Things started brewing when I brought Shiva home. I found Shiva, or rather a 100 pound bust of him, in a neighborhood store and knew this Hindu god was to find a place in my backyard. Shiva acts as a destroyer of ignorance and helps dissolve illusions. Consequently, I wanted to have this figure nearby as a reminder that delusion can be replaced by perception.

Shortly after Shiva settled in, I met with Theo, an old friend from San Francisco. She was passing though en route to Israel. The presence of Shiva prompted an in-depth conversation about conflicts in the middle east. Theo, who lived in Israel for several years, was traveling to Netanya where, two days earlier, a suicidal bomber had killed five Israelis at a shopping mall – a terrorist act that spawned serious clashes between Palestinian and Israeli forces.

by Gary Diggins

I like the fact that the word "spring" can mean resilience, as in bounce back. In this regard, there is nothing to compare to an Ontario spring. We shake off winter's hibernation, take our bodies outside, and drink in ambrosial sights, sounds, and smells. Such simple yet sumptuous pleasures return to us: the first scents of new life lifting from an aroused earth.

Personally speaking, springtime evokes feelings of restoration in me partly because my birthday usually lands during the renewal observances of Passover and Easter. This year I'm even privileged to have a full moon on my celebratory day.

Just as spring bestows a spirit of revival upon us, I had a Grandmother who used to warmly bless me each birthday of my boyhood. Without fail, she would write a short but important Scottish blessing that said "Lang may yer lum reek"  (it translates as "long may your chimney smoke"). You have to appreciate that my granny spoke with such a thick brogue that sometimes I didn't quite know if she was scolding or praising me. The written benediction, however, was clear.