Day of Thanks for May 11

LEO Jul 23 | Aug 22 The hill where I take my late afternoon hikes is teeming with the six-petaled purple wildflower known as the elegant cluster-lily. Every one of them – and there are hundreds – leans hard in the direction of the sun in the west. Should I deride them as conformists that follow the law of the pack? Should I ridicule them for their blind devotion? Or should I more sensibly regard them as having a healthy instinct to gravitate toward the life-giving light? I’ll go with the latter theory. In that spirit, Leo, I urge you to ignore the opinions of others as you turn strongly toward the sources that provide you with essential nourishment.

As July 1st gets closer and closer I realize why people take 3 years to plan a move like this. Holy shit there are a lot of things coming at me from all directions and a ton of emotions come with each new thing. I keep oscillating back and forth between, I am brave, and, I am completely unprepared and insane.

As much as taking another year to do this sounds like an option it is not.

This month marks the 18th year that I have lived with Tinnitus (chronic ringing in the ears). In the last year in Toronto I have had to leave coffee shops, restaurants, clothing stores and bars all because of the volume at which they play music. A lot of the time it is overwhelming and frustrating for me to be out and about in my city. Lately due to the state of my health I feel like I am fleeing and not moving from Toronto so no matter how unprepared I am or how many issues present themselves that I did not see coming, I am rolling the dice and hoping like hell that being out on my land will help to bring some much needed quiet back into my life.

Posted by Live Small Think Big

Folk artist. Lifelong cyclist. Plant based. Zero Waste. Environmentalist. Lover.

Day of Thanks for May 4

LEO Jul 23 | Aug 22 As I awoke this morning, I remembered the dream I’d just had. In the dream, I had written a horoscope for you. Here’s what it said: “The Kentucky Derby is a famous horse race that takes place on the first Saturday of every May. It’s called “the Run for the Roses” because one of the prizes that goes to the winning horse and jockey is a garland of 554 roses. I suspect that your life may soon bring you an odd treasure like that, Leo. Will it be a good thing, or too much of a good thing? Will it be useful or just kind of weird? Beautiful or a bit ridiculous? The answers to those questions may depend in part on your willingness to adjust your expectations.”

Based on the fact that every part of my life is up in the air right now I am going to say that my ‘willingness to adjust your expectations’ is at an all time high. I will keep my eyes and ears open for odd treasures.

Posted by Live Small Think Big

Folk artist. Lifelong cyclist. Plant based. Zero Waste. Environmentalist. Lover.

Day of Thanks for April 27

LEO Jul 23 | Aug 22 If you were a supporting character in a popular TV drama, the producers would be cooking up a spin-off show with you in a starring role. If you were in an indie rock band, you’d be ready to move from performing at 300-seat venues to clubs with an audience capacity of 2,000. If you have always been just an average egocentric romantic like the rest of us, you might be on the verge of becoming a legend in your own mind — in which case it would be time to start selling T-shirts, mugs, and calendars with your image on them. And even if you are none of the above, Leo, I suspect you’re ready to rise to the next level.

On vacation I stated to really appreciate and enjoy Instagram. I am a late comer to social media but am super happy to have finally arrived. I had no idea there where so many people out there living like me. It feels pretty awesome and I’m excited to join in the conversation.

I don’t know if I see any of that notoriety coming my way but I’ll take the positive vibes. Here’s to being one more hopeful voice out there!

Instagram @urbanprairie

Posted by Live Small Think Big

Folk artist. Lifelong cyclist. Plant based. Zero Waste. Environmentalist. Lover.

DAY OF THANKS BEFORE I GO

Leo Jul 23 | Aug 22 Do you ever feel reverence and awe, Leo? Are there times when you spontaneously yearn to engage in acts of worship? Is there anyone or anything that evokes your admiration, humility, and gratitude? The coming weeks will be a good time to seek out experiences like these. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will get tender jolts of transformational inspiration if you blend yourself with a sublime force that you trust and respect.

These horoscopes come out in Now Toronto on Thursday but I usually like to sit with them for a few days. Hard to interpret someone’s interpretation of the stars for you.

I am posting today because I am leaving for 14 days to go hang out with my BFF from Grade 4 in Panama and Costa Rica. Aside from my family, he is the first mentor the universe gave me so once again, I could not agree more.

Posted by Live Small Think Big

Folk artist. Lifelong cyclist. Plant based. Zero Waste. Environmentalist. Lover.

DAY OF THANKS FOR APRIL 5

Leo Jul 23 | Aug 22 Some people believe unquestioningly in the truth and power of astrology. They imagine it’s an exact -science that can unfailingly discern character and predict the future. Other people believe all astrology is nonsense. They think everyone who uses it is deluded or stupid. I say that both of these groups are wrong. Both have a simplistic, uninformed perspective. The more correct view is that some astrology is nonsense and some is a potent psychological tool. Some of it’s based on superstition, and some is rooted in a robust mythopoetic understanding of archetypes. I encourage you to employ a similar appreciation for paradox as you evaluate a certain influence that is currently making a big splash in your life. In one sense this influence is like snake oil, and you should be skeptical about it. But in another sense it’s good medicine that can truly heal.

Two sides to everything.

I get that.

Sometimes I think I might be the problem and the solution at the very same time.

Posted by Live Small Think Big

Folk artist. Lifelong cyclist. Plant based. Zero Waste. Environmentalist. Lover.

DAY OF THANKS FOR MARCH 30

LEO Jul 23 | Aug 22 “The national anthem of Hell must be the old Frank Sinatra song I Did It My Way,” declares Richard Wagner, author of the book Christianity For Dummies. “Selfish pride is Hell’s most common trait,” he adds. “Hell’s inhabitants have a sense of satisfaction that they can at least say they’ve been ‘true to themselves.'” Heed this warning, Leo. Tame your lust for self-expression. APRIL FOOL! I was making a little joke. The truth is not that simplistic. I actually think it’s important for you to be able to declare, “I did it my way” and “I’ve been true to myself.” But for best results, do it in ways that aren’t selfish, insensitive or arrogant.

I could not agree more.

Posted by Live Small Think Big

Folk artist. Lifelong cyclist. Plant based. Zero Waste. Environmentalist. Lover.

DAY OF THANKS FOR MARCH 23

LEO Jul 23 | Aug 22 According to the international code of food standards, there are 13 possible sizes for an olive. They include large, extra large, jumbo, extra jumbo, giant, colossal, super colossal, mammoth and super mammoth. If I had my way, Leo, you would apply this mindset to everything you do in the coming weeks. It’s time for you to think very big. You will thrive as you expand your mind, stretch your boundaries, increase your territory, amplify your self-expression, magnify your focus and broaden your innocence.

Its funny that this is my horoscope this time.

Last week I did a FaceBook post asking for construction help because I have finished the design/lay out of the 100 square foot home and I know where everything goes and what it looks like, but I don’t know how to make it structurally sound. This post helped me find my electrician. Solar panel teacher. Check.

I also reached out to a few graphic artistic friends and now my next “Toronto Art Installation” is moving forward to the design/production phase.

I just sent an email to this guy, Elton McDonald. I wonder if he might be the one to help me see if my home can stand…

Posted by Live Small Think Big

Folk artist. Lifelong cyclist. Plant based. Zero Waste. Environmentalist. Lover.

Day of Thanks for March 16

Leo Jul 23 | Aug 22 In 1961, 19-year-old Bob Dylan began doing solo performances of folk songs at New York clubs. To accompany his vocals, he played an acoustic guitar and harmonica. By 1963 his career had skyrocketed. Critics called him a creative genius. Pop stars were recording the songs he wrote, making him rich. But he still kept his instrumentation simple, relying entirely on his acoustic guitar and harmonica. That changed in 1965, when he made the leap to rock and roll. For the first time, his music featured a full drum set and electric guitar, bass and keyboards. Some of his fans were offended. How dare he renounce his folk roots? I wonder if it might be time for you to consider a comparable transition, Leo. Are you willing to risk disorienting or disturbing those who would prefer you stay as you are?

This past Saturday I joined many other Canadians and took to the street to protest Stephen Harper and this Bill C-51. I am in awe that this is even the conversation that we are having in Canada. We should be a world leader in the fight for human rights, environmental rights, freedom of speech, healthy food practices, promotion of green energy, education and health care.

Right now I think, Edward Snowden sums up how I feel best.

“We haven’t had to think about that much in the last few decades because quality of life has been increasing across almost all measures in a significant way, and that has led to a comfortable complacency. But here and there throughout history, we’ll occasionally come across these periods where governments think more about what they “can” do rather than what they “should” do, and what is lawful will become increasingly distinct from what is moral.

In such times, we’d do well to remember that at the end of the day, the law doesn’t defend us; we defend the law. And when it becomes contrary to our morals, we have both the right and the responsibility to rebalance it toward just ends.”

I am not a public speaker. I am not a protestor. I prefer to hug the edges of the party and quietly take things in while enjoying a lot of my own space. Living under Rob Ford and Stephen Harper makes me feel like it is time to get a little louder!!

Posted by Live Small Think Big

Folk artist. Lifelong cyclist. Plant based. Zero Waste. Environmentalist. Lover.

Day of Thanks for March 9

Leo Jul 23 | Aug 22 “As you get older, the heart sheds its leaves like a tree,” said French novelist Gustave Flaubert. “You cannot hold out against certain winds. Each day tears away a few more leaves; and then there are the storms that break off several branches at one go. And while nature’s greenery grows back again in the spring, that of the heart never grows back.” Do you agree with Flaubert, Leo? I don’t. I say that you can live with such resilient innocence that your heart’s leaves grow back after a big wind, and become ever-more lush and hardy as you age. You can send down such deep, strong roots and stretch your branches toward the sun with such vigour that your heart always has access to the replenishment it needs to flourish. The coming weeks will provide evidence that what I say is true.

Remembering you forgot to take it seriously.

I have had a really hard time getting over someone. Not because I believed her to be the one but because she lied to me.

In my 20s sure, I accept that. Not many of us knew who we were. We drank, we partied, we lied.

But to know the 38 year old me, I can’t understand how someone would lie to me. My only expectation is honestly and I am really open about that. I accept changes of heart, changes of mind but I abhor deception.

She touched a really deep nerve in me and right now, the world I live in keeps hitting it. As we get closer to our upcoming election I am getting more and more aware of how mad I am at Canada. When my thoughts go to this place I am going to envision a big, beautiful, Canadian tree and what it feels like to grow and change one more time.

Posted by Live Small Think Big

Folk artist. Lifelong cyclist. Plant based. Zero Waste. Environmentalist. Lover.

Day of Thanks for March 1st

Leo Jul 23 | Aug 22 It seems you’ve slipped into a time warp. Is that bad? I don’t think so. Your adventures there may twist and tweak a warped part of your psyche in such a way that it gets healed. At the very least, I bet your visit to the time warp will reverse the effects of an old folly and correct a problem caused by your past sins. (By the way, when I use the word “sin,” I mean “being lax about following your dreams.”) There’s only one potential problem that could come out of all this: some people in your life could misinterpret what’s happening. To prevent that, communicate crisply every step of the way.

My dad was just here visiting. He is coming back for 2 weeks in August to build my home with me. From talking to him over 3 days I realized how much I still need to learn. Time to get a move on!!! I need to have this plan well laid out so my house goes up smoothly and my design is correct and easy to follow.

Posted by Live Small Think Big

Folk artist. Lifelong cyclist. Plant based. Zero Waste. Environmentalist. Lover.

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