skipping further along the path of storytelling, here is one of my favourite zen tales: a man walking alone in the wild suddenly finds himself chased by a tiger. he starts to run but soon arrives at the edge of a cliff. with no way out, he jumps and, luckily, manages to grasp a vine.… Continue reading zen tales: the strawberry story
Month: November 2006
storytelling
so …. we keep on weaving our way here through the arts. from remembrance day to courage to storytelling … okay, let’s stay with storytelling for a while. i don’t know who said the words, “man is a storytelling animal” (hegel? derrida? tolkien? jung?) stories – “narratives”, they call them in academia – are as… Continue reading storytelling
courage, draft dodgers and storytelling
continuing on the remembrance day topic, this morning i caught the tail end of michael enright at CBC radio conversing with a historian and a soldier about the meaning of courage. one question was whether it was cowardly for vietnam draft dodgers to come to canada. there was a view that it was more courageous… Continue reading courage, draft dodgers and storytelling
remembrance day songs, part II
after posting about remembrance day songs yesterday i went to my daughter’s remembrance day assembly. it was quite moving. and i thought, this is what will be a childhood memory for my daughter one day! here are the songs
remembrance day songs
marc robert north, one of my painter friends, just suggested this idea for remembrance day (november 11 here in canada): 1. — > what was your favourite or most fondly remembered remembrance day song and/or poem when you grew up ? 2. — > and if possible, why? he says that his was buffy sainte-marie’s… Continue reading remembrance day songs
“oh, the things you can think up if only you try!”
well, people, now you know where i get my inspiration from: idle 14th century poets and 1st grade readers! because today i want to tell you about one of my heroes – dr. seuss: a fabulous poet, a man with passionate convictions, and a great painter. yes, he wrote children’s books. but his imagination and… Continue reading “oh, the things you can think up if only you try!”
tsurezuregusa: wisdom from an idle poet
november’s issue of bodhi mind, the vancouver buddhist church’s monthly newsletter, introduced me to the poet kenko. i was intrigued by his words that “there are seven undesirable things as friends,” among them “a strong person who has never been ill.” wise words. although there are always
music, brain and emotions
in line with the theme of art and creativity this month, i thought i’d dish up something about music psychology. this fabulous site on the topic brought me to an interesting article on the neurobiology of the emotional effects of music. music profoundly affects our moods. but how
leadership jazz
talking about life as a creative project – here’s a book that discusses business life as a creative project: leadership jazz, by max depree. here are a few excerpts: everyone is equally authentic and surrounded by the mystery of potential fragility is part of a vision’s nature. people who think they have created an indestructible… Continue reading leadership jazz
creative projects
one of the commentators on the art that makes a difference blog entry says that two movies (one of them spirited away, also one of my favourites) helped him through difficult times. that has certainly been my experience, too – art kind of scooping me up and taking me out of those troughs of confusion… Continue reading creative projects