Being Grounded

     In my spare time, one of the things I do is help out as a youth leader for my church.  In this role I get to meet and connect with lots of youth and parents from both inside the church and around Winnipeg. We recently had a leader retreat in which we talked about how to better improve our program.  It's an interesting question.  As leaders, how can we share the love of Christ with the youth who come through our doors?  As we discussed how to do this in one of our sessions, the idea kept coming up of being grounded in God -- the idea being that if we're not basking in God's love for us, then it is impossible for us to show that love to others.  

     I know for myself that this is hard sometimes.  It's so easy to forget that your ultimate worth as a human being doesn't come from anything you do, but rather comes from the fact that God, the creator, loves you.  When I rely on my own efforts to show love to others, I can often fail.  But if all I'm trying to do is reflect the love God has for me, then I can be loving.
     The thing is, I don't think this grounding should be an obligation.  Instead, it should give us great strength to know that our lives are not solely up to us -- we can draw on God for strength.  We are grounded in God when we let go of any negative energy, and focus instead on the positive loving force of God.


     

Back Home!

I duck out of the frame on an interesting talk about politics to take this picture

The Christmas break really did fly by!  I always feel kind of sad when everyone has to leave to go home for Christmas, but it's an important time to connect with family and friends back home.  Well, now everyone's back and ready to go for a new term.

     At the beginning of the year we had a few days to settle in, but this time round we're launching right into the semester.  The cool part about the second semester is the reading break in Mid-February.  The workload is a lot easier to stomach for me if I know I'm going to be getting a break in the middle!
     This past week and weekend has been going really well for me.  I've had a good start on my classes while at the same time spending lots of quality time with old friends and making some new ones.  A group went out to see Where the Wild Things Are (which I would highly recommend if you're in an artsy, eclectic mood), and there's talk of skating at the Forks* tomorrow.
     Judging by how life is right now, I'm expecting 2010 to be a good year.  I hope the same for you!


* "The Forks" is a really cool place near downtown Winnipeg, located where the Red and Assiniboine Rivers meet.  These rivers, when frozen, provide a great place to skate -- I'm going to have to grab some skates at Value Village tomorrow!

Spirit

So I'm sitting on a bus going somewhere downtown. And I'm people watching, because it's always interesting to do so. In front of me, there's this lady who is probably in her late 30s early 40s. She's in a wheelchair. 

Immediately, what strikes me is this sort of cynical, detached look on her face. She has this angry, self-confident negativity written all over her features.

This makes me wonder. What if I ended up in a wheelchair for life? Would I look like her? And I realize that I would have a choice. That this sort traumatic event would change me and mold me as a person, and that I would have the opportunity to choose who that person could be.

It could turn me into a cynical, jaded person, who has lost the beauty and wonder of life. The kind of person who sucks life out of the people around them because they themselves aren't hopeful, aren't enjoying, aren't living.

I could turn into a jaded person. Or I could choose to keep the wonder, the optimism, and the joy. The tragic event of being confined to a wheelchair would not have to dampen my spirit. It could even perhaps help me in certain ways.

Which would I choose?

And then it hits me. I make this decision every day.

Will I keep the wonder, or will I let it die?

Nutcracker Musings

     This past Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending The Nutcracker, put on by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.  One of the amazing things about Winnipeg is how artistic the city is.  The Ballet is a case in point -- it's the longest-running ballet company in North America, and one of the best known!
     In case you've never been to a ballet, it's a very unique form of theatre which has no dialogue. Instead, the story is given to you to read at the beginning of the performance.  One of the most interesting things for me were the effects and set design.  The set design was absolutely extraordinary -- changing from the inside of an early 20th century house to a majestic Greek courtyard.  The outside scenes were believable with falling snow and a magnificent wilderness in the background.  To say nothing of the dancing!

     Watching the ballet got me thinking about the arts.  CMU is a school which focuses on the arts.   We live in a world which seems to put a lot of emphasis on specialization.  It's best to be very good at something -- a marketable skill -- in order to get a high-paying job in that capacity.  Statistics do show that a university education will help you get a higher-paying job.  But if you were looking just to get education to land a good job, you could go to college and get out quicker.  In my experience, a university education is more general -- it teaches you how to think.  The skills you learn in university can help you in all of life.
     I go to university not only to get a good job, but to educate myself, to develop individuality and to grow into my own person.  Studying the arts helps you learn who you are, who you want to be, and how to express that person to the world.  That expression may be in writing, art, ballet or theatre.  It can be communicated in countless ways.

     Imagine you're walking down a road somewhere in the Middle East.  You're thinking about your family, your friends, how dreadfully hot it is  outside.  Then suddenly off in the distance you hear the loud voice of some man yelling.  And not just the voice -- you can see a crowd of people gathering around the speaker.  They're obviously quite excited.  As you get in closer you begin to hear some of the words that are being spoken.  "Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.  Blessed are those who hunger now, for they shall be satisfied."  You wonder what this man is talking about.

     Today we celebrate the birth of this man: Jesus Christ, God incarnate who changed everything.  Jesus Christ, who removes guilt and shame.  Jesus Christ, the savior of the world.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

A Writer's Rant

     It's important to be well read before writing a paper.

     I've heard it said somewhere that the joy is not in writing, but in having written.  This is true, at least for me.  It's hard for me to fully enjoy the writing process, mainly because I'm such a perfectionist.
     If you're lucky in university you'll have all your papers due within a few weeks of each other.  This time around, I had two major, 10 page essays due on the same day.  I spent most of my time (1 week) researching the first paper, and then wrote it and my second paper (which was only partially researched) in 36 hours.  Throw in two smaller assignments also due on the same day, and I had 5500 footnoted words to be written in a day and a half.

The best way to start writing is with a clean and organized workspace.

     It was crazy.  Procrastination sucks.  I managed to handle it without getting stressed, but that was only because I'm a second year and have gone through this process twice before, in each of my previous semesters.  Paper writing was a new experience for me when I came to CMU a year ago.  High school papers (at least in small-town Niverville) are a joke -- there would be times when I received top marks for a paper with one source: Wikipedia!  
     CMU offers a lot of help with essays -- you just need to talk to the right people (a good place to start is the library).  It is thus very possible to get through school without pulling an all nighter (but where's the fun in that?!?)

Christmas @ CMU!

     A end-of-semester highlight for the musically inclined (which, let's face it, is more than 1/2 of us students) is Christmas @ CMU.  This year it took place on November 28th.  It was a musical buffet of sorts with three or four concerts happening all at the same time in different rooms all over north campus.  Gentlemen: this is one of two ready-made date opportunities you're going to get as dorm students.  The other is the Christmas Gala but that's not as musical (read: romantic).  

     This year I was singing in Men's Chorus (you can see my fellow performers above). Between performances there was time to catch some of the other music.  And of course, to have a snack.  A special room was set up so you could grab a hot apple cider and a few cookies.   The students and staff baked 150 dozen cookies just for our beloved audience members! 

     If you missed out, you can still catch some of the performances on radio.  If you live in Manitoba, tune in to either CFAM 950 or CJRB 1220 on December 17th at 2 pm.  You can listen live online at CFAM's website.  

     

Coffee House!

     
     This past Monday night, the Arts and Entertainment Committee hosted a coffee house at the Blaurock cafe.   It was a joyous night of musical acts by current students as well as alumni.  These coffee houses are one of the highlights of living at CMU -- they give us a chance to hang out together.
     There were a wide range of acts, from duets...

     ..to solo performances.

     One of my favourite performers was Brad (pictured above).  He played some well known classy hits including "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga and a certain musical work of art by a very accomplished artiste.

      

     Tying it all together were our fearless Arts and Entertainment leaders Carrie and Craig, doing some serious cooking in between acts.  All I can say is that they got it done -- though perhaps not in the safest, most sanitary way.  Amidst the egg shells and exploding nuts (they used a hammer) the final product (mysteriously taken out of a cardboard oven) was tasty enough -- once they removed the Safeway sticker!

     And there you have it -- the coffee house experience.  Does it get more quirky and awesome than this?  I suggest, my friends, that it does not!

Soliders of Peace (Documentary Film Fest 2009)

(c) 2008 One Tree Films

watch the trailer

     The world is increasingly becoming a dangerous place.  The only viable solution when all is said and done is to move to protect ourselves from the hostile international situation.  

     Right?

     Soldiers of Peace suggests a radical alternative to this stereotype.  Several remarkable examples show that people can learn to solve their problems with conversation and tolerance as opposed to war.  This, the film says, is something essential that we need to learn sooner rather than later.  

     This film addresses some key themes with war.  Why do people go to war?  Is war actually helpful?  Instead of the negative cycle of violence, the power of conversation is advocated.

     One memorable story highlighted in the film was of Pat Magee, a former IRA (Irish Republican Army) bomber.  He was convicted of planting and deploying a bomb in a hotel in Brighton England.  Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet were staying in the hotel on October 12, 1984 when the bomb exploded.  Five people were killed.  One of the victims (who lost her father in the blast) met with Magee after he was released from prison.  They have met over three dozen times because they both believe their meetings are helping them cope with what has happened.  

     This movie isn't for everyone.  It can drag on at times.  But it does present a unique and positive view of world conflict and shows how people are finding less harmful ways to address it.

Documentary Film Fest 2009!

   What's going on in our world today?  What are the problems, and how can we work to fix them?  These are the questions explored in CMU's annual Film Fest, put on by the Peace and Social Awareness Committee of Student Council.  

     The films are being shown this week. They are:

Solders of Peace

Pray the Devil Back to Hell

Blue Gold

Food, Inc

I may be posting some reviews up on here.  Stay tuned!