Scripting Life For the Season You’re in Now
I’m Karen Toews, a woman excited to share how at every age we can work for and achieve changes that will support our desires for a full and purposeful life. I’m blessed to be doing that, multitudes of others are, and I’d love this to be your experience too.
Nutrition, activity, mindset, emotions: many pieces fit into the complex mix for creating our healthy and purposeful life for every age and stage. It’s all out there – eating plans, fitness workouts, formulas and fads of what you should do to feel and look…
Adventure has a different definition for everyone. Regardless of age, adventure can be alive and well in our life.
A couple weeks ago, clear as an audible voice I heard: “Karen, are you grateful for your body?” Though the question caught me off guard, answers fill pages in my journal where “so help me God”, the truth hits the page. Thoughts and laments…
The summer of 2022 in Nova Scotia gave us exemplary, spectacular weather. September raised the bar with beautiful warm days, leaning into its East Coast pattern of saving its grandest days for the fall season. To soak in the ocean’s warmest time capsule of…
I bought a new bike to replace my older, heavier one. That was in March: when the weather and roads were still not compatible for a test run, but I needed a carrot to shore up motivation and spirit that my hip and back…
Merriam-Webster defines wonder as “a cause of astonishment; to feel curiosity or doubt, rapt attention or astonishment, at something awesomely mysterious or new to one’s experience.” My curiosity about wonder uncovered synonyms like: marvel, phenomenon, caution. What’s the big deal about this six-letter word…
In January I wrote Life Disrupted: My Season of Wintering and never imagined that here in May, my life and physical activities would still be so restricted by pain. A short reprieve in February gave me an injection of hope – thank you! –…
The Canadian national flag was inaugurated in a public ceremony on Parliament Hill, Ottawa on February 15, 1965. Before this, our national flag was the Union Jack and the Canadian Red Ensign flew from government buildings: both emblems attached to our British heritage. In…
It was like any other morning. I pulled back the covers, swung my legs out of bed and stepped down, ready to rock and roll. Whoa! Pain in my right hip triggered a nerve to go berserk down my leg, stopping me in my…
When I get messages from my kids – texts, emails, phone calls – they’re special news bulletins I read or pick up as fast as they come. Text April 11, 2021 “Hey Mom, are you and Dad available tonight? I’d like to chat about…
My wish to do a solo campout had simmered long enough. This was the year I made it happen. Conditions were right: I had a beautiful destination in mind (important detail to me), I could easily explain my whereabouts to local hikers, and ‘warm…
Winter, 2021. I was on a Zoom call with my husband’s sister. She and her husband live in another country two time zones away, share life in a communal family household, and were then working from home. Not surprising that we rarely connect; my…
Twelve of us in ten boats were paddling the Atlantic shoreline near Canso, Nova Scotia. We had navigated through rocky inlets, shoals, surf, the wind’s wanton shifting in direction and velocity; we’d schlepped gear to where we could find suitable camping spots. We’d been…
The place my husband and I call home borders the LaHave River, where we’re situated amongst other acreage dwellers both upriver and down. Our property in this bit of Nova Scotian paradise borders the forest, where residents of the animal kingdom roam and occasionally…
If I were to identify a question of the year that I’ve been asked and have asked it’s “how are you feeling today (i.e. living with Covid-19)?” Today, I feel cloistered. Strict policies like stay the blazes home put my comings and goings on…
At a gathering with some high-activity friends one of the group stated “I can’t help myself!.” Have you said that too? I have. This time, an image of casually handing over control grabbed me full stop. How can I help myself is a good…
I am a woman in her 60’s who doesn’t have to log on to work-from-home or home-school young children. I’m able to choose my daily schedule including writing projects, work and play activities, freedom to hike local trails or beaches where I live in…
UPDATE NOTICE October 19, 2021. Christine shares her latest journey following another stroke in June, 2021: again meeting the challenge with resilience, gratitude and a positive attitude. I met Christine in 2001 when she and her family moved to my hometown in Alberta, Canada….
If you ask yourself or a friend what’s nourishing you now the response could be a recap of a day’s food consumption. As a foodie and holistic health advocate, I’m all in for paying attention to what we eat. Yet we crave more than…
Covid-19’s upheaval is trying to sabotage my story. I want a script with intimate gatherings around my table, traveling, hiking with friends on a trail, elbow-jostling and close-up conversations. This happy-buzz story where people like me thrive, has been traded out for isolation, restriction,…
We are being told: regularly wash your hands with soap and water; practice social distancing (two metres apart from people other than those in your own home); do not go anywhere except for essential services. I’ve followed this script for a month and will…
I learned about Easter in my Christian upbringing and often participated in programs and musical performances re-enacting the story of this religious holiday. But I was never taught about observing Lent. As I grew up and met a broader scope of friends of the…