Today was a busy and productive day. Mel and I got off to an early start with a Saturday morning Zumba class. Chris and I then dropped Mel off at Carleton University (where she was planning to do some research) and headed to Shane's place, while he was out at a fencing class. Chris and I completed a few projects there, then—when Shane returned home—I left with him to pick up Mel and run a few errands. Chris stayed behind to prepare supper. We enjoyed a delicious meal together as a family. As we were preparing to leave, I remembered my commitment to taking a photo every day, so I snapped the selfie in tonight's visual. Sometimes the most ordinary days are the most extraordinary.

Live until you don't. I used to work with someone who said, "I'll trust you until I don't." To me, that meant that trust was his default; he started with trust and continued with trust unless and until he had some evidence that he shouldn't trust. With a slight modification, that seems like a good philosophy for life: "I'll live until I don't." The focus is on living, not dying. It's like what Snoopy said in response to Charlie Brown's pessimistic proclamation that we would all die someday: "True," Snoopy replied, "but on all the other days, we won't."

"Kintsukuroi is a kind of Japanese ceramic style. The word Kintsukuroi means "to repair with gold." In the Kintsukuroi tradition, when a ceramic piece breaks, an artisan will fuse the pieces back together using liquid gold or gold-dusted lacquer. So rather than being covered up, the breaks become more obvious, and a new piece of art emerges from the brokenness.

"Kintsukuroi embraces flaws and imperfections, but it also teaches the essence of resilience. Every crack in a ceramic piece is part of its history, and each piece becomes more beautiful because it has been broken.

"You will fail.

You will fail.

You will break.

You will stand up and dust yourself off.

You will repair yourself again and again.

And eventually, though you will be different than before, you will again become whole.

You will be even more beautiful precisely because of all of this.

You will be a better person because of your imperfections, not in spite of them."

Today I asked Cancer, "What are you here to teach me?" Cancer had a list.

We have an impact on everyone we meet

Our dearest friends, the stranger on the street

And with each encounter we change too

You’ll never know how much others love you

You are respected, valued more than you can know

Your cup truly does overflow

~ John Brewer

My doorbell rang this morning. The young girl who lives next door was on my front steps with a card and a multi-coloured scarf that she had knitted for me. Sofia learned only a few days ago that I have ovarian cancer, after my husband mentioned it to her mom. Sofia's mom later told my husband that her daughter, who had already been knitting a scarf for someone else with cancer, said that she needed to hurry up with the first scarf so that she could knit one for me too.

Even if we don't look to population-level calamities to put our current woes in a new light, we can reflect on our own history of facing and overcoming obstacles.... As we start a new year, with many of us in a very different place from where we thought we would be on January 1, 2022, it may help to consider all the hardships we have faced and overcome and to remember that "It always seems impossible until it's done."

"Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart."

~ Unknown

Life does bring so many challenges, often more than we expect, sometimes more than we think we can handle. In those moments, it may help to remember that challenges (especially those related to health) and the lengths we go to overcome them are the price of being alive.

Certain songs are like rocks in a pond. While many memories from my past remain buried under water, songs help me to uncover at least some of them. Recalling songs that make up the soundtrack of my life allows me to step from rock to rock—from memory to memory.

If we can be rich without becoming unhappy, successful without sacrificing our peace, wealthy without becoming unhealthy, cool without being unkind, our lives will be in harmony. And if we can't have all that, then may we have happiness, peace, health and kindness. Ultimately, these are the things that will sustain us.

"Major life changes—moving to a new city, starting a new job, ending a relationship, getting married, having kids, etc—will often make life harder for the first 100 days before improving. Not always true, but it's a reminder that early struggle doesn't mean it was a bad choice."

~ James Clear

Be positive. The purpose of feedback is to improve performance; studies show that when comments are predominantly negative, effort and achievement are diminished. Acknowledge what your employees did well, identify what they need to improve, and explain how they can make this improvement.