Thank you for joining me here in this week's quiet little conversation: a place to share thoughts, words and images encouraging serenity, tranquility and grace.

You may be shocked to see the colour palette of the cloth painting above - it's pretty much the farthest from the soft west coast palette most of my work uses.  I made this and another painting in these colours to capture the energy of a fiery sunset. I'm drawn to these hues today because to me they feel hopeful to and filled with energy. And the reason I feel hopeful is because of the examples of courage I've noticed recently.

As the war situation in Ukraine has unfolded, I've been following some accounts on Twitter who appear to have a reasonably balanced view, some inside Ukraine and several outside who appear to be credible and impartial. The thing that strikes me over and over is the astonishing courage the people of Ukraine show. The qualities of humility, strength, bravery and integrity are inspiring in a world where there are so many egregious examples of the opposite. The conviction that they will rebuild their country anew gives me faith in humanity and in the resilience of people to choose honour in the face of incredibly difficult and challenging circumstances. Equally inspiring are the people of the countries who have opened their homes and their borders to those seeking safety, those inside the country who have volunteered their time and skills and those inside Russia who have protested against the war.

These acts of courage remind me that each of us also have opportunities to call on our own courage. Maybe the stakes don't feel as big as for someone living in the midst of a war, but I believe choosing courage at any level is important to our own well being, and to our community. Calling on courage when we need to make choices for ourselves gives our mind and heart the message that we are worth taking a stand for. That our own unique way of being and doing are important. And like the pebble we talked about a few weeks ago, the effects of each of us taking our own courageous steps ripple out in powerful ways we can't begin to imagine. My wish for you is access to courage to make the choices to say yes, or to say no, to something in your life which will allow you to live even more intentionally, thoughtfully, and deeply.

And as always, I want to express my gratitude to be living and working on the ancestral & unceded territories of the hən̓̓qəmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking peoples.I honour the incredible depths of grace, courage and perseverance of Indigenous Peoples.

until next time,

Mardell