If life worked the way most of us wanted, we would never have those conversations where we are trying to figure out what went wrong and how to pick up the pieces.  It would be just so much nicer if things always went as we planned. But life does not work that way and most of us have found ourselves working through one of those conversations. The majority of these situations are relatively mild.  Small inconveniences that take some effort but are easily navigated with minimal long term affects.  However, …

For those of us who have flown, the pre-flight preamble regarding safety, where to find things on the plane, who the pilots and attendants are, is most likely the time we tune out and settle in for the flight ahead.  WestJet’s more casual and creative approach to the required presentation may grab our attention for a moment, but I would guess not for long.  It is information we all must have but hope never to need.

When I have listened to it, the part that always got my attention was …

A few years ago I had the opportunity to hear a gentlemen speak who was associated with a hospital ethics committee in Toronto.  He was providing us with some tools for dealing with difficult medical ethics scenarios.  One thing he said that has remained with me is that on his committee they learned to look for and hear the dissenting voice.  When working through a complex ethical dilemma he pointed out that it was easy to begin focusing on certain details or factors in order to simplify or manage the …

About a year and a half ago a good friend passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer.  As well as being a friend, John was also a mentor and a colleague, and he left way too early in my estimation.  Over the past months there have been a number of occasions when I have been talking to others who were also friends and colleagues of John.  We would be discussing some situation, issue, or topic, and at some point one of us would comment that we really missed John’s …

September is an interesting month; it is almost like a second New Year’s.  Around June things start to wind down in many ways.  People are looking forward to holidays or a slower pace, and, hopefully, some warmer weather.  Those of us with kids particularly go through this.  In June my kids have had enough of school and they are ready for a break.  By the end of August they are ready for school to start back up again – even if they won’t admit it.  I know I am ready …

Some time ago when my son was quite a bit younger we were having one of those tense family conversations that occur from time to time.  At one point in the conversation someone said something funny and we laughed.  Sam paused and then simply said, ‘well, you laugh or you die’.  It was an insightful comment and it has stuck with me.

There is an increasing amount of research being done on the health benefits of laughter.  There doesn’t seem to be anything definitive at the moment, but there are …

I live close to Nose Hill Park in northwest Calgary.  When I get the chance I like to take walks up on the hill.  I feel fortunate to have such a large area to do so in the middle of a busy city.

There are a number of places in the park where you can get amazing panoramic views of the surrounding area.  I wonder what it must have been like to stand up there 100 years ago when Calgary was just beginning.  I imagine that Nose Hill would have …

This past September a couple of friends and I decided to hike into Fortress Lake for a fly-fishing trip.  The plan was to bike up to the old ski lodge and then hike into the lake from there. It is a gravel road to the lodge, wide, but mostly uphill.  From there we had a good idea of where the lake was, but none of us had ever been there before.  When we got to the lodge we pondered our options and it seemed like the best choice was straight …

In the Pixar movie “Up” an aging man comes to grips with his advancing years and potentially lost opportunities to fulfill life long dreams.  It is a great movie for all ages for a variety of reasons.  One small part that I particularly enjoyed was the talking dog that, in mid sentence would say, ‘squirrel!’ as he was distracted by a sound off in the distance.  I think I liked it because I can often relate.

I was recently speaking with a friend and inquired how he was doing.  He …

The urban legend that floated around Edmonton when I was growing up there was about how Mark Messier and Kevin Lowe, members of the Oilers hockey team, “fervently chastised” a rookie for throwing his jersey on the floor after a game.  Apparently Mark and Kevin felt this was disrespectful to the team and let the rookie know that such an attitude would not be tolerated.

I do not know if this incident really happened or not, but if it did, it would be a rather blunt example of how to …