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Hmmm, Reebok is offering a $10,000 reward for the return of Sidney Crosby’s stick and glove from the penultimate scene at the Winter Olympics. What’s wrong with this picture?

Anyone who watched the gold medal hockey game has a mental image of Sidney Crosby at that moment imprinted on his or her brain. Gloves and stick flung away as he raised in his arms in jubilation.

All Canadians joined in that moment and celebrated with him. It was the crowning achievement in a stellar year for Canada at the Olympics. Our Canadian pride was busting at the seams.

I can understand the desire to have the gloves and stick returned. They’ll capture a classic moment of sports history if they become an exhibit at the Hockey Hall of Fame.

But $10,000? No questions asked, Reebok says. Well, I have a couple of questions for them.

What kind of message are we delivering? First there’s the ethical issue of rewarding theft. That’s not exactly the kind of behaviour that conveys the Olympic spirit.

Next there’s the question of the amount of money. $10,000 is a drop in the bucket to multinational giant like Reebok. But to people in a third world country earning $2 a day or less (55% of the world’s population, by the way), it’s a fortune.

What if Reebok came at the situation from a different angle? We’ll give $10,000 to the World Vision relief fund for Haiti if the items are returned. Seems to me that’s a win-win situation. Reebok gets the PR boost they want. Haiti gets a helping hand they desperately need.

Yes, I know the odds of getting the stick and glove back may be higher if they money goes into the perpetrator’s pocket. But isn’t it worth the risk?

Joannie Rochette made the Olympics a metaphor for the triumph of the human spirit. Reebok could carry the same torch if they shifted their perspective just a little bit.

So what do you say, Reebok? Are you up to the challenge?

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel”. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar.

~ If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings every 5 to 7 days. Categories: Shifting Winds, Sudden Light, Deep Dive, Songs of Nature, Random Acts of Metaphor. Or subscribe to my Twitter page (mdyetmetaphor) to receive a tweet when a blog posting goes up.

Tags:   Joannie Rochette · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Reebok · Sidney Crosby · winter olympicsNo Comments.

Hmmm, is there a change conspiracy afoot? It seems that every day the world greets me with another wave of change leaving me no choice but to reinvent my comfortable, little corner of the world.

Is our world really surging onward in every shortening cycles of renewal? Or is there an evil mastermind behind it all dreaming up senseless change after change to keep us all dancing to his fiddle tune?

The software industry – Microsoft in particular – are the overlords of this change conspiracy. They employ armies of people most of whom are foot soldiers in the perpetual change machine.

The association I work for recently upgraded to a newer version of Microsoft Office which has a host of sparking, new features. There is just one problem. Average Joe Users like me only use a small percentage of the program’s functionality. We don’t need and don’t want all these snazzy, new features. As far as we’re concerned, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Okay, you say, so just go on using the features you’ve used before. Ah, but there is the problem. The new version of Excel, for example, doesn’t have just a few new bells and whistles. The entire interface has been changed! Nothing is where it used to be. I have to relearn the entire program just to do the same old things. This is the change conspiracy at work!

Evidence of the change conspiracy is everywhere. The grocery store chain I shop at recently re-branded itself. Apparently that made it necessary to completely reconfigure the store. I used to know where everything was. Now I have to go search for all those items.

Where’s the benefit to me? It’s the same stuff but it seems putting it in a different place is supposed to make me want it more. Reality check time, retail gurus. All you’ve accomplished is to piss me off.

The packaged goods industry has its own spin on the change conspiracy. It spits out an endless stream of silly variations on established products.

The hair shampoo I buy now has versions for normal hair (medium and fresh), oily or fine hair (fine or thick ‘n full), dry hair, dandruff prone hair (dandruff control and dandruff dismissed – what the hell is the difference?), colour treated hair and 4 versions of the “For Men” formula. It gives me a headache trying to find the regular version. I used to be able to grab it without breaking my stride.

I dub this change conspiracy the Microsoft Effect. Remember, you heard it here first!

The Microsoft Effect is the re-branded metaphor of the Butterfly Effect. Microsoft reinvents a software program. This starts a ripple which spreads insidiously across the planet. Six months later a guy in Tokyo is scratching his head wondering why his breakfast cereal is suddenly on the other side of the store.

Yes, my tongue is planted firmly in my cheek. But my change conspiracy theory has a grain of truth in it. Change is a part of life. I accept that. But we’ve allowed the change conspirators to infiltrate our everyday life and bombard us with purposeless change. I for one am tired of dancing to their tune.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel”. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar.

~ If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings every 5 to 7 days. Categories: Shifting Winds, Sudden Light, Deep Dive, Songs of Nature, Random Acts of Metaphor. Or subscribe to my Twitter page (mdyetmetaphor) to receive a tweet when a blog posting goes up.

Tags:   Butterfly Effect · change · conspiracy · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · MicrosoftNo Comments.

Hmmm, how will we remember the 2010 Winter Olympics when the flame is extinguished and the athletes scatter to the four corners of the globe again?

It may seem premature to pose that question only one week into the 2010 games. But we’ve already seen a host of memorable moments each of which could define the Vancouver Olympics.

Certainly a shadow was cast over the event from the start with the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. Will the 2010 Games be remembered as the Olympics where the safety of the athletes gave way to the thirst for risk and spectacle? The tragedy has been officially declared the result of an athlete’s mistake rather than an unsafe track. But the shortening of the track leaves that question dangling.

I watched with mixed emotions while snowboarders and speed skaters jostled for position with elbows high in a throwback to Gordie Howe’s NHL days. Part of my memory of the games will be the way the spirit of fair competition was bruised here and there by a win-at-all-costs attitude.

On the positive side, the Vancouver Olympics will be fondly remembered by Canadians as the year the first gold medals were won by Canadian athletes on Canadian soil. The image of Alexandre Bilodeau wrapped in the Canadian flag did wonders for Canadian pride.

My favourite memories of the Games will be the comeback stories of overcoming adversity. Maelle Ricker’s runaway gold medal performance in the Snowboard Cross after being airlifted off the mountain in Tourin following a terrible crash. Jeremy Wotherspoon back on the speed skating track only 15 months after shattering his left arm in a fall.

The Olympics – Winter and Summer – have an idealized mystique. An all too brief span of time when the countries of the world put aside their differences and come together to celebrate the spirit of competition. Most certainly we need that unifying force in the fractured world we live in these days.

But pull the camera back to a wider view and it becomes clear that the Olympics are very much a metaphor for society as a whole. There are moments of glorious triumph and moments of dream-shattering failure. Moments of unselfish brotherhood and, regrettably, the occasional me-first moment. Moments of inspiration that become etched in our memory and moments we would rather not remember… but can never forget.

For three weeks we see our world in microcosm on our TV screens. We cheer and dream and live vicariously through the athletes we watch. Let us be inspired by the triumphs and by those who overcome adversity but also learn from the lesser moments. If we are able to do both, the 2010 Winter Olympics will be memorable for all the right reasons.

And since, as a proud Canadian, I can’t resist it: Go, Canada, go!

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel”. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar.

~ If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings every 5 to 7 days. Categories: Shifting Winds, Sudden Light, Deep Dive, Songs of Nature, Random Acts of Metaphor. Or subscribe to my Twitter page (mdyetmetaphor) to receive a tweet when a blog posting goes up.

Tags:   2010 · Alexandre Bilodeau · Jeremy Wotherspoon · luge · Maelle Ricker · Maelle Wicker · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · winter olympicsNo Comments.

Hmmm, a moth to a flame. A deep down beckoning in the soul. An urgent whisper like an incantation. The undeniable call of the wild.

The helter-skelter world, which we launch ourselves bravely into each day, exacts a hefty toll. We need a refuge we can escape to where we can rest and rejuvenate our wounded soul.

Nature is a mutable cloud which is always and never the same.  Ralph Waldo Emerson: American essayist, philosopher, and poet

In a world that charges madly on in a race that never seems to end, I need nature’s slow dance of serenity. The playful, elegant fluttering of golden wings over a meadow splashed with a palette of wildflowers.

Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference nowhere.  Blaise Pascal: French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher

In a constantly shape-shifting world where what was truth yesterday is irrelevant today, I need nature’s unassuming constancy. The teeming life of a cattail marsh where dragonflies waltz to the bullfrog’s symphony.

Trees are the earth’s endless effort to speak to the listening heaven. Rabindranath Tagore: Bengali poet, novelist, musician, and playwright

In a locked down world in which we need keys, pass cards and fobs to get in and sometimes even to get out, I need nature’s open arms. The Cool Hollow Trail that always sighs its welcome beneath a canopy of willows.

There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story. Linda Hogan: Native American poet, storyteller, academic, playwright, novelist

In a world where the din and clamour of machines, discontent and greed assaults my senses, I need nature’s noble peace and majesty. The slow grace of the seasons and the effortless exuberance of swallows in flights of fancy.

Nature is my living metaphor of serenity, constancy, open arms and the peace that surpasses all expression. Like a moth to a flame, I return to it again and again. I never tire of it nor it of me.

I long for spring and another walk through Cool Hollow.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel”. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar.

~ If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings every 5 to 7 days. Categories: Shifting Winds, Sudden Light, Deep Dive, Songs of Nature, Random Acts of Metaphor. Or subscribe to my Twitter page (mdyetmetaphor) to receive a tweet when a blog posting goes up.

Tags:   call of the wild · constancy · Emerson · Hogan · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Nature · open arms · Pascal · peace · serenity · TagoreNo Comments.

Hmmm, if my habitual mourning routine had not been interrupted by that striking sunrise, would my day have unfolded differently?

I was winding myself up for another work day. Going through the motions of a routine so well rehearsed I could do it blindfolded. Then I saw it. A narrow band of phosphorescent orange on the horizon doing battle, or so it seemed, with the looming, grey clouds that dominated the skyline.

It look vaguely ominous and, at the same time, outlandishly hopeful. It struck me like nature’s horoscope for the day. There would be frustrations and obstacles to surmount. Dead ends to find my way around and one way streets where there shouldn’t be. But hope and optimism would ultimately prevail if I kept the faith.

I’ve heard it said that we can create our own future if we focus our energies on where we want to end up. On the other side of the equation lies the philosophy that we each have a destiny that is laid out from the moment we are born.

The truth may be somewhere in between. There is a road that each of us is meant to travel. But the destination is not a fixed point in time or place. The choices we make, or fail to make, influence where that road leads us. And the moral? We need to shake up our routines now and then lest we overlook the fork in the road when we approach it.

Nature’s horoscope in the morning sky – a random act of metaphor for the need to live an intentional life with our eyes wide open. The next crossroad may be the one we can’t afford to miss.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel”. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar.

~ If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings every 5 to 7 days. Categories: Shifting Winds, Sudden Light, Deep Dive, Songs of Nature, Random Acts of Metaphor. Or subscribe to my Twitter page (mdyetmetaphor) to receive a tweet when a blog posting goes up.

Tags:   crossroad · destiny · horoscope · intentional life · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · sunriseNo Comments.

Hmmm, suppose you wrenched from a sound sleep at 2:00 in the morning by someone pounding on your door like the fires of hell were raging inside them. How would you react: irritated, worried, afraid, panic stricken?

Try all of the above. I ran the gambit of these reactions when I found myself in that very situation a few nights ago. I suddenly wished I had a large dog with a blood curdling bark to discourage the apparent madman at my apartment doorstep.

The pounding that first disrupted my sleep was a floor away. Probably some feuding couple going postal on each other, I irritably concluded. Hubbie comes home late without calling and forgets his key. Royally pissed off wife lets him cools his heels in the hall awhile to teach him a lesson. I’d seen it happen before. Apartment buildings are a microcosm of life.

Ten minutes later the pounding become discernibly louder. On my floor now, I thought. And damn, it was coming from two directions at once. My sleep fogged brain formed the hypothesis that the culprits might be higher than a kite on some street drugs. Irritation migrated to a nagging worry. Might be time to call security.

The pounding progressed from door to door steadily closing in on my apartment. I heard muffled voices. Not a good sign. Worry ratcheted up a few notches. A bit late to call security now. I’d have to turn on the light. A crack of light under the door would tip them off that I was there. Maybe security was already on the way, I hoped.

Minutes later the pounding on my door began. Doubled up fists hammering away like Lucifer himself had risen from Hades. No way on God’s green earth I’m answering the door at this ungodly hour to some unknown, raving madman, I vowed. If it sounded like someone was in distress, I would call security. Otherwise, let them pound away until they lost interest.

What happened next made my heart hit overdrive. The hall light in my apartment came on. They got in! Holy crap, they got in! As I jumped out of bed wondering what the hell to do, a voice called out: “Peel regional police! Is anybody here?”

Turns out the police had received a 911 call from the building but didn’t know which apartment it came from. They had to check every single unit to find the caller. I doubt that anyone answered the door. In any event, after a quick check of my apartment and an apology, they moved on.

I looked out my 18^th floor window and counted ten police cars in front of the building. Yes, ten. I’ve never seen that many police cars together in one place ever. I can only imagine what that 911 caller was up against.

In the aftermath of this little drama, I began to wonder what it would be like to live in a country where incidents like this might be a regular occurrence. I remembered former neighbours who described running from bombing on numerous occasions in their native Bosnia. Imagine the psychological impact of living with that pulsing fear every day week in and week out.

Perhaps this thunder in the night, I reasoned, was in its own way a metaphor for just how fortunate I am. Here the manic thumping on the door was the police responding to a cry for help. On the other side of the world the situation might be radically different. It could be the unfolding of that dark night of the soul you had been dreading for years.

One night’s broken sleep was worth the lesson. Never take for granted just how fortunate you are. Respect and honour the brave souls – the police here at home and the Armed Forces abroad – who make it their mission to serve and protect. We sleep soundly at night because they make it possible. I am truly grateful.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel”. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar.

~ If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings every 5 to 7 days. Categories: Shifting Winds, Sudden Light, Deep Dive, Songs of Nature, Random Acts of Metaphor. Or subscribe to my Twitter page (mdyetmetaphor) to receive a tweet when a blog posting goes up.

Tags:   911 · armed forces · knock at the door · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · policeNo Comments.

Hmmm, how can we fully comprehend the tragedy that Haiti has experienced? Where do we even begin to look?

In the days following the news of the devastating earthquake, I pondered a blog entry on the subject. But I couldn’t imagine what point of view I could take that wouldn’t already be covered in the steady stream of media reports.

The stories continued to flow day after day and the magnitude of the tragedy began to sink in. So many lives lost. So many other lives changed forever. The time it would take – measured in years, not months – to recover and rebuild.

The tragedy took on a more human personality when a friend, who works for World Vision Canada, shared stories she heard from a World Vision staff member in Haiti. Here are just a few of them:

The constant drone of moaning and crying that lasted well into the night. How it suddenly changed to praying and singing as the survivors turned to God in supplication and then – in a remarkable a show of faith – in praise.

A child found buried in the rubble after several days who was too frightened to be pulled out until his mother was found and brought to him.

The World Vision employee, a native of Haiti, who searched frantically for her daughter until the news came that she was among the casualties. How this woman took but one day to make the necessary arrangements and returned to work the next day. In Haiti suffering is a daily condition and not a reason to take a day off work.

And still the media reports continued. The estimate of deaths rose to 200,000 with a million people – 1,000,000 people – left homeless. I wondered what percentage of the population that represented and went on-line to find out. That’s when another perspective began to emerge.

Haiti ranks 147^th among the countries of the world in terms of land mass. Nine million people live there in an area of 27,750 square kilometers. I wondered how that would compare with Canada and the U.S. The answer was humbling.

Canada ranks 2^nd in the world in land mass (behind only Russia) with 9.9 million square kilometers. 32 million people inhabit that space which equates to a population density of 3.3 per square kilometer. The U.S. is third on the list with 9.6 million square kilometers. 303 million people call U.S. home equating to a population density of 31.6 per square kilometer.

And Haiti? The population density is 321.6. I tried to imagine a population density 97 times greater than what I live within here in Canada. I simply couldn’t. It’s outside the scale of what my mind can process. My eyes scanned further down the chart and the figures became more unfathomable.

China: 35,980 square kilometers. 22.9 million people. Population density 637.

Bangladesh: 144,000 square kilometers. 153 billion people. Population density 1,066.

Hong Kong: 1,092 square kilometers. 7 million people. Population density 6,649.

Then my eyes fell on the listing for Macau – a special administrative region of China. Close to half a million people inhabiting only 25 square kilometers. Population density 18,432 – 5,585 times the population density of Canada.

It suddenly became more evident than ever before how incredibly fortunate I am to live in Canada. And how ridiculous it is to be impatient at a lineup at the checkout counter of a grocery store. And how petty it is to be frustrated at being stuck in a minor traffic jam.

I can’t begin to fathom the true impact of the Haiti earthquake on the long suffering people of that nation. But I can now more deeply appreciate how truly blessed I am to have been born in Canada.

The “human web” metaphor proposes that only six degrees of separation – six metaphorical steps – separate us from any other person on earth. That metaphor may need to be recalibrated.

5,000 kilometers separate Haiti and Canada on the map. Something of that same magnitude – perhaps 97 degrees – separates the quality of life we enjoy. Yet the Haiti people can still praise God in the aftermath of a tragedy of epic proportions.

We have much to learn from Haiti. Humility seems the best place to begin the lesson.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel”. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar.

~ If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings every 5 to 7 days. Categories: Shifting Winds, Sudden Light, Deep Dive, Songs of Nature, Random Acts of Metaphor. Or subscribe to my Twitter page (mdyetmetaphor) to receive a tweet when a blog posting goes up.

Tags:   earthquake · Haiti · human web · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · six degrees of separation · World Vision8 Comments

Hmmm, do our political leaders really believe we’re hoodwinked by their periodic song and dance routine aka “the cabinet shuffle”?

It seems we’re supposed to believe that shuffling the cards in the cabinet deck breathes new life into a government. Out with the old, in with the new. We can all sit back and relax knowing that our government is getting rid of the dead wood. It if weren’t so transparent, it would be insulting.

It mystifies me that our political leaders actually think this ploy still works. Or do they? Could it be that they’re just blindly following the Politics for Dummies handbook? Part 3: Useless Things to Do When All Else Fails advises: Shuffle your cabinet whenever your ratings go down.

In all seriousness, I’m beginning to suspect that it is all just a game to them. A life size chessboard with MPs for players who they move around with the express purpose of extending the game a little longer. It’s not about what their constituents really need. It’s about putting off “checkmate” (aka an election) as long as humanly possible.

The most telling description I’ve come across of how governments operate is this: The primary purpose of any government is to get itself reelected. It seems to me we arrived at the day where that statement is indisputably true.

I suppose we should tip our hats to Stephen Harper for his sheer audacity in pulling the prorogue rabbit out of his hat not once but twice. Hmmm, things are not going very well. Let’s just shut the whole thing down for awhile and take a staycation. Maybe things will look better in the spring.

I’m hard pressed to think of a political leader since Trudeau who inspired my respect. (Yes, I admit it. I liked Trudeau!) Occasionally individual MPs stand out as dedicated and authentic. But it seems one of the requirements for reaching the pinnacle of politics is to simply stop giving a damn what people think.

Do I sound cynical? I hate to admit it. But I am where politics is concerned. My favourite campaign slogan is still from one of Pat Paulsen’s satirical presidential campaigns on the old Smothers Brothers Show. I’m upping my campaign, so up yours. That about sums up the state of the nation.

Yes, I’m cynical but I haven’t abandoned ship yet. So here is my challenge to all aspiring politicians.

Abandon the chess board metaphor. Refuse to play the childish games that go on in the legislature: he said – she said, it’s all the other guy’s fault, shame on you I found a skeleton in your closet, my party is better than your party, that’s what I said but it’s not what I meant… and on and on.

Take responsibility rather than assign blame. Offer a solution rather than yet another hollow criticism.

Take the tough stand when it’s called for. Say what you believe and believe in what you say even if it’s not the party line.

And finally, aspire to truly be the voice of the people – not the party’s talking head.

Show me you have integrity and I guarantee you’ll have my vote no matter what party colours you wear. I’m pretty sure there will be a lot of other people lining up behind you as well.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel”. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar.

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Or subscribe to my Twitter page (mdyetmetaphor) to receive a tweet when a blog posting goes up.

Tags:   cabinet shuffle · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · politics · prorogue · Stephen Harper · Trudeau4 Comments

Hmmm, did the couple riding in that taxi doing 100 clicks an hour northbound on Highway 427 know it was spewing a streamer of blue smoke out the tailpipe?

On a typical, bone-chilling January day, when car exhaust crystallizes in the air, I wouldn’t have given that taxi a second thought. But, on this unusually balmy day, I did a double take when I saw that smoke tail. It was clear that the engine hadn’t been serviced in some time. I couldn’t help but wonder if the brakes had been ignored as well.

It was one of those wake-up calls we get from time to time reminding us that our fate is not always in our own hands. A relative of mine had a heart wrenching dose of that reality a few days ago. Her daughter hit an ice patch on the drive home from work, lost control and went off the road. Hours later this 20 year old died on the operating table. A terrible, tragic event whose shock waves will never entirely fade away.

At sobering times like these that popular philosophical question comes to mind: What would you do if you knew you were going to die in a very short period of time? Would you make a “bucket list” and do everything on it a la Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman? Would go sky diving and Rock Mountain climbing like the popular Tim McGraw song advocates?

Pop philosophy tells us to “live every day as if it was the last day of your life”. Sounds good in principle. Theoretically you’ll have no regrets if your demise comes suddenly. But in the real world that’s not particularly practical. The business of living, and meeting your day to day responsibilities, seldom allows us the leisure to act in that manner.

My take on the situation is admittedly less inspirational but, I would argue, a bit more doable. When my time comes, there are two questions I hope I can honestly answer “yes” to. Here’s the first one.

Was I on the up side of the plus/minus equation? This concept comes from the game of hockey. It’s the difference between the number of goals your team scores while you are on the ice (plus) versus the number of goals scored against your team while you are on the ice (minus). If you’re total is on the plus side, you’re a good, two-way player.

I attempt to live my live in such a way that the amount I give back to society (plus) is higher than what I take out of it (minus). Mind you, I have no illusions of sainthood. A score of plus 3 or 4 works for me.

If I were to make a “Bucket List”, it would likely include spending a month in the rain forest in Costa Rica watching birds, butterflies and dragonflies. But that may not come to be. I won’t consider my life a failure if I don’t get there.

The more important question to me is: In the final tally, was I true to myself? Did I live by the principles I believe in? Did I understand and accept who I am and take the path that pointed me to? Quite honestly, that choice may make my life a bit tougher with less tangible rewards. But at the end of the day – and at the end of my life – that’s the measure I choose for myself.

That taxi cruising down the 427 with a smoke belching engine – and maybe brakes worn down to the rotors – is a metaphor for the unpredictable nature of life. We are all potentially just a patch of black ice or a single, negligent act away from having our ticket punched prematurely.

I’ll consider myself fortunate if the Costa Rica trip is under my belt when my time comes premature or otherwise. But I’m more concerned about a favourable plus/minus score and the assurance that I took the path that was meant for me.

What is your path? Are you on it? If not, it may be time to stop and recalibrate. Life is short and unpredictable… and there’s no second chance once the curtain comes down.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel”. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar.

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Hmmm, what advice for a successful marriage would you offer a soon-to-be wed couple? Would you even dare to go down that road?

That very question was posed by a bride and groom to the guests at a wedding I attended recently. It was a touching gesture that made us all feel a part of the new life they were beginning.

But I must admit that the question stumped me – and not just because I have a divorce on my relationship resume. I honestly didn’t know what I could offer beyond trite truisms which seemed woefully insufficient.

Don’t misunderstand me. I believe in the institution of marriage and the sacred union of two lives. I hope to tie the knot again somewhere down the line.

But, as much as we’d all like to believe that love conquers all, the statistics suggest otherwise. A couple of quick stats culled from Divorcemagazine.com. There were 70,828 divorces in Canada in 2003. More than one-third of marriages in Canada will end in divorce before the thirtieth anniversary.

I think that the reason that I circle that question with such trepidation is the uncertain times in which we live. We’ve just experienced the worst recession since the Great Depression. Depending on who you believe, we may or may not be on the upside of the cycle. The key word here is “cycle”. The reality is that we live on an economic rollercoaster.

For many years I sought to acquire the simple comfort of predictability. It seemed a reasonable enough aspiration when I was a younger man. But I’ve come to understand that in our times it is a fool’s gold.

Why do I think this way? In our society it seems the only constant is change. Technology evolves at ever shorter intervals. Cutting edge today may be obsolete in a few months. It doesn’t matter anymore whether we actually need Version 6.0 of that software program. Chances are version 6.0 was already in the R&D phase when 5.0 was released.

Technology is a relentless master that will pass us by, back up and run us over, and charge ahead again if we don’t at least try to keep up. I believe there is a direct relationship between the perpetual 100 hundred yard sprint of technology and our attention span. Every time technology crosses another threshold our attention span shrinks a size. We’re becoming change addicts.

Small wonder that some of us trade in our lovers and soul mates with ever increasing frequency. We are programmed to jump ship at the first sign of adversity believing subconsciously that there is a new and improved partner just around the next bend in the road.

The relentless march of technology is a bit like acid rain on our relationships. We don’t feel it but it is falling on us every day eroding our commitments and loyalty. It is literally raining on our relationship parade.

So is the situation hopeless? Are we preprogrammed to switch mates as often as we switch jobs? No, it doesn’t have to be that way. Love is still, and always will be, the life force that allows us to rise above and beyond. Above the influence of technology. Beyond the reach of unrelenting change.

What we need to do is put love back on its pedestal. There is no stronger force in the universe. But (here comes the metaphor) it is a bit like glass. It is incredibly resilient and difficult to break. But when we stop believing in it and it does break – it shatters beyond all repair.

So upon reflection I think I do have some advice to offer to newlyweds. Keep your love separate from all else and let it know no bounds. Plunge headlong into it and let it soar like an eagle (with apologies to Thomas Hardy) far above the madding crowd.

Love passionately, abundantly and impossibly – and hang on for the ride.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel”. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

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~ If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings every 5 to 7 days. Categories: Shifting Winds, Sudden Light, Deep Dive, Songs of Nature, Random Acts of Metaphor. Or subscribe to my Twitter page (mdyetmetaphor) to receive a tweet when a blog posting goes up.

Tags:   change · love · madding crowd · marriage · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · technologyNo Comments.