people to live their lives on purpose.  She was most eloquent when poking fun at herself, always remaining conscious of whenever she had a ‘granolier than thou‘ moment, recognizing that the way to get through to people is not by being right, but by being human.  Like when some loggers decided to try and shoot at her up in the tree while on a deer hunting expedition.  She used humour and humanity to reach them.  She even managed to get them to bring her fresh organic produce a couple of weeks later (naturally, she’s vegan).  True story!

The audience was virtually flooded with poignant messages throughout the evening, which was smartly broken up into two segments, to help us take it all in.  During the first part, Julia regaled us with witty stories and messages to help us on our individual journeys, casually reminding us that with every single paper coffee cup or napkin we use, if you listen carefully enough, you can hear the forest cry.  But don’t apologize to her, apologize to the trees.  What has led us to this critical point is what she referred to as the ‘disease of disconnect’.  Where’s the love, people?  We need to be mindful that every single time we make a choice, no matter how small, we change the world, as it is scientifically impossible not to make a difference with every action.  Oh, man, I feel like she is taking away my beloved short-term memory get-out-of-jail-free card.  I mean, if what I do matters…. Crap, we’re all screwed!

But don’t despair.  Deep breaths…  Your choices going forward also have an impact, and the idea is to make better ones.  Nobody’s perfect, but each day, in many small ways, you can make it a little more right, like by carrying your own refillable water bottle, mug, or handkerchief.  The mantra that resonated the most with Julia, as she read about Gandhi and his non-violent movement sitting up high in the tree, not washing the soles of her feet to use the sap to keep a better grip in her daily climbs, was this:  To live so fully and presently in love so that there is no room for anything else to exist.  In a word, wow.  Even my cynicism is humbled.

During the second portion of the evening, Julia was joined on stage by Buddhist Chaplain and psychotherapist Andrew Blake, who also had some important teachings for us.  He started off with the three basic offences in Buddhism:

  1. We demand things and others to change for our attachments;
  2. We defend ourselves with a shield that we use as a separation from our feelings; and
  3. We distract ourselves from feeling any of the pain.

Andrew then reminded us that the world (okay, mainly its corporations, and organized systems) is co-opting two of our most valuable resources from us as individuals:  our time, and our attention.  We need to wake up and start listening with our full bodies, especially our hearts, and follow our intuition.  Awareness is about using all 3 of our brains.  Assuming our head is the first and our heart is the second, I didn’t quite catch where the third one was, but I’m pretty sure he meant our gut.  He then also gave us a mnemonic for GRACE, which is a way of opening our merciful side:  Ground, Resource, Attune, Comprehend, and Embrace.  Phew!  It’s a lot to take in.

The main event was nicely complemented with the original musical stylings of Chris Assad and Brian MacMillan before the start, and during the interlude.  Theodore Tsaousidis, from Snow Lion, warmly hosted the entire event.

One of the biggest highlights of the night, at least for me, were the two poetry readings by Evalyn Parry.  I instantly felt transported to a speakeasy in New York, with her raw messages about being strong, standing up for all the other people, and the perils of bottled water, being conveyed brilliantly with a mixture of humour and music.  This girl is seriously talented, and we are lucky to have her.  It was a delightful surprise.

At less than 5% of the price of the ticket for Oprah’s Lifeclass show yesterday, I felt that the evening delivered tremendous value.  Julia truly is an inspiration and a trailblazer, and, as she put it, an ancestor of the future, just like the first women who wore pants.  It was an honour to have even been allowed in the same room with her.

With that, I leave you with some of the best quotes from the evening.  Hopefully, they will help you to find your path, or at least, brighten your day in some small way:

  • Our doing is getting in the way of our being.
  • The greatest obstacle in our lives is our minds.
  • If we want to heal it, we have to feel it.
  • Be the change that you want to see in the world (Gandhi).
  • Be grounded in reality, but be flexible. Like trees in a storm.
  • Ignoring the facts does not make them any less true.
  • Develop your compassion by keeping your heart open and unshielded.
  • Patience is a way to get where you’re going.
  • What we know often gets in the way of what we need to learn.
  • Courage happens when we face our fears, and it can only happen when our heart is open and engaged.
  • Let love be your guiding force.
  • When you embrace death you embrace life the most fully.
  • A mindful, deep breath allows us to be present and can help us to see another way instead of just fight, flight or freeze in the face of adversity.
  • Being a human is ridiculous.
  • We can control our own experience and reactions to any situation.
  • If they are laughing, they are listening.
  • You might be right, but that doesn’t make you effective.  Let go of the issues, and connect with your humanity.
  • Look for ways to simplify your life, and that is how you will make the time.
  • Focus on what breaks your heart and breaks you open, and that is how you will find your passion.  Find your tree.
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Day 47: Go See Oprah!

Posted on April 16, 2012 by LaLa

The Golden Ticket.

Oprah! No other name can instantaneously command so much nurturing and respect, not to mention amass an incredibly large gathering of women with minimal advertising quite the way she does.  Today, I attended Oprah’s Lifeclass Tour, which also happened to be the first ever taping of her show in Canada.  In fact, she held two marathon sessions, back to back: one focused on Gratitude, the other on Forgiveness.  For both of them, she was flanked by her panelist of renowned self-help gurus:  Deepak Chopra, Iyanla Vanzant, Bishop T.D. Jakes, and Tony Robbins.  In a word?  Opportunity!

But first, a few news flashes for you, in case you had forgotten: we are all going to die, so you may as well make the most of the time you have.  Today is the first day of the rest of your life.  You can choose from this moment how the remainder will unfold.  Let the love in.  No point dwelling on the past, as it is history.  Let it go.  Move on.  These points are all oldies but goodies, and definitely themes that would re-emerge throughout the day.  At least, as far as I remember.

Zoomed in on the elite section before the start.

You see, we started rather early.  I went to the show with LeLa and her mom, who is a huge fan.  Our tickets were supposedly from 8 am to 2:30 pm; having flown in especially for this from Alberta, LeLa’s mom was simply beside herself with excitement, like a normal kid on Christmas morning.  They were in line for the general admission seats by 6:15 am, bless them, where I joined them around 7, not too long before the doors at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre opened to the brightly-dressed and stylish masses.

We ended up with seats about a third of the way from the front, which was to say, quite a ways back from the stage, given that there were 8,500 people in attendance.  Not exactly the ideal venue, but once the show started, shortly after 9 am, the 99% estrogen-fueled crowd forgave the queen bee and her peeps, and enjoyed the gratitude-inspired, emotionally charged day.

Jessica Holmes doing her best Celine.

The morning portion of the program was not televised, and was beautifully mc’d by Jessica Holmes, of Air Farce fame.  She had us all forgetting about the venue in no time, with that great uniter of all Canadians: making fun of Celine Dion.  Classic!  This girl has pipes, and can beat her chest with her fist like a champ.   She introduced the speakers in turn, who each delivered their own gospel for about half an hour or so to an enraptured audience.

Deepak's in the house.

 

Actually, we were nodding off a bit during Deepak‘s opener, many of us having skipped breakfast and our daily caffeine injections to be there at the crack of dawn.  The man is undisputedly highly intelligent, but a little too evolved and soft-spoken for us at that hour.  I think the gist of his speech had to do with awareness consciousness, the central theme of his new book, but I must admit, I was struggling to maintain my consciousness at all.

A smarter opener would have been Iyanla, who reminded me of a younger, feistier version of Maya Angelou, full of wisdom and sensible stories.  She had us all laughing in no time – a very energetic speaker in fabulous heels, pacing across the stage and mopping her brow under the bright lights, as she repeated her message clearly amongst her many personal anecdotes to drive it home:  tell the truth to yourself about yourself, no matter how ugly it may be.  You need to hear it.  Hmm…  All I can hear at the moment is my stomach grumbling, but I’ll take that under advisement.  If only it truly were food for thought!

The Bishop T.D. Jakes was up next.  I personally was not familiar with him, but liked him instantly.  Having survived raising a brood of children with the same women by his side for 30-odd years, he has earned his stripes and spoke to us like the elder he is, imparting wisdom in an aw shucks kind of manner.  Something about him kept reminding me of Will’s uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.  His message involved looking at your station in life and the people you surround yourself with.  Do you want to be a chicken, poking around in the yard, occasionally eating poo and never being able to fly, or do you want to spread your wings and soar like an eagle, incidentally mating in flight, and only with other eagles?  This choir is converted.  Baby, we’re here to soar!

Looking good, Tony!

Finally, Anthony Robbins was up.  The man is all about the high energy, participatory style of public speaking, and managed to get all 8,500 of us out of chairs, jumping around, and yelling Yes! at the top of our lungs.  Impressive.  He also loves to ask questions, and just about every sentence out of his mouth was looking for a vocal affirmation as to how many people could relate, to say I (or should that be O!).  Naturally, we all obliged.  Repeatedly.  I have to say, I really liked his no nonsense approach.  It is obvious why his personal power seminars are so successful.

I am your Queen. No need to bow, though.

At this point, it was shortly after 12 noon, and we were briefed on the rules for the televised portion of the day, the most important instruction being to stay in our seats.  It was about then that she surfaced, with her four apostles.  Oprah.  The crowd, understandably, was beside themselves.  Their queen had arrived, and the show got underway.

Two men - in a row! I gotta sit down for this.

It was just like being in the studio audience, with the main difference being that, during the commercial breaks, she spoke to some people in the crowd, including hugging two girls she ‘had raised for the past nine years’.  She also took her stage and microphone cues, and changed her shoes – or rather, she had people do that for her.  I mean, after all, she is the Oprah.  She did her best to keep it real, and is clearly a pro at retrieving the golden tidbits from her panel of experts, who revere her almost as much as the crowd.  The love and support in the room was teeming, and the touching segments moved everyone to tears at some point during the afternoon.  She had flown in a few special cases for the occasion, to give it that extra personal touch and authenticity.  All in all, we were not disappointed.

While this ‘life class’ focused on the theme of Gratitude, it was also a lesson in sound bites, and there were a lot of really good ones.  This is precisely what Twitter was made for; in fact, free wifi was provided, along with the cutesy hash tag #OinTO.  My personal fave was one about Oprah being the Bieber of middle-aged women, as she was practically molested for hugs and high fives when she graciously floated through the crowds, all the way to the back and up again.  I mean, her feet don’t actually touch the ground, do they?

So without further ado, here is a smattering of the pearls of wisdom I took away from today:

  • Pain = pay attention inward now.
  • Gratitude is the antidote to fear and anger. Reconnect to the divine.
  • Gratitude acknowledges you’ve been given a gift; feel this rather than entitlement.
  • Appreciation is duplication.  (Interpretation:  Gratitude leads to happiness, which is contagious and comes back to you).
  • Open the door to awareness consciousness.
  • You get what you tolerate.
  • Sometimes, you just need someone behind you to yell RUN! (This was Tony, on choosing a personal trainer.  I think the message was to stay focused on the end goal, and not to get too caught up in the details.)
  • Life happens not to me, but for me. Change your belief system (and your mindset to look for the opportunity in everything).
  • People are like scaffolding.  Sometimes they are only in your life to help build you up.
  • Gratitude is a state of being.
  • Change your expectation for appreciation and the world changes instantly.
  • If you’re giving something, then you’re not poor.  (This includes your time and assistance.)
  • The best things you can give to children are:  Attention, appreciation, and affection.
  • Inner sight is more important than outer sight.
  • Your new mantra should be:  I am the universe – believe in your infinite potential. All other beliefs are false.
  • What you feed will grow.

My biggest practical take away, though, was to start a Gratitude journal.  The idea is that every single day, you write in it 5 things that you are grateful for that day.  Lady Gaga apparently did this, based on Oprah’s advice in a show that her Mom saw, back in the nineties.  Obviously, it worked for The Monster, so who am I to argue?  In any event, I kept waiting for this gem to come up, but it never did:  Gratitude is the new Attitude.  An apt summary, if I do say so myself.  While I haven’t watched Oprah on a regular basis since my school days, after today, I must admit, she’s still got it.  I feel inspired, humbled, and, of course, grateful.  The sisterhood is just that wee bit stronger after today.

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Day 46: Volunteer for Slow Food.

Posted on April 15, 2012 by LaLa

It’s no secret that I love to eat.  And as much as I enjoy cooking, let’s face it, food that has been graciously prepared by others always tastes better, particularly in restaurants that serve up fantastic dishes at reasonable prices using local ingredients.  I can get downright giddy when reading a menu, and absolutely euphoric, to the point of rocking back and forth in my seat, in anticipation of the delicate flavours to come.  I simply marvel at all the laborious techniques that are brought together to deliver these plates of wonder to my table, and try not to drool too much before I can get that magical first forkful into my mouth.

I find it extremely humbling to think about the farmers who get up so early every day to milk the cows and plough their fields, and the fishermen going out to sea with their nets and hearty optimism.  Together with the chefs, sous-chefs, and everyday line cooks, I am truly grateful for the resulting sheer bliss that I get to ultimately savour on my palate.  When Harry met Sally I suppose comes closest to capturing the essence of the experience for me.

Now, I recognize that not everyone feels this way, and I have every hope that these freaks of nature have other sources of joy in their lives that are equivalent to this kind of pleasure.  Personally, I have always opted for ‘real’ food over ‘fast’ food since I was about 4 years old and learned to vocalize my preferences.  As much as I like salt, I still feel that fast food lacks the freshness, smell, and above all else, the flavour, of food that has typically begun with seasonal, ripe ingredients that have been, in the best cases, locally and organically produced.

So when I first heard about the Slow Food movement that originated in Italy in 1989, I instantly identified with it and felt that they were like extended (yet functional) family who understood the importance of preserving gastronomical delights, such as recapturing the intense flavours of the wild berries we used to pick in the bushes and eat by the handful where I grew up.  The organization promotes food that is good, clean and fair, especially in terms of longer-term sustainability.  I’ve since become involved in supporting the Slow Food Toronto chapter whenever I could, such as by attending their annual fall Picnic at the Evergreen Brick Works (oh, the hardship!).

When the opportunity arose to volunteer at the Green Living Show to talk about Slow Food Toronto to the public, how could I resist!  Not only would I be surrounded by about 20 different local chefs dishing out delectable bites and tasty treats for everyone to savour, but I would also get to yammer on about the wonders of farm fresh fare to other environmentally minded, albeit hungry, show-goers.  Plus, being the voucher queen that I am, the free admission to the show was a nice perk that did not escape my attention.

I managed to squeeze in a quick tour of the show both before and after my 3-hour booth bunny duty.  This included many of its featured attractions, like the green beauty bar, sweat equity yoga pavilion, the movie-music eco-swap, farmer’s market, yada yada, but I have to say, my personal favourite thing there (besides the food and wine, of course) was the Mongolian yurt.  If I had a backyard or a cottage, I tell ya, there’d be a yurt sitting smack dab in the middle of it.  They’re just so freaking quirky, what’s not to love!  Plus, it’s fun to say – kinda reminiscent of Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny, going on about the two yoots… But I digress.

The other bit of remarkable fun came from taking a test spin on a battery-powered scooter, which can go up to 32 km/hr (trust me on this one).  You’d think the person letting you try it would also have one, you know, just in case you tried to make a run for the exit?  Something to think about for next year…

Anywho, the show seemed to once again be as successful as ever, enjoying large crowds today thanks in no small part to the light drizzle outside – an occasional reminder of the Irish weather that I have gleefully left behind, may it rest in pieces.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate the rain for the role it plays in the all-important circle of life.  How else would all that glorious cheese get onto my plate and grapes into my glass?  Something to think about the next time you’re gorging on that gorgonzola pizza…  Which, incidentally, pairs equally well with a glass of chianti as it does with a pint of cider. Who knew?

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Day 45: Drive a Motorcycle.

Posted on April 14, 2012 by LaLa

B-b-b-b-bad to the bone!  Oh yeah, I could totally picture myself cruising on a motorbike down the open road, without a care in the world.  Now that sounds like freedom to me!  …For like five minutes.  Then I would want to meet up with my friends on a patio for a cold drink.  Then maybe ride again.  Decisions, decisions!

To allow this dream to blossom into even a hint of reality, I attended a 3-hour ‘Get Your Feet Wet’ Motorcycle Training Clinic today, offered by Learning Curves Foundation.  It appealed to me on multiple levels; namely:  one, it just looks so freaking cool.  Two, it’s always good to learn something new – you never know when this kind of skill might come in handy.  I mean, let’s just say I run into Brangelina, and they need someone to drive their bike while they’re standing on the back, climbing onto a ladder hanging from a chopper while they’re warding off aliens with a bazooka.  It could happen…  And three, at some point, if I do ever want to own a scooter in the Vespa category to get around the city, there’s this itty bitty law type of thing that apparently states that you need to have your motorcycle license.  Whatever.

I mean, I’ve ridden on the back of a motorbike several times before, but to be in the driver’s seat – that is definitely new territory!  Before hurtling myself down the full road of getting licensed and buying a helmet, let alone getting a bike and insurance and all of that, I considered it kismet when one of my beloved deal sites offered an introduction to the basics of motorcycling, which would confirm whether or not it really was everything I hoped it would be.  Naturally, I jumped all over it.

EZ Riders.

I was positively giddy by the time I arrived at the clinic, which was smartly held in a large parking lot devoid of pedestrians and other moving vehicles, cordoned off by giant orange pylons.  There were about ten of us newbies, and two instructors.  After getting all the necessary gear and uber-important waivers signed, we started with the fundamentals, like how not to look like a dork when moving a bike (the ‘duck walk’ is so not cool).  We also practiced our form and balancing on a bike while being pushed around by a fellow participant making vroom-vroom noises.  Next up was actually how to start it, and to get a feel for the friction zone.  We then learned a very handy mnemonic that soon became rote:  C-KNIFE.  Choke, Kickstand, Neutral, Ignition, Fuel, and Engine.  These are all the necessary tidbits to check before you can get your motor running.

That's right, I'm a badass.

Finally, we got to start the bikes up, open up the clutch, and test out the brakes.  I’ve never really been a fan of brakes, as they seem to want to hold you back from exploring new territory.  I really liked the throttle, though.  That’s like the gas pedal.  Kick ass!  We spent the remainder of the clinic practicing starting and stopping, and trying to maneuver our way through s-turns at slow-ish speeds.  We got to try out 4 different models and styles of bikes, which was super fun and interesting.  No real surprise, I suppose, but I loved the biggest one.  It just seemed to be the most comfortable…  Although the ‘crotch rockets’ (their term, not mine) were chomping at the bit to take off, and made me feel the need for speed, which, I suppose would be a teensy bit dangerous in the long run…  Probably?

The good news is that this intro clinic counts towards the full licensing course should we wish to enrol.  For the life of me, I can’t think of any good reason why not to!??  How I wish I had tried this sooner!  I’m thinking of sending the short video one of the instructors took on my phone of me on the bike course to my mom for Mother’s Day.  Is that wrong?  I suppose time will tell…  Be safe out there!  Peace out.

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