Taking time off from the structure, guidance, support and just seeing what a trail can teach us was one way to revisit the program. The Manresa Spiritual Centre (MSC) at Pickering helps see different facets of Ontario life. October 2023 I did my third retreat at MSC. A mentor took me through the trails around MSC.
Last September (2022) he had introduced me to one of his mentors. On the second evening of the retreat, he admitted how he had got into spiritual recovery in the 1970s but then thought that he had “got it” and became complacent and caused lot of self harm, harm to his family and the after-effects of that phase still linger on.
Flow was revealed in a unique way as he told me how the structure of a pillar can show the age of the house -around 100 years ago.
Exploring Rouge River basin area-Pickering-2023-October
Memories and Perspectives-2023
Earlier perspectives
Gaps-Letter from Jasola
Anything that you have, you can lose; anything you are attached to, you can be separated from; anything you love can be taken away from you. Yet, if you have nothing to lose, you have nothing
Richard Kalish, a deceased colleague of Kenneth Doka, quoted in his book – Grief is a journey.Dr Doka is a preeminent expert on grief
The sharing of these gallery spaces added richness to our association with the multicultural aspects of Ontario. We remembered museum walks, our family legacy of science institutions visits when we used stay in Ovation, Mississauga.
The AGO has a special exhibition by Sarinder Dhaliwal with many touching exhibits. The way Radcliffe is made to speak through different birds in different contexts was one of the most touching exhibits
Dinosaurs of Antarctica was the fitting finale of the many galleries and spaces we walked through this week, remembering art walks and science museums.
Remembering Yester Years- 2014-15 walks
When Sagar and Sahil were studying in High school, we used to go to OSC. Here we discovered the sounds and smells of the forests, and a thesis of 1971, whose trees have been exhibited at OSC.
Roots of a Pine: A thesis of 1971: Walks in OSC-2015
Sounds of Forest 2015
Settling in Ontario required us to go into holistic healing practices and the science and application of these were learned in colleges near the OSC.
2023-OSC- Exibits
Hair Appointment-AGO-Walks- Dec 2023
AGO -African photography- the hair appointments.
Do you remember sharing a space which expanded your horizons?
With his Guitar, walking along the Humber, Old Mills, 2023-October
Walks in and around Fall-2023
We met again in front of Old Mills and as a prelude, I usually try to spend some time reflecting on some aspect of life which brought us together in a particular place.
Remembering Adeline Whiteoak
The Jalna series by Mazo de La Roche, published in 1927 follows the Whiteoak family through generations. Adeline Whiteoak, a strongwilled and determined woman was dedicated to preserve the family traditions and estate. Her eldest son Philip is a kind and sensitive individual, his brother Renny is more assertive and passionate while the daughter Meg adds a feminine touch to the family estate.
Links with Benares house and the Harris family
The fictional Whiteoak family is said to be inspired by the Harris family, who stayed in Benares house of Clarkson, Mississauga. The Benares House dates from the late 1850s, taking its name from the holy city of Benares in India where James Harris served in the 1830s.
Earlier Perspectives
Discussions with Bill Manson-Local Historian of Hamilton region
At the same time, we have retreated from public spaces of our old neighbourhoods into the private spaces of our automobiles, the anonymity of our high-rises, the security of our gated-communities, and the isolation of our urban homes
See blog: Every Object has a Story: Bradley Museum Missisauga
As we walked in the early morning hour beside the Humber, my friend talked about the Czech origins of his mother, but how their family shifted to Warsaw due the troubled times in Europe in the time of the rise of Nazism in 1920s/1930s. Then she shifted to Ontario Canada, where she met a person of Czech origin
Following a family life
One of the tools of reflection on society has been to talk to families of different continents. Relating them to characters in literature and seeing how those voices speak through generations has been an interesting exercise which Tom and I have refined over the years.
Last month, he attended the wedding of the son of a couple he has known since 1980s. They named him Yukon as he was born there. This month he sang a song he had written in honour of the football team for which Yukon played.
20 years ago left India
On Sep 15-2003- I first went to Tripoli from Delhi. Over the decades, conversation with diaspora and relating them to discussions with mentors in India has been a growth experience.
For earlier perspectives -See 2017-September walks
Prashant Bhatt's notes 