life | reKalibrate

Simplify

March 10, 2013 § Leave a Comment

Along with the buy ban, I’ve been focused on the concept of simplicity lately. The serene, nature-filled days of Tulum brought on a lot of thought and inspiration since returning home around how much more simply I could be living… and how much more space I could be creating in my life for new ideas, new inspiration, new activities… new priorities.

It was hard not to notice the sharp contrast between worlds. Of course things will always be very different on a vacation when compared with every day living. However, there was something about getting power from the sun, water from the rain, getting up with the sun, and getting in tuned with the moon and tidal patterns that felt invigorating and pure. Life in the city means a whole other world of thought, decision-making, and priorities. The constant barrage of noise, cues of what’s important, things to buy, and conflicting things demanding for your attention and time.

Coming back, I want to simplify and maintain some semblance of the connection I felt while I was away to nature, the natural cycles and rhythms of nature, and more space for more inspired thought.

All very conceptual and abstract, so naturally, the first place I started was… my closet.

Why the closet. I see it as a material symbol of how much clutter I have in my life. It’s also something I have to see and make decisions about daily. As a physical, tangible thing, I felt it would be worth attacking as a step towards the larger effort to simplify. Not a shelf, rail, or drawer was left untouched. On average, I purged a third to half of what I had, and the result has been incredibly liberating and eye-opening. I simply haven’t needed all these things – but better yet, someone else may have use for it. So the bag of clothes and other accessories are going to a Mennonite-run clothing drop-off location, whereas I have more space already.

Love of tea

February 28, 2013 § Leave a Comment

Love of tea I’ve been on a purge lately (more on that in another post), and opened my pantry to realize how much tea I have. Boxes upon boxes housing at least a couple dozen varieties. At least.

So the answer: obviously, I’m drinking a different kind every day now. None of this waiting until I’m feeling a little under the weather or saving it for a rainy day. Yesterday was the first one: a jasmine tea ball.

The best part to these beautiful little tea balls is the way they’re crafted. Tied together delicately and dried, but when you steep them, they slowly blossom. I love that. The aesthetic of the blossoming tea ball into a gorgeous floral pattern.

Here’s a short Vine video of the tea opening up:

Table for Two

February 23, 2011 § Leave a Comment

I said “see you soon” to a dear friend today. The prospect of the future feels full of hope and potential, but I can’t help but also feel the pull of a past flooded with good memory and friendship.

I thought this picture was the perfect representation of both.

The small things

January 26, 2011 § Leave a Comment

Plastic shadows. A plastic bag on the counter. (Photo credits: Vivian Chan)

I’ve been thinking about the concept of balance lately and living a full life. Most of us are all too familiar with the old adage to remember to “stop and smell the flowers” once in a while. It may be cliché and obvious, but I really do believe it’s as simple as that. Finding balance and happiness is in the moment, and yet, it’s a life-long commitment of collecting strings of those moments. Amazing things happen when we take the time to observe, notice, and fully experience the smaller things in life, throughout our lives – and it does require a commitment.

It’s surprisingly easy to get caught up in the harried pace of relationships, work, family, and other commitments. Worse still, we fall prey to a later-when mentality, where we think we will do something we want or find happiness later, when _______. Later, when I buy a house, land a job, get a raise, find a boyfriend or girlfriend, buy those shoes, then, I will (fill in the blank). But why not now?

The best part is that living in the moment doesn’t have to involve some major life altering event. It can be so simple and done right where you are, where ever you are.

For myself, I’ve been trying to capture those moments in photography. Below are a few of my moments. « Read the rest of this entry »

To be alone…

November 28, 2010 § Leave a Comment

I loved this short poem and film. It’s a beautiful perspective on being alone and discovering a certain comfort in being able to be alone.

Look up. Feel better.

August 18, 2010 § Leave a Comment

To say it’s been a hectic few weeks… and months would be a slight understatement. Yet, in saying that, I know I’m not alone. Judging by how focused, introspective, and rushed my fellow Torontonians seem to be… brushing by me on the street, on and off transit, and in and out of stores – it’s quite apparent that I’m not the only one. <Insert collective sigh here.>

In one such typical moment of rush – waiting for the Toronto Queen streetcar to arrive to whisk me off to work – I happened to look up. « Read the rest of this entry »

Slowing down

August 15, 2010 § 1 Comment

After a long week and busy weekend, my boyfriend and I wanted a relaxed meal at home, but didn’t feel like cooking or getting take-out. In a stroke of his usual genius, he suggested we have fondue. Truly, a wonderful solution: light preparation, almost no dishes afterwards, a relatively healthy choice, and a chance to catch-up after a hectic week at work for both of us. Were there any down-sides?

One of the best things about fondue is that it forces you to slow down… something we all need a little more of in an instantaneous world.

From Russia with Love: Reinventing an icon

August 2, 2010 § 2 Comments

My boyfriend’s brother just returned from Moscow, bearing dolls. Matryoshka dolls, or Russian nesting dolls, to be exact. I don’t know what it is about these small wooden dolls. The concept is so simple, and so universally known, but equally delightful no matter how old you are, and how often you have opened the dolls to reveal the smaller one within.

But far better than the iconic traditional Russian dolls were a second red, white and blue doll-set bearing a smiling Obama and Medvedev on the largest doll. Within each one was a smaller doll, with the faces of the American Presidents of the past painted on each one… a small refresher in America’s recent political history. It was delightful. Despite knowing who they were, it was sheer, childish joy anticipating then revealing the painted faces of each President. Amazing.

It just goes to show. It doesn’t matter if an idea’s been done: it’s all in the execution… or the reinvention.

The things we take for granted

June 13, 2010 § 1 Comment

Today’s post is just a musing I’ve had dancing around in my head recently.

I’ve been completely caught off guard and slammed with the flu this last week. Not unlike probably every other person who has come down with the flu, for the first few days, I was convinced that I was likely dying. Between the extreme fevers, bone-shaking chills, sweats, delirium, fitful sleep, headaches, sharp and dull pain stretched across fever burned skin, muscle, and bones, and the other horrible bodily unmentionables – I was definitely on my death bed.

I loved you world, Sayonara.

Fourth day. I woke up. Miracle of miracles, I was still alive. Barely, but barely is still better than not. Medically speaking, I now know the fourth day is special because it’s when the body finally starts making the antibodies to recognize the flu virus for the immune system to start fighting back and killing off. Go team! And since that fourth day, my body has been inching ever-so-slowly towards recovery – one antibody and one virus at a time.

« Read the rest of this entry »

Curated Life

April 24, 2010 § Leave a Comment

I’ve been going through a lot of old photos this evening, and I’m reminded again of how fast time has gone on by, and how much my life has changed in what feels like a short period of time.

As I went through photos tonight, I felt compelled to pull some of them that represent moments in my life that have had a particular significance to me for one reason or another. Below are a capture of those moments.