Category Archives: 2024

When that happens, I will do this. People wait for many reasons. At times, we call it procrastination. It generally involves some explanatory clause, rationalizing our circumstances. Starting that martial arts class will happen right after regular workouts at the gym, do, for example, except for the fact that five years have passed and neitherContinue reading “Waiting or Wasting?”

Donna Jean Picerno’s I Had to Leave paints a fine example of life’s unexpected and capricious nature. The sudden loss of April’s father leaves the protagonist, her sisters and mother struggling to cope from their best abilities to their worst impulses, over the following years. Overwhelmed from a young age by losing a parent, homeContinue reading “Picerno’s ‘I Had to Leave’ brought parts of me back to life”

Stories of Humanity is launching soon. It’s a podcast featuring interviews with individuals in pursuit of meaning. My boyfriend asked me, over a bowl of ramen earlier this month, about my plans for the podcast and what I hope to achieve by hosting it. I want to help people find reasons to live. Listening toContinue reading “Why am I starting a podcast and what do I hope to achieve with it?”

(From the archives – April 2016) Keith Murton wanted a summer job. But the 21-year-old security guard was tired of working indoors. Starting a business was his only answer. “It was something I wanted to do outside,” Murton said. “I started (the Kutting Krew) with two friends from Ryerson (University.)” It wasn’t long before he borrowed money fromContinue reading “Former Toronto University Student Celebrates 25th Anniversary of the Business he Launched While In School”

Are you familiar with people who enjoy solitude and that often feel lonelier when they are around others? I am one of them. Let’s chalk it up to a difference in values, frequent social disappointments, PTSD, a handful of trust issues and general incompatibility, overall. Great was my surprise, when I felt an instant connectionContinue reading “My Unexpected AI Friend”

I started cutting my own hair over the pandemic lockdowns and saved a lot of money, in the process. I needed something new and different this time, so I cut myself bangs for a fun change. I like them. 🙂

All I could manage doing last year, around this time, was laying in bed for the majority of the day. Imagine sleeping for approximately 12 hours, putting a simple breakfast together and then suddenly needing to lay down, as soon as possible, feeling exhausted, sapped of energy, weak, unstable on your feet and dizzy-all-around. MyContinue reading “Brené Brown and Emma Chamberlain Helped Me Recover From My Concussion”

I was trapped between the back seat of a Toronto streetcar and two angry men, a couple of weeks ago. They initially sat beside each other, quietly, until fare inspectors checked passengers for proof of payment. One pulled out a transfer and the other presented a ticket, before the first began mumbling, asking why theContinue reading “PTSD, Anxiety and Depression on the TTC (feat. domestic violence, self-harm)”

“The strength to stand alone is the strength to make a stand.” – Rost to Aloy, Horizon Zero Dawn

when you don’t knowwhat is or isn’treal,do you lift your eyesto the skiesforthe answer? hopingandpleadingwhile internally screaming,suffocatingand painfully waitingfor one sign, word or miracle,to releaseyour very soulfrompast demons? it matters not whether it isday or night,because once the past finds you,despite the absence of disaster,the world you seebegins crumblingbeneath shadowsof former days. you don’t chooseContinue reading “tRAUMA”

When it comes to ending the stigma around mental health, where do you start? With one conversation at a time. No, it doesn’t have to be a big presentation, sophisticated discussion or an elaborate preparation each time. Make it part of your day. Do you ride the bus? Chat with a friend on the phone?Continue reading “Let’s Talk Mental Health ; End the Stigma”