sun, rain, or...

Independence – Do any of us really have it?

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 14:15:00 +0000

Independence – Do any of us really have it?

As we celebrate our 37^th Anniversary of Independence here in Saint Lucia it seems a good time to reflect on what Independence means.

We all grow up with our parents guiding us in their own way, to be independent. Some do a great job, others barely know themselves what it means, having grown up with the aim of securing a job upon which you will be dependent for the rest of your life, or for many of our mothers, securing a husband upon whom you will remain dependent till death do you part.

I’ve written on Independence before over on Sun, Rain, Or… but that’s the thing – what Independence really is turns out to be hard to pin down! Yes, it’s a level of self-reliance and self-sustainability, but since none of us exists as an atom in a vacuum, then our ‘independence’ tends to involve a whole myriad of relationships and alliances that are what makes life, well, life. And in many cases make life its best and its worst as well, right?! Lordy. What to do?

read more on Island Effect (my new blog)

Let's Talk about Love Baby...

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sun, 14 Feb 2016 13:47:00 +0000

It’s interesting as you grow older and look back at yours and your friends’ lives and the mix of experiences of love, relationships, marriage, divorce, single lives, freedom, loneliness and desires.

www.freeimages.com/photographer/s-s-57764

Love. What really is it? Each heart you ask will give you a different answer and each experience of love a heart goes through makes pinning down what love ‘is’ as impossible as figuring out how many leaves will fall with each breath of wind.

There’s a repeating conversation that I suspect many of us have: The essence of it is what X person, should or should not do about their less-than-perfect relationship. In this conversation, there is usually a ‘good’ partner, diagnosed as being misguided in believing they ‘love’ the other ‘bad’ partner and so is enduring no end of misery.

Now, while there are definitely people out there who really are NOT good partners…is this what is really the core of the problem for most of us?

Please continue reading on my new blog - Island Effect

I call it as I see it

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 18:10:00 +0000

CIRCLES OR SQUARE ONE?

An interesting question on decision-making popped up on Facebook last week. Stan Bishop, one of my favourite local reporters asked: “Which is better -- running around in circles or being stuck at square one?”

Well, for me, the answer was easy

Somewhere to go

“I'm going for stuck at square one. You know its square 1 and there are others to get to. Being stuck is only permanent if you let it be. Keep checking for a solution and you'll get one eventually. Circles....well, that's the definition of madness - doing the same thing over n over again”

But reading others’ ideas was interesting and made me realize, yet again, that whatever your problem, how you look at it determines how you find a solution – and nobody can tell us all the ‘right’ way to see things.

Stagnation

Vernita had a completely different take to mine: “The fact of being stuck at square one sounds very stagnant I have hot feet so I will opt for going round in circles. Maybe, just maybe whilst going round in circles I may encounter something or someone that will help change the circumstance.”

Two-for-One

Time is on my side, yes it is!

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sun, 24 Jan 2016 14:14:00 +0000

www.freeimages.com/photographer/herrschmid-44485

Ok, so last weekend I started unsubscribing from blogs, newsletters, Facebook page notifications…I thought it’d take me a couple hours on Sunday and I’d be done.

Well, not so fast chappy! I unsubscribed to a lot of things on Sunday – I had both Saturday’s and Sunday’s emails to deal with, and the 3 main emails I still use - but what I didn’t expect, was that I would still be going right up to this morning!!!!

So, guess how many I am up to at time of posting… no, I’m not going to tell you in the post, have a guess. One guess each and whoever comes closest first will get one of the few remaining 2016 Nature Calendars I have in stock and if you have one already, well, they make great gifts J

What shocked me is the realization of how much time I allowed to be eaten away each and every day in the task of keeping my inboxes clear. And how much negative energy I was adding to my day if I allowed all that undealt-with clutter to stay in my subconscious.

Let’s do a little math:

10 minutes first thing in the morning while you look at the titles and select those you know you won’t read and delete them.

www.freeimages.com/photographer/winjohn-50474

15 minutes while you half-read some of those you ‘want to’ / ‘should’ read

20 minutes every 3 days when one catches your attention and you dwivay (divert aimlessly) down a path that may or may not significantly improve your life.

In a week, that’s 70 + 105 + 60(ish)

= 235 minutes or nearly 4 hours of life.

4 hours…that rings a bell…Tim Ferris and his famous ‘4 Hour Work Week’ book (which I am yet to read, I got the gist of it from various blogs, but maybe I should take a read…). Now, tell me, if the theory is that in 4 hrs a week it is possible to do enough targeted work to earn you a comfortable living, then why, oh why do so many of us let such a significant chunk of our lives fritter away?

Think what you could fill it in with:

“Oh! I wish I had time for the gym! L”

“Oh I wish I had time to learn to sail”

“Oh, where will I find the time to visit some of the exiting spots in my island/village/town/country…”

“One day I will find time to paint, read, swim, learn Spanish, go to my kids’ shows, clean my store-room, write my novel, adjust those clothes, learn golf…………………”

So, I have resolved to stop asking people carte blanche, to subscribe to my blog – by all means do if you feel it is going to be a worthy read that will help you move forward on your journey – I have kept a small selection of subscriptions for this purpose, but otherwise, do the more important things! (Remember I will move to http://islandeffect.blogspot.com, so if you do subscribe, please do so there :)

I’ve chosen to invest some time in figuring what my own special priorities really, truly are and to concentrate on putting things in place, bit by little-step bit, to make those happen. As I talked about last Sunday, I have signed up with a coach, Debra Ross, "Life by Choice" and we are setting do-able weekly to-do lists. This is allowing me to have ‘experiences of success’ and yes, it does feel pretty darn good! I realize I am still not fully comfy with my goal levels and progress, but I realize also that that is a part of the process, so I am not beating myself up over it J

In this process of figuring my priorities, I realized there was an unexpected blessing in the challenges of my 5-day a week job that has been a real tax on my energy – physical and mental: I stopped being able to do my art/craft/other pursuits because I couldn’t muster the energy to do things, and this unexpectedly, opened up a space for me to see my priorities in a very different light.

Ok, I’ve been on this journey of self-rediscovery for quite a few years now and I’m sure that helped, but what happened was I found that as I lounged or went to bed early tired, but could not sleep, my mind wandered all over the place, thinking, wanting, yearning, being pissed, annoyed, occasionally depressed, over all that I was losing, what I felt I couldn’t do anymore.

What this process allowed was that I gradually, (over a couple of years, but I’m sure it can be done fasterJ), figured out what I really wanted to do: I no longer ‘had’ to do these things to survive – I have a decent salary, that part is definitely a blessing of the day-job, so now it became purely a ‘what do I REALLY want to do’ and that question applied whether I went the path of keeping the day-job or moving forward to a new version of being self-employed. So when Debra came along with her coaching – it fitted very nicely in to what I was almost unconsciously already doing myself. Now, with the coaching, it has much more definite focus.

Also, per a convo I had today: Don’t buy into that crap that you have to be all positive feeling and big goals all the time – positive affirmations are good, but ONLY if you are really ready to buy into the positivity, otherwise, if the bar it set too high, they can just seem like one more unattainable goal and big reason to beat up on yourself for ‘not being good enough’. Allow yourself to be occasionally sad, mad, depressed about something, recognize the feeling, respect that it exists and see if you can let yourself find some learning from it. Maybe permission to accept you don’t like something, maybe realization that you are asking too much of yourself or trying too hard to be what someone else says you should be…take it one teeny step at a time if you need to and know that sometimes, being still for a while neither moving forward or backward, just ‘being’ is just fine too.

So, Sunday morning finds me still a little un-used to the dearth of emails to deal with in my inboxes. It does give me a good feeling, but I am yet to really effectively reorganize my day to make best use of the time I now have. I can say I HIGHLY recommend doing this though. It is very cathartic and I know in the big picture it is worth a huge amount: I will put this new time I have to good use!

Me n Suzie on top Pigeon Point - time well spent!

Time is so precious and modern life has so many ways of helping us waste it. Take what is yours back and do just one little thing you really want to do instead.

Don’t forget to put in your guess for the number of unsubscribes I have done! And if you do the same yourself, please do share your feelings on what it did/didn’t do for you J

PS I am not being paid to talk about Debra's coaching - I just genuinely feel this journey is a good story to share with you all and the coaching is part of it, so don't be put off by thinking I'm going the 'paid promo-blog route' I'm not, I am promoting her, but only because I think it's proving to be a very useful part of my journey.

Laser Focus, the Real ‘Secret’ and Experiences of Success

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sun, 17 Jan 2016 15:41:00 +0000

Distraction is SO, SO easy to find isn’t it?

I had a mini-jolt listening to my current audiobook ‘Unlabel’ on my way home Friday when the author said something about his ADD – can’t remember exactly what, but it fit me – always being distracted by things I want to learn and things I can do. It’s a dangerous place to be if you are self-employed and responsible for creating your own income and even if you just want to live a full life. I think most of us in today’s world have ‘ADD tendencies’ – not the full-blown illness, but enough that our lives are constantly derailed. But I believe this ‘ADD’ is a thing I CAN push aside. I can have laser focus and a life on smooth running tracks. We all can.

So, here comes my start to 2016. I don’t ‘do’ New Year’s resolutions; they usually just give you one more ‘experience of failure’ and let’s face it, most of us have enough of to go round and share with every passing stranger if we wanted to right?

Damn! You see! I just went off and checked something on Facebook because my phone pinged! Ok, ‘focus, focus, focus…’ phone is now on silent. Simple tools, like ‘mute’ buttons, to help you achieve your goals ARE worth using.

So, it’s not quite a New Year’s resolution because I’ve been working up to this all last year, but I have decided that I MUST get back on track with my personal business goals this year. I have been derailed by taking on the M-F day-job which has proven to be a real energy drain as there is never a moment when, in my position, I can say I have completed my work: it’s one of those roles where the pile of things to do is sky-high and messy and there’s no time allowed to sort it out…yuh know?

Happily, we now have a new, very organized and capable Boss who is, using Project Management techniques, gradually, bringing things into a manageable focus – and that has helped immensely! It makes such a difference, and can for you too –simple project management tools really help with many small businesses – especially creative ones and are easily applied to home and personal life; they can really help move you forward to a clear view of the light of day.

You CAN change your reality and have time pockets popping up regularly available for LIVING!

Over the years, I have read and practiced MANY techniques – starting with ‘The Secret’ and some ‘Clear your Clutter’ book – can’t remember which one. I subscribed to some blogs etc…and as the internet of how-to’s has grown (of which, yes, I know, ironically I am a part), I have gradually realized that you can really have WAY too much guidance in your life and that the real ‘secret’ is that there’s a reason there’s no film called ‘Think It And They Will Come’ … because it is DOING things, ACTION, Building it, that makes things happen!!!

The Secret in a nutshell: If you think it, you will be it

The REAL secret: if you don’t do it, you can think you ass off and you’ll never be it.

ACTION IS EVERYTHING

I’ve written before about how it pisses me off, the mega-bucks industry of telling people they can bend the ways of the universe by focus and all good things will fall into their lap…I believe VERY strongly in our ability to create a positive energy that helps make things happen - what many people would call the power of prayer, but I believe just as much that without laser focused action, no amount of mental, cerebral, spiritual focus will make things materialize.

Luckily the real secret is actually quite doable

By all means choose a few guides and help books – they are all useful, including ‘The Secret’ which I credit with helping me move from a negative life cycle into the positive one I am now in. BUT don’t get trapped in hoarding how-to books!!! Just use a few, and let them lead you to your own conclusions.

Trust that you CAN: trust in it being really possible and you will find your locks clicking open. You have to make a definite personal choice to allow that to happen. If you don’t, no amount of reading and coaching will unlock you.

Sign up with a coach: If you can afford it (and think carefully about how you decide if you can/can’t ‘afford’ it –this is an investment that should enable you to break out of a negative cycle and start to experience success) sign up with a coach. I signed up officially for my friend Debra Ross’s coaching sessions – Life by Choice – to help me find the laser focus. I had gotten quite far with various books and mini-coaching sessions, and blogs – Mark McGuinness of Lateral Action blog being the one I have had most really useful help from, he also provides coaching to creative people. BUT, I realized I was not, in my current circumstances, able to make my personal goals happen. Recognizing the need for specialized help is a positive, sound business move.

Clear your inbox clutter! The ‘unsubscribe’ button is your friend!!! How often has your plan to ‘get things done’ disappeared into a crazy-maze of internet surfing initiated by that oh-so-interesting-but-really-is-it-really-useful-e-newsletter? (you can get them back when you really DO have more spare time...)

Now, my ‘Aha’ moment BREAK IT DOWN! Chip, chop, section off, divide and conquer! Break it up into small enough chunks that you can get yourself on the road to a whole life-changing EXPERIENCES OF SUCCESS (Arnold Mol, ‘CreatingWinners in the Workplace’ is a good book even if you are a solopreneur)

Make your goals achievable – mini goals – yes, you (may) have your big goal – you may not, and that’s also ok – don’t build an Iron Curtain for yourself by not doing anything because you can’t figure out your life’s dream/ purpose…it will come as you unlock things for yourself

What's your Target?

Use Project Management Techniques – Goals (the big end result) eg Success as an artist may be a good goal, but heck! How the hell do you get there? Break it down into steps. Baby steps.

Mine for my first week of Life by Choice coaching is to: Create a workable workspace

This involves

Physically moving just those tools and materials out of my badly messed up studio, into my clear living room – so I can work (leaving the big Iron Curtain of clearing my studio aside for now)

Clearing the mental clutter – writing a list of all the ‘little’ things I have to do – for house, family, colleagues, friends…and ticking them all off one by one by making the conscious choice to do them regularly during my breakfast, lunch and evening. NOTE- do not use up all your rest time – this is a non-negotiable – just do a bit each day in each period and you’ll see how doable it is.

Choose a small selection of my photos to work from. This is also to be done while having a glass of wine on an evening – relaxing…enjoying browsing my photos. BUT I have to do it efficiently – once I have enough to get going, then I…GET GOING! Avoid rolling down another slippery slope to ADD-dom! It is NOT necessary to find absolutely the best, perfect things to work on – that is a fairy tale place! Good enough is exactly what is needed!

Write one blog a week – well ;) here I am…doing it (and while reminding myself of my goals and objectives)

Now, back to the rest of Project Management: Set your goals, then it’s simple – break them down into (if needed) Objectives – so ‘To become a Successful Artist’ – what are your steps?

Maybe ‘find inspiration’ (pick your voice)

Maybe ‘learn X technique’ (keep it laser-focused…DO NOT derail off to A, F,K and Z techniques too!)

Maybe ‘Hold a mini-exhibition’ NEVER be afraid to show your work and get it out there – you don’t have to achieve greatness all-in-one, but you do have to build it step-by-step and believe in yourself. And a piece of extra advice – do market research at these first showings – it will help you decide how to have your authentic voice and the market be really good profitable friends (I am still on this step btw!)

Ok, next Project Management steps are – BREAK IT DOWN into ACTIVITIES – all the little steps needed to make these Objectives happen – AND note some ways in which you will MEASURE YOUR SUCCESS – real measures – eg 10 paintings completed; 1 exhibition held…

Set timeframes – give each activity a deadline – make it realistic – DO NOT set yourself un-achievably short timeframes – allow yourself to succeed by setting reasonable time-frames. NOTE not lazy ones either – I have chosen WEEKLY GOALS for this reason – I need to see it done and feel the success.

Before I knew of Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ I had made my own wall-stickers saying ‘Do it, then it’s done’ this was long before any self-help books or internet blogs…like me, you DO have what it takes inside you. Believe it, unlock it, do it. Succeed!

End Note: I will be, finally, moving my blog over to Island Effect I do hope you will join me here - please pop over and subscribe there so I can see that you are still going to be with me :)

I will post a mix of my work as it evolves as well as my journey and things I learn along the way. Also, there'll be places and things that interest me - especially as I set out to be a tourist in my homeland Saint Lucia...so lots of things .... for now, these posts will be in both places

Thank you to all those who share the love and comment here - it is always like a surprise gift! Comment here or on Island Effect both make me very happy!

Where Shall we go in 2016?

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 14:58:00 +0000

Last sun of 2015

Wherever it is, I am grateful for those who accompany on my way. Each and every one in all your shapes and guises.

I left 2015 in a happy contemplative mood. After overcoming my apathy on Wednesday, I partied happily with the staff of the Cultural Development Foundation at our Christmas Party and was reminded how good it is to just let go and dance :) and on New Year’s Eve I knew I wanted to just reflect and renew. As I look back over the recent past I’m inspired by so much that has come from circumstances that most people determine should be ‘very difficult’ for me. But that is not the heart of what they are. They are inspiring. And I’d like to briefly talk about one of them, the death of my Dad, Pa Clark.

On 24^th September in the early hours of the morning, I watched my Dad take his last breaths on this earth. The sense of relief for me and my sister who was with him too, was palpable; he had been blessed to depart without too much struggle and as he wished, without ‘becoming a burden’. We had all managed to spend the last days with him, though he was immersed in a world of delirium where we witnessed his ceaseless deep concern to be doing the right thing, not inconveniencing people, making sure his work was done well as he apologized in French for apparently being in the wrong seat on a train, asked for help to pick up piles of files that had scattered on the floor, assured unknown people he’d be ‘with you in a minute’. And then he’d look up and chuckle. He never revealed what made him laugh, but each time, we found ourselves laughing softly with him, happy to know somewhere inside he still had that mischievous humour alive and well. He didn’t really express knowing who we were, but we knew that somewhere he did.

The hardest thing about losing him is all the things we didn’t do. And it makes me think even more about all the things we didn’t do, couldn’t do, with our Mum because she died so long ago and our lives as kids were affected by her struggle with alcoholism. It also makes me think of all that we did, despite all that we didn’t have and all that our family faced over the years, our parents managed to create some amazingly wonderful times for us. I’m carried along on a journey that raises every type of emotion and as I travel through it, I can contemplate again, the highs, the days that faded into haze and the low days of anger and frustrations, but accompanied by the loss, and illustrated by the warmth of people sharing their memories of Pa Clark, JC, Geoff and how he touched their lives, what I’m finding is that all together, this part of the journey is turning out to be, well, odd as it may sound, quite wonderful. As I let each memory, mine, or someone else’s shared, float up and surround me, I find myself opening up to it, knowing that I can let it be something more than just a happy or sad memory, it can be something that inspires me and fuels me on and up to be, to do, to see, to feel. To live.

I wish everyone who reads this, a fulfilling journey through 2016. A year where we find we can be ourselves without requiring others to be like us, but without compromising the things we deeply believe in and that we can enjoy them being who they are just as well. May we find a path that takes us on adventure, may we be led through temptation to emerge to a better place, a place where we want less without it needing us to have more. And may we cry soulfully and laugh till our bellies hurt, be peaceful without fear, love openly, give without reserve and receive with humble gratitude. And may we be glad to be alive.


Celebrate

Good morning 2016

The Art of the Peoples

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sun, 29 Nov 2015 09:57:00 +0000

Shirin Tobie-Paul of Tupah & Pohtay meets
Her Excellency Dame Pearlette Louisy

I’ve had my heart broken by being an Artist of the Peoples, aka, a crafter. I went to college in the UK to a place that was as confused about what craft was as the worst person in the street: they taught us it was art, but even though it can be, it wasn’t, not the way they conveyed it. They neither taught us technique nor art, but rather something between, something largely homeless. So I left there wondering if I’d missed something. Well maybe I had, but I think most of all, they had. They’d missed the gift of being mentors and instead made the stereotype of ‘those who can’t, teach’ something that you really began to wonder may be true. I have since had my best moments in life being a teacher and a mentor - I never cease to be grateful I can.

I also left there convinced that the uppity snobby world of pretension that pissed on Art of the Peoples, was not a place for me - I wanted what I made to be inspiring to everyday people. Something to light up smiles on the faces of my friends, my dentist, the random worn out parent of a child whose eye passing by, caught the colours. (Thank you my dentist Azmina Long, for meeting me at the supermarket Friday and reminding me that you thought my art was beautiful and urging me to get back to it)

I've been a 'crafter' for many, many years and miss it immensely now my energies are used up at a desk-job, but those years also left a bitter taste in my mouth and scarred my path in life in ways that only other creatives may understand: the public that 'loves' your craft that pops hundreds on some foreign imported piece of crap and turns straight to your face and says 'bondye...give me a little break nuh...you can give it to me for less, you know the pockets empty?' (and what do you think mine are, you lash back in your head while struggling to maintain a semblance of a smile on your outside) Or turns away with a half-cheups, saying nothing at all to you but mumbling to others "I doh know why these artists don't make their prices reasonable...' as they turn to go and waste good money on some other 300% marked up plastic status symbol they deem more worthy.

And while I'll be the first to teach that you have to know and cater for your market, I now make no apologies to also teach that 1) these people probably aren't your market and you need to avoid trying to make them until 2) development of the market has reached a place where people understand the value of what we make, what we artists do. 3) Don't give in. Find your market, find the one, two or handful that do understand and let them lift you up. 4) Practice what you preach - buy from your fellow artists, speak kindly to them and inspire them as you want for yourself.

So it was with an energy on an endorphin high that I spent my last two days at the Saint Lucia Taiwan Trade Fair where I began to believe that Saint Lucia might be, might, just, be, on the cusp of coming out of the dark ages where art – of the intellectuals and the peoples – has been a bad word, a road to debt, a highway to crazy where good people full of light, fade and dust and dry rot. Maybe, just maybe we are coming close to a long-closed door being recognized for what it is, what it has always been; the path to freedom.

Heart-to-heart talks, frank caring critiques from creative to creative, art of the peoples touched, bought and ready to be gifted at Christmas…The Ministry of Commerce having included a 'Voucher Scheme' where exhibitors could exchange vouchers to 'buy' each other's goods. The unbridled joy of primary school kids playing, singing and dancing our traditional songs; their teacher’s face a story of love. The adults testing the strength of the stage-boards leaping, pouring sweat, lost in the love of dances rooted in African pasts long foreign except in places that oceans cannot touch. This is my world, this is what I love. I will be back there today and I hope many more will be too. This is the true backbone of the nation, the Arts – of all shapes and forms. The works of expression that enable us to be.

I am hopeful.

See my photos HERE More to come, so please subscribe to my blog (make me feel good!!! TIA :) and 'Like' the Cultural Development Foundation's Facebook page - click to get Notifications also and you'll be kept in touch with all that we are doing (that's my day-job)

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sun, 15 Nov 2015 00:38:00 +0000

The night of Friday 13^th November 2015 saw awful terror attacks in Paris and today, Facebook gradually turned into 3 colours as people expressed their solidarity with France and the people of France in the face of this tragedy.

I chose not to.

Yes, I feel deep empathy for the victims – especially in this case, where it would seem there was no particular effort to take revenge against any specific people who angered the attackers (edit. 15.11 Ok, maybe it turns out, this is not quite the case as authorities indicate the Bataclan club is well-known for pro-israili activities but what about the others?). I understand that Paris is a place of familiarity for so many people, even if they have never been there - it is the city of our romantic dreams, of many movies, a country of western partnership. They are friends and family.

But for me, the message I want to send and I would love to see people emanating themselves is not that of National Colours. National colours, National borders, flags, are demarcations that help divide us. Underneath it all we are all the same – all human – all God’s children as so, so many believe. There are warring people in every country and innocent victims in every country. In many countries – not least in the west, it is an institutionalised part of governments and of the economy. There exists a strong sickly incestual relationship: Fear, war, money earned from war, fear earned from war, power, influence, money; hunger, desperation, fear, war.....

So today, just like any other day, I really don’t particularly empathise with France. France, like many nations, does some pretty shitty things. The people who died, their families – yes, I empathise very much with them, these casualties of wars fought by their governments and all the too numerous armies of the world and those of religious fundamentalism. I empathise with all ordinary people who are just trying to live a reasonably decent life. I especially empathise with people trying to be peaceful.

And I understand the frustration of those that expressed outrage that people will turn their statuses blue, white and red today but barely make a comment when 157 were killed in Kenya or Lebanon, or…

Let’s be real, there are many awful deaths of innocents around the world on a unfairly constant basis. Yes, news agencies do cover these too, but sadly yes, also, ‘we’ do not jump on the hashtag, status image bandwagon anywhere near as much as when it is white western ‘civilization’ that is affected, and the news coverage is hardly ever of a similar scope, emotion or longevity. This I believe is sadly reality.

Many of my friend’s argue that people pointing this out, are clouding the issue and that there is no reason why this Paris tragedy should not stand alone as an act of atrocity. It is indeed an act of atrocity and of much sadness and one well worthy of us standing up in solidarity against. But it does not stand alone. Not at all. These things are happening all around us to all colours, nations, religions. We all are in this together as humanity; as one world.

This tragedy is a part and parcel of a much wider (w)hole.So yes, I don't think the issue we should be focusing on is supporting one Nation or one Nation's people. We should be supporting something that moves us away from division. Finding a place where we can build peace.

So when I saw the tricolor taking over today, my thoughts went to my favourite t-shirt that I bought one early Saturday morning at our local Flea Market – it has a tree dripping with peace-sign fruits and says simply ‘Grow Peace’. So I made my status image a version of tha.

www.facebook.com/lifesadanse/

This is the strong desire days like this cause in me and I do hope more and more people will understand that we must make time and look deeper. There is only one way out of this, and it is togetherness, common humanity – standing together as one world, one people, in peace.

#1world1people #growpeace

Do you worship the Devil then?

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sun, 08 Nov 2015 11:51:00 +0000

'God Light' Or maybe just inspiring

I just read an article about a study of kids carried out across a fairly diverse range of countries - the study’s results showed that non-religious children are more altruistic and show more empathy than religious children. Well blow me down with a feather! Are you as shocked as I am?

Ok, well, no, I am not shocked. Except maybe that apparently we don’t already know this to be a fact.

So of course I posted it to Facebook with a little introduction sharing my thoughts that I was glad, at least, to have one study backing up something I already knew to be true – but one of my friend’s response gave me the title, and motivation to write this post. She identifies as an atheist and commented

"I too am non religious, atheist actually, and have three non religious boys (now men) who have good strong morals and ethics and have empathy and compassion for fellow beings and creatures. It irks me when people who are religious perceive my non religiousnesstherefore having no morals or a code of ethics...and therefore evil. Someone actually asked me if I worship the devil because I am an atheist"

I’d like to laugh. It has happened to me also (though I don't think I am quite athiest) but this way of thinking, I believe, is one of the most destructive forces we have in our little earth these days (and past): the misleading of people away from our common humanity, in the guise of religion. Not faith – which is also commonly confused as the same as religion, I’m talking about the more and more commonplace extreme Christianity, Judaism, Islam and so on, that so many people seem hell-bent on practicing. The 'I'm righteous and if you don't believe what I believe, you worship the devil and deserve persecution or even to die' line of rationalization.

Those of you who have read my posts over the years would know I am not religious and that my lack of faith in faith became evident during my school years when I could not help but realize that much of what we were told to be ‘fact’ was, to say the least, highly questionable as fact and indeed, took a leap of faith to accept as fact. A leap, I have to say, I never had in me. No religion gene here.

So, to the core of the matter – what is our motivation to care about others and to be empathetic and altruistic? I do it because I can hardly help myself –it’s in me and it makes me feel good to boot.

What is a religious person’s reason for doing ‘right’? To be highly favoured perhaps; to be accepted in the Kingdom of Heaven? To be one of the numbered? To avoid going to Hell? Be canonised? Have people in Church recognize them as righteous? Or maybe just because ‘God sees everything'. Perhaps all, perhaps one or two and of course, in some cases, there may be no more motivation than it feels good or they can hardly help themselves – but that is the core motivation of good humans and does not, in any way, shape or form, need religion to exist.

By its very nature, religion relates doing good to receiving a reward. And in so doing, I think, sadly, the very nature of doing good, is sullied.

Then there is the inherent issue that religion necessitates one group being right and all others, wrong. Granted, some religions place less emphasis on this, but increasingly, far too many make it a central part of their dogma. How then can empathy exist – empathy which requires a certain level of being able to identify with another’s problem in a way that leads to commonality?How can altruism flourish when a one-off assistance granted to someone may be ok to render, but if you are to keep blessing anyone with your help, they can’t be non-believers.

Without this external motivation of reward or wrath from On High, surely those of us who do good just for the sake of it have indeed a better grasp on what altruism and empathy are and indeed, demonstrate good strong ethics and morals. This is, indeed, the deepest level of free will you will ever be able to attain.

I am not saying there is no place for faith and I know many people whose faith is indeed beautiful to me; I do not need to feel the same as them to be able to see the beauty. But religion is another matter. And the extreme practices religion all too often shepherds people into – there is no empathy, altruism or moral ethics down that slippery path to hell.

What do you think? What are your experiences and what motivates you to be altruistic, to judge or accept? And what guides your morals and ethics?

Viv Lawoz! Vive La Rose - Saint Lucia Flower Festival Hits Rodney Bay

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sun, 23 Aug 2015 20:16:00 +0000

The Queen is revived by the scent of the Rose

Last night I attended a first in history event - the Lawoz Seance - a part of a tradition that dates back to Colonial Times, came to Rodney Bay - right between the two malls - Baywalk and JQ Rodney Bay Mall.

I was working - taking photographs for the Cultural Development Foundation where I work. Well, that is the kind of work I really enjoy! The atmosphere, as you'll see in the photos, was just fantastic!

Young, Teen, Moms, Dads and Grandparents all enjoying the drama and fun.

This is the first time I've been at a Seance - which is basically an event that each Lawoz group holds in their own communities to raise funds and have a lot of fun doing so!

The Lawoz and the Magewit (Marguerite) are what we call the Flower Festivals - they have their origin as a parody of the Colonials but also as friendly societies for 'ordinary' people of Saint Lucia. They traditionally 'war' with each other by competing with songs that make fun of and deride each other. Members of the groups take on various roles such as nurses, doctors, police, magistrates, army, princesses and princes and each year a Lawoz (La Rose) Queen and King are crowned - La Wa and La Wen

Many Saint Lucian's don't actually know much about these beautiful and fun traditions or about their more serious history, so the CDF through the creative persuasions of our Director of Events and Production Drenia Frederick, has now brought the celebration to Rodney Bay for 2 years. The reception by the public is nothing short of raptuous - crowds gather and stay transfixed by the merriment and dramatic occurrences, such as persons being arrested for stealing sweeties or wearing the wrong colours: Lawoz colours are pink, red and white...you might get away with some other colours thrown in but don't wear blue or purple whatever you do! That's Magewit's colours and its sure to end you up before the Magistwa (Magistrate) paying a fine!

A few pictures here - please do take a look at the full album on flickr and feel free to repost with credit to the photographer and preferably a link back to flickr or here

Viv La Rose!

'Put a little something on it' Eager patron of the Lawoz Food Stalls

Members of Mamai la Caye

The Percussion section

Well known writer, poet, carnival band leader and artist Adrian Augier pays his fine for wearing the wrong colours

The Policewomand dances with a lovely Lawoz patron

Young Boy grins - not sure if he was arrested for wearing blue or stealing sweets...or both!

The Doctor is called in to revive a fallen reveller

One of the young Chantwelles

One of the older beauties

another of the young Chantwelles


Dennery King and Choiseul Queen celebrating


Viv Lawoz! the youngest patron dancing away!

Dance Class led by Calypsonian, Dancer, educator 'Batchelor'

Calypsonian and Traditional singer 'Ready'

Young and Young at Heart enjoy the evening

How to 'tief a sweetie right in front of the Police!

Please take a look at the full set of photos here: Lawoz Album

Decadent Sweet Potato Mango – Carambola Chocolate Chip Upside Down Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 23:56:00 +0000

So, I thought I'd see if I could do another variation of these cakes...then I realized I had no fruit - well, I had a Mammee Apple, but it's not ripe enough, I had about 7 windfall mangoes but only one was ripe enough and that wasn't enough fruit...dig, dig, dig in the fridge....currents and 2 small sweet Carambola...YaY! Baking time!

So for this one, this is how I did it:

Use 2 silicone loaf pans

Preheat oven to 350F

I pre-roasted some sweet potato in its skin – then sliced up the potato (removing skin) and roasted again so it was half dry – half moist. I put this through the blender so it was in smallish soft chunks. To this I added about a half cup of toasted dessicated coconut that had also been blended into a fairly fine crumb. Added about a ¼ cup brown rice flour, ½ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp salt, 1Tablespoon cinnamon and ½ tsp nutmeg. Set that aside

Cream 3-4 oz Butter with a Tablespoon of Olive Oil and 2/3 cup brown sugar until light and fluffy. Dice 1 small medium-ripe mango (about 1/2 cup), mix with 2/3 cup currant and mix into creamed butter and sugar

Spread into bottom of pan and Sprinkle on about 1/3 cup chocolate chips (semi sweet dark is what I used)

Slice 2 small sweet Carambola and layer on top of all this

Chop about 1/3 cup roasted cashew nuts and sprinkle on top

Now chop up some unsweetened dark baking chocolate – about 3 squares and sprinkle on top

Now I beat together 1 eggs, 1/3 cup oil and ½ cup brown sugar until well blended and fluffy

I added about a 1/3 cup plain yogurt to this and mixed it in. Then I mixed this with the sweet potato and flour mix -This is now spread on top of all the layers and sprinkled with a little left over toasted dessicated coconut

Pop in the oven and cook for about 30-40 mins

Let it cool on a rack for 10 minutes or so before turning out on to a plate.

It tastes goooooooooood :)

Decadent Upside Down Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sun, 31 May 2015 19:38:00 +0000

Inspired by this recipe

Sunday's are for baking something to get you through the 5 days of the work-week! I always try to mess around with someone's recipe...sometimes it isn't exactly a result that makes you drool but then there are days like today! Yummy!!!

Decadent Upside Down Cake

Line a 10” pan with parchment paper or use a silicone baking dish

Preheat oven to 350F

Now get baking

Cream 6-8 oz Butter with 2/3 - 3/4 cup brown sugar until light and fluffy

Spread into bottom of pan

Dice 1 ripe mango (about a cup), mix with ½ cup raisins, ½ cup chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips, 1/3 cup chopped macadamia nuts and 1/3 cup chopped cashew nuts – mix together

Sprinkle on top of the creamed butter and sugar

Beat together 2 eggs, ¼ cup oil and 2/3-3/4 cup brown sugar until well blended and fluffy

Beat in ¾ cup each boiled mashed sweet potato and pumpkin (total 1 ½ cups)

Mix the following dry ingredients together then mix into the eggs, sweet potato and pumpkin mix

1 cup coconut flour or finely blended toasted coconut

½ cup rice flour

½ tsp nutmeg

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

Spread this on top of the first two layers

Pop in the oven and cook for about 30-40 mins

Let it cool on a rack for 10 minutes or so before turning out on to a plate. Let cool before eating (or not… ;)

Not a great photograph..but it tastes good!!!

If you bake a version of this, why not share it here!?

Chikungunya - Viral Arthritis Update

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 12:40:00 +0000

So a few weeks on, I have been religiously putting on my Ajas Oil - and consequently smelling of very earthy patchouli..hmm... I am happy enough with the smell, and as I use body oil anyway, not lotion, I am happy with the oil on my skin. Whether it has helped much - that I can't tell to well.

glorious sky to sooth aches and pains :)

At first I was just doing that and having my 'spice tea' - full of anti-inflammatory spices - turmeric, ginger, west indian bayleaf (racemosa pimenta), cardammon, black pepper, cinnamon - made and put into the fridge to heat back up and drink as a tea, add to black tea, add to half a bottle of water and 1/4 of apple juice - 1/4 of spice tea to drink at work...but

I was ok - my pains and stiffness were bad enough but not so much that I would not be able to work and do whatever I needed - except if that involved putting weight on my wrists of crouching right down. But I was not sleeping well - the joints stiffen up as you sleep and then I'd be woken by the pains and then of course, next day I was tired and therefore more prone to being sicker.

So I decided to take meds at nights - 1 night-time paracetamol and 1 ibuprofen - and that helped as I felt more rested, but my joints still hurt in the morning and through the day.

So then I started putting on ibuprofen gel and voltaren gel where I know my muscles are very tight as it's all related - one sets off the other. I'd say that helped a bit - my wrists and knees and shoulders all eased a bit.

Then one of my achy friends said she took voltaren tablets one lunchtime and then again in the evening and she'd woken up the next day able to "feel my feet - and walk on them without wincing for the first time since getting it" and that was 7 weeks ago.

So, I dug up my diclofenac (generic voltaren) and took one that night. Well, I slept well (didn't take the other meds) and I woke up feeling better - less aches. I continued my daytime routine and took another diclofenac dose that night - same results - felt good.

So last night - I didn't take anything - well, I felt ok, so maybe I was in remission...this morning my wrists hurt again, fingers, knees...damn.

my variant of 'panadol' in my yard

I am really not a fan of taking meds long-term as I've been there and done that to the point I really feel my liver and kidneys would appreciate my not continuing - and whatever other long-term effects you get, I figure I am high on the list for (read here)...but that said, I have to say I am going to try the diclofenac again for a while and see - I also believe that sometimes we may need a bit of a boost - whether in order to be able to function at work or to allow us to sleep and heal in our sleep...

Of course there are the local herbal plants - 'panadol' - plecanthrus caninus a member of the mint family and with an oregano-like flavour which has been used to treat various things including colds (virus) rheumatism and here, for headaches, and I'm sure there is probably one that acts like diclofenac...if anyone knows, please do tell! (other than my spices of course)

So, hope that helps!

See original post here: http://sunrainor.blogspot.com/2014/10/that-damn-chikungunya.html

That Damn Chikungunya!

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sun, 12 Oct 2014 16:29:00 +0000

So, me and 3 of my ‘liming partners’ got Chikungunya about the same time – we are all over 45, female, if that makes any difference, I don’t know…we are all suffering periodic bouts of joint pains 5 weeks on from the original symptoms.

How can we deal with these arthritis-like pains caused by Chikungunya? First of all, everyone – including doctors seem to be referring to it just as arthritis, but in all my googling, I see it referred to as ‘arthralgia’ and it seems it is not quite the same thing as what we normally call arthritis, even though it feels the same; it is a viral arthritis.

“Patients with long-term arthralgia did not display biological markers typically found in autoimmune or rheumatoid diseases. These data helped define the features of CHIKV-associated chronic arthralgia and permitted an estimation of the economic burden associated with arthralgia.” http://www.plosntds.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pntd.0002137

So, since it’s both viral and arthritis-like or maybe we can just say it’s viral-arthritis, seems we should approach it from both standpoints. I know I popped the NSAIDS when the pain was too bad, but I am wary of taking NSAIDS longerterm as I know more studies are showing they can worsen joint problems when used longterm. Paracetamol/acetaminophen well, it may not be so bad for your joints but it seems it is one of the most common poisoning causes – liver toxicity and if you are susceptible and OD on it, can be fatal. Ouch.

Yes, so, on to that economic burden – I have one friend – mid 30s, who got Chikungunya in June…she has had ‘relapses’ so bad she still has to rely on her boyfriend to carry her around some days. She makes jewelry as a side business…well, it ain’t easy to bend wire and hold jewelry tools when your hands can’t close even if you could get over the pain. I am glad to say I am nowhere near that bad, but my knees now won’t let me squat down…and I take a good few steps before the pain eases enough for me not to hobble.

When this mosquito-borne scourge first came to our little paradise chain of islands in the Caribbean, we were told only – it is not fatal (except in rare immune-challenged cases) and it only lasts a few days to a week. Eh-heh. A friend of mine first broke that illusion with a post on Facebook asking why the authorities were not telling us the full story…well you know I went a-googling immediately…and yes, I started to find reference to this ‘arthralgia’ and even cognitive challenges in some patients. Well, of the people I know who have gotten this thing, I’d say nearly half are suffering longer-term arthralgia. That’s a lot of reduced quality of life and lost economic activity.

Back to that article quoted earlier

“Patients were submitted to clinical investigations 4, 6, 14 and 36 months after presentation with acute CHIKV infection. At 36 months, 22 patients with arthralgia and 20 patients without arthralgia were randomly selected from the cohort and consented for blood sampling. During the 3 years following acute infection, 60% of patients had experienced symptoms of arthralgia, with most reporting episodic relapse and recovery periods. Long-term arthralgias were typically polyarthralgia (70%), that were usually symmetrical (90%) and highly incapacitating (77%). They were often associated with local swelling (63%), asthenia (77%) or depression (56%). The age over 35 years and the presence of arthralgia 4 months after the disease onset are risk factors of long-term arthralgia.”

36 Months!!!!! That’s 3 years!!!!! Bloody Hell.

So my approach, based on researching both arthritis and virus recovery (aka – building your immune system)

Make a ‘tea’ – see one of my recipe’s here for an evening one – lemongrass is a good sleep aid.

Get some sun – vitamin D helps. Early morning 30 minute doses so you don’t burn.

Eat lots of healthy fruits and veggies - and for Caribbean people - zepina / bhagee is great - it is actually a wild amaranth and is full of virus-fighting, immune building goodies.

Use virgin coconut oil - as a base oil, with caster oil or alone and with anti-inflammatory oils added - cinnamon, eucalyptus, bay, ginger, nutmeg are a few or buy this Dominican product - Oil of Ojas. Eat VCO also and drink lots of coconut water.

Just be aware also if you are already on blood thinners, or you have low blood pressure or tend to diabetes - all these spices and supplements can affect your pre-existing conditions, so check with your doc.

Exercise – I know swimming is not weight bearing so not considered effective for bone health, but in the Caribbean, a good sea bath is healing, that massaging of the waves, the mineral salts, the temperature of the water, the sun…and you can gently (and intensely) exercise and improve flexibility by using the water as a resistance. So go take sea baths...

Weight bearing exercise – now, I was thinking this morning, there’s no way I could do a downward facing dog or a plank because my wrists scream at me if I lean on them too hard. But I guess I have to find some ways to gently get them to bear weight, same for my knees and ankles. Dancing has been recommended and considering it’s depressing to have this stupid arthralgia, I think that could work wonders!

And, for those of us in cocoa-growing islands….Make cocoa tea BUT sorry traditionalists! No Milk, no cornstrach – make it with some rice or almond milk and sweeten with honey – the bayleaf, ginger, nutrmeg – all good anti-inflammatories and the pure cocoa helps too – studies have found various anti-inflammatory effects and helps with your mind, so if you get the added cognitive issues from the Chiky…well, drink cocoa tea. (Mexican cocoa can be substituted) See recipe here - but adapt as advised above

See these links for more info on anti-inflammatory advice

http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/treating-rheumatoid-arthritis#1

http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/arthritis-and-daily-life/diet-and-arthritis/foods-and-supplements-that-might-help.aspx

http://www.niams.nih.gov/health_info/bone/Bone_Health/Exercise/default.asp

http://www.news-medical.net/health/Arthralgia-Treatments.aspx

What I'm Doing at Work - Summer of the Arts and More...

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 18:06:00 +0000

Well, hello there 'Sunrainors' .... it's been a long long time!!! I have ummed and ahhd about what to do with this blog - should I start posting again? Should I stick to my 'studio' blog? Well, I don't know, I have a little love affair with this old blog - it brought me through some amazing times of growth and though my following was never huge (except for a little while in the Hurricane Tomas times) you all were such good company along the way. So I've decided I'll start up SunRainOr again. And I'm going to start by telling you about what I'm doing at my Day-Job at the moment - and yes, let me be up-front...I am asking my old friends for a little help along the way...

My New Job
So, some of you may know that I left my self-employment of 18 years and now work at the Cultural Development Foundation in Saint Lucia: I am the Director of Business Development & Marketing. The CDF is Saint Lucia's Arts & Culture organization and I joined last year October - along with a few others - after the organization had gone through a whole reorganization and reorientation.

Since then, things have been madly hectic! I joke (half) that if I'd had any idea how much work this job would entail I would never even have applied!!! But in fact, although it is incredibly challenging; I am happy to be involved. Like most things in my life, I see the growth opportunity I am be privileged to have - if I am willing to rise to the challenge!

The Work of the Cultural Development Foundation

Assumption Knights Steelpan Group

We at CDF are attempting to do great things and Saint Lucia's culture needs the work we want to do. Saint Lucia needs the opportunities that the CDF is working hard to bring to the table - training and development programmes for all levels of need, in communities around the island (none of this North - South divide stuff!). You see, this organization (a statutory body) used to really spend most of it's time and money running our various cultural festivals - that in and of itself was a good thing and done pretty well, but the development aspect of the work it was supposed to be seemed always to have to take a back seat: limited funds, limited resources. Now we have solved one part of the challenge - the Human Resource has been expanded and reorganized...but, the limited funds and other resources remain challenging to us.

Like all countries, we are not at all immune to the economic crisis - Saint Lucia has had to breathe in and tighten our cummerbunds. But CDF, even in this time of hardship, recognized the immense role that Culture and Arts could play - creative expression, self-employment, alternative occupations, support product for the crucial Tourism Industry, voice for the disenfranchised and the youth, etc, etc. But it is a challenge.

Indiegogo - Crowd Funding

Part of my job - though the title doesn't say - is to raise funds for the organization - discretionary (ie tied to specific uses) and non-discretionary (for us to apply as and where needed). This we traditionally do by reaching out to our relatively small local corporate sector and they respond as best they can. But my department wants to take it further afield - and not just for cash donations - yes, those are crucial and pressing in the immediate term - but also for in-kind. For the cash though, we've launched our first crowd funding campaign...we have $20 so far!!! Here it is https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/summer-of-the-arts donations start from $5 if you'd like to bump up our total a bit!!!

And oh! we do have some pretty nice perks to thank you too - our photographers and writers, 27 at last count - pitched in and donated gorgeous photos and a wide variety of short stories, poems and opinion pieces for us to create digital wall papers, calendars and an ebook, so the perks are nice too!

Creating a Movement
We want to develop a movement across the globe - a gathering of people who for whatever reasons - have an interest in supporting the CDF's work in developing the arts and culture of Saint Lucia - from pure creative expression for enjoyment and personal growth, through to the business end for employment and income generation.

What would this 'movement' do? Well if it turns out to be a real movement, it will actually define it's own work! But we see possibilities for partnerships across the globe - exchanges; input of skills - training, workshops; mentoring - artists residencies, business and industry insights; promotion - word of mouth, tell-a-friend support for our activities and fundraising, sharing info on what's going on in the arts & culture world in Saint Lucia and so on.

Kickstarting it
Well aside from launching our Summer of the Arts Indiegogo campaign, which is off to a slow start, and I'm hoping you'll help with getting moving a little faster by popping over and dropping a little $$ in our till - we're also getting going with one of my favourite things...

Supporting Free Speech
We're gearing up to launch our website's blog! Again, we reached out to the community, to people we know are passionate about the arts and culture, and asked them to consider blogging for us on our website www.cdfstlucia.org ; on any topic relating to arts and culture that inspires them.

We now have 6 persons on-board and I think you'll find that blog turns out to be quite interesting. We hope that a lot of very free discussion will happen there - we will not be doing much moderation (except profanity, overtly political or likely to put us in court stuff, and of course the annoying spam). So check that out - drop us a line if you'd like to contribute as a writer. Subscribe to the blog (we should have that in place by later today!)

So....I hope you'll pop over to our Indiegogo Campaign and see if it's something you'd like to support and spread the word about. And I hope you'll join us on our blog as we get going there too...and yes, I hope you'll be staying here with me too! It's good to 'see' you all again!

An Insightful Post about Poverty and what it can do to a person..

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 23:20:00 +0000

I've been pretty 'poor' temporarily - but not without the help and comfort of family not too far away...but even with that, I can easily understand this description - it's easy to say 'Oh I know people who were poor and didn't do this or that" but truth is many find it hard to find that spark or opportunity and instead just find criticism and closed doors all the time - if we just stop and think how much we get upset at little hardships or when we feel we're done wrong by, unfairly criticised...but we go home to comfortable lives...imagine if you knew you were worth more but were caught in this cycle...kudos to her that she's getting an education and great that in all likelihood this article will be her break - but more importantly, read and see if you can empathise with some people you may have been judging...

Linda Tirado writes:

"There's no way to structure this coherently. They are random observations that might help explain the mental processes. But often, I think that we look at the academic problems of poverty and have no idea of the why. We know the what and the how, and we can see systemic problems, but it's rare to have a poor person actually explain it on their own behalf. So this is me doing that, sort of.
Rest is a luxury for the rich. I get up at 6AM, go to school (I have a full course load, but I only have to go to two in-person classes) then work, then I get the kids, then I pick up my husband, then I have half an hour to change and go to Job 2. I get home from that at around 12:30AM, then I have the rest of my classes and work to tend to. I'm in bed by 3. This isn't every day, I have two days off a week from each of my obligations. I use that time to clean the house and soothe Mr. Martini and see the kids for longer than an hour and catch up on schoolwork. Those nights I'm in bed by midnight, but if I go to bed too early I won't be able to stay up the other nights because I'll fuck my pattern up, and I drive an hour home from Job 2 so I can't afford to be sleepy. I never get a day off from work unless I am fairly sick. It doesn't leave you much room to think about what you are doing, only to attend to the next thing and the next. Planning isn't in the mix.
When I got pregnant the first time, I was living in a weekly motel. I had a minifridge with no freezer and a microwave. I was on WIC. I ate peanut butter from the jar and frozen burritos because they were 12/$2...
Read more here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-tirado/why-poor-peoples-bad-decisions-make-perfect-sense_b_4326233.html?

she blogs here too: http://killer-martinis.squarespace.com/

Learning to be Diplomatic Over and Over...and Over Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 00:41:00 +0000

Just re-read my post from a year and a half ago about how you have to keep on learning new ways to make change happen - learning that what you think is diplomacy or being clear about what you are saying, may not be good enough...

Once again I find myself in the thick of trying to be diplomatic AND make a very important concern and challenge clear to the persons I (and others) are criticising for something said. It has been a learning experience!! Once again learning that when you are talking to people who 'speak your language', what you're saying is often easily understood....but that sure doesn't mean that others will get your point - especially if you happen to be criticising them - everyone gets a bit sensitive when they're criticised - me included.

So what have I learnt this time round - well, here are 10 Things, plus 1 extra for good measure

1) Assume people will not get 100% of what you're saying - you're not as easily understandable as you think you are!

2) Go back over, and over again to remove any potentially inflammatory parts if you're writing - if understanding is what you seek, inflaming the situation will not take you that route, it will cause useless anger and distress

3) If you are faced with the other party spewing out inflammatory stuff...step back and decide if you can respond in a way that will calm and be productive - are there issues in that tirade that you need to address? If not, walk away...if there are, then breathe first and try to respond calmly

4) Your 'private' wall on Facebook is not really private - once you are a public figure, your wall is a representation of you even if you restrict who can see it - especially in a small community like Saint Lucia where everyone knows you...you are never separate from your professional self, so what you say there 'in private' you actually say very publicly - be open to the responses

5) Assume people will not get 100% of what you're saying - yes, again. Be prepared to find a different way to explain

6) Find a different way to LISTEN - recognize the other party isn't 'speaking your language' and see if you can hear without your own preconceptions...can you

7) Give the benefit of the doubt and interpret what was said as not meaning to be as damaging as it seemed.

8) What's your aim? To be right or to improve a situation? Get off your own high horse before you ask anyone else to

9) Know that some people are not ready to be wrong - leave them be; don't dismiss them as unimportant - as I recently was reminded - everyone is your customer...potentially... and everyone is certainly your PR person...potentially but if you piss them off, the PR they'll be doing is 100% bad, bad, bad ...as in this recent discussion involved a PR Professional (who shall remain nameless for their protection) but who now has secured theirself about 10 persons who went from discussing using their services to advance our own offerings, to now probably serving as bad publicity for the PR Pro...all because the PR Pro was only able to dish criticism and not take the same in return and dissolved into a viscous rant involving demanding we 'pull up our panties' ... it'd be funny if it wasn't so bad. I still hope bridges will be mended with understanding at some point, but hey, y'all already know I am Utopian ... I am unapologetic for this character trait.

10) Shut up...know that you always will have to keep trying to listen differently - that new way you found in step 6) is already getting old -it's an ongoing, ongoing process...don't I know it! So quiet down, breathe and listen again...

One extra) Be kind - to the other party as well as yourself - that doesn't mean you have to lie down and be a doormat or hide your true feelings - that would be counterproductive and dishonest - be honest but seek to do the least damage and achieve the most positive outcome possible - for all.

K, finished being preachy now (note - I am always preaching to myself in these blogs as well as to you the reader :) Now, let me see if I can live up to these suggestions!

Thanks for reading - it helps me know if I'm on the right track when I get your feedback, so do feel free to drop a note about how you see all this kinda thing!

Last year's post - here if you'd like to read

Sometimes you have to look East to see the beauty of a Sunset

LIAT Bashing - what are we really asking for?

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 11:31:00 +0000

The way I see this LIAT / Caribbean travel issue is, apparently different to many…I have travelled on LIAT a good number of times – I’ve had bad delays a few times – and what I call ‘bad’ are delays that are more than 1hr or so, because, I’ve had 1hr or so delays on many airlines over time, and it’s my understanding that

If it’s something technical, it’d be hard to get it fixed in less than 1hr
If you miss your slot for taking off, (about 15mins – half hr) most times, you got to wait another slot before you can go…

I’ve also watched LIAT staff heroically handle large crowds of pissed off customers who, in many cases are berating and physically menacing the front desk staff….who, poor jabs…are not the ones responsible for the delays, lost baggage etc, but have 2,3,10 people often physically coming at them all at once

I wonder about people who demand LIAT be more efficient and stop ‘losing taxpayers money’ … what is it they want really? They want cheap flights, nice airports, and I assume, safe airports, safe planes, well paid and not overworked pilots, pleasant cabin crew, lots of choices of times to fly….well….Houston, we may have a problem with that…

Take-off and landing are costly … much more costly than flying the plane when it is at ‘cruising altitude’ …. I don’t know if many people have noticed, but LIAT has to take off and land a damn heck of a lot – with sometimes just a mere 20-30 minute flight in-between

Airport taxes…call me dumb, and aside from our governments not using money for what they’re supposed to now n then, but… isn’t maintaining a safe and comfortable, well-run airport…umm…costly? Shouldn’t the people that use the airport pay for it?

Did you know …. A plane uses more fuel the lower it flies….well, guess what? Flying the teeny-tiny hops between most of our islands, LIAT flies LOW – add that to the fuel cost of taking off so many times….taking off uses a LOT of costly fuel.

When LIAT did the obvious thing to improve efficiency/cost of running the airline and cut back flights so they flew less planes with 1/10^th occupancy, people get mad! “Whoy! Now they not even providing flights!!!!” Well ‘DUH!!!!!’ Granted it costs more in fuel to fly a heavy (full) plane than an empty one, but the administrative costs are the same – ramp costs the same….and they put those empty, costly flights in the air ….for whose convenience again? Oh yes, the same LIAT-bashing passengers.

LIAT never gets to cruise at high altitudes where air is thinner and so fuel consumption (and costs) are less

LIAT has no long-haul routes to run at higher profit margins

I wonder how many people are aware how much subsidy Caribbean Airlines gets? What? You didn’t know they’re heavily subsidized by the Trinidad & Tobago Tax payers? Seriously? You really just thought they could snap their fingers and run cheap jus’ so? And they also have long-haul….but they still can’t even come close to making a profit. They say they are 'planning to phase it out over the next 3 years...'

We subsidize other airlines to come here….and why do we do that? Yes, for the same reasons we subsidise LIAT – because it is an economically unviable route to fly and we NEED the airlift for our economies to survive. Its not a new concept!!! Public transportation is subsidized the WORLD over OR you pay HIGH prices to travel and/or get "rationalized routes' - ie less flights, less direct stops etc – it cannot work any other way.

Now, about the ‘service’ LIAT staff provides – yes, I will agree there that there is need for better management policies that govern how situations are dealt with and there needs to be staff training on-going…noting that those COST money…but, but, but, I have to say….in comparison to the service I get all around the Caribbean, from service personnel in MUCH less stressful situations…I can’t say that I find LIAT staff all that bad! Yes, there could definitely be better protocols in place….same with most restaurants, shops, government offices…and the list would go on…and Lucians and I assume other islands…have we forgotten the ‘pleasure’ of flying with American Eagle? Regularly cancelled, regularly losing baggage, flight attendants and ground staff that treated you like a pest they wished they could just spray Baygon all over?

Really. I am so tired of the mob-attitude LIAT bashing that is going on. I am NOT saying nothing is wrong with the airline or that things have not gone horribly wrong lately, or that it couldn’t do with much improvement –but I am saying that people need to stop and think, not just a little bit – a LOT about the realities of regional travel and its inherent costs and challenges and THEN make some sound statements – perhaps even ones that give solid, not mocking foolishness, options for ways in which our governments and LIAT or any other travel provider could better balance the challenges of costs vs service for us and those who come here and travel in our region.

I for one find it hard to do that. But maybe I’m not seeing something – so, who has some good sound proposals that will help us all out? Anyone?

Walking Saint Lucia - Anse Lavoutte to Esperance

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sat, 13 Jul 2013 18:44:00 +0000

A 2.5 hour walk along part of the northern East Coast of Saint Lucia - beautiful walk...makes you wish they'd preserve this area for the Nation - all the way to top of Cap Estate...lovely.

Red Puff Plant .... I'm sure it has a real name :-)

Wild(?) Donkeys - were very curious to see us near Comerette

'The Beast' stalking its prey... Comerette

One of the many 'Morning Glories"

Still thinking about whether they should follow us or run...

Looking back on Comerette

The Huts at Comerette

Some trees ...

grass

looking back over Comerette

textures

twisted

Twisted sister

Anse Lapins

Beach Art

The River mouth

Looking back down Anse Lapins

Island off Anse Lapins

Morning Glory again

Textures - purple flowered ground cover and sea grape and sea

The Grassy Path

Coming in to Esperance - the original safe harbour way back when

A tree

textures

Textures - flotsam and jetsam and all sorts of sam...

the rocky shore

twigs textures

round the bend

in need of water lilies

on the path

Hut at Esperance

The Conch Road

watch where you step - little orange centipede

Chubby the Heron

Old Mill Wall

River Crossing

The River

Purple Puff Balls...who I'm sure have a real name too....

Lots of white, through pink to red berries around

What looked like a parasitic plant on a tree

Back to civilization - 'the English Garden'

This walk was about 5 1/3 miles - gentle ups n downs some muddy areas (rainy season) some loose stones, some grass with rocks hidden - walking sticks are good, water and snacks too - enjoy!!!

Travellers of life

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Wed, 15 May 2013 01:51:00 +0000

Haven't written in a while - lots has been going on and my thoughts and experiences of how life works have been going on too...I've been spending time, investing time, I should say, and my energies into bringing the true Finola to the fore - the last 5 or so years especially, have been a serious road of personal growth and it has not been easy, but it has been a lot easier than the preceding 10 years where I realize now, I allowed myself to get lost somewhat - running here and there away from this and to that, never quite being able to get my voice to say what it needed to, far less be heard; never quite getting my ears to hear what they needed to, far less to be able to sing along with the sweet undertones of life. Living in dischord with myself and those around me. Thankfully, the upside of that has been learning how to live better - I chose mindfully and heartfully to walk away from that road on to a truer path.

Colours of a Dawning - psychedelic :-D

So, many times I've written about the rollercoaster of life and the ride and the fluid balance that I find I not only have mostly come to terms with, but actually grown to appreciate and enjoy, savour even - savour feeling, savour the challenge to ones self and senses, spirit and heart.

Riding Calm Waters

I've been learning more and more how to not just forgive (for they - truly - know not what they do), but to start to allow people to be human and faulted, stumbling and frail, forgetful, careless and blind and not to be angry about it, but to understand that I perhaps, sometimes, am lucky to be able to see more, do more, be more, but at other times will also still stumble, forget, not see and more. There is no perfect person.

I am fortunate to be able to see a bit better than before - and am so grateful I can enjoy the beauty of being at once, more at peace and more energized with life and myself and this I believe comes in quite large part through the choices I have made...

Recently, I've been focusing more on our choices - yes, I've written quite a bit about that before too, but it is ever more present a force in my life and those around me: we really do have the final say here on earth, as to what we choose - people and circumstances may influence us - in some cases, drastically and almost beyond our control, but in the end, it is a truly rare case when we are not able to choose where next to place each foot - make a bad situation worse, or step out of the mire and onto firmer land...

An unexpected place to rest?

A post on Facebook wrote about how our path is just that, ours, no-one elses... and I felt that strongly. Though we often also find ourselves sharing a path, and sometimes try to influence another's path too, in the end, we must accept responsibility for just our path, and take charge of our path as true to our heart as we can, and let others do the same - take their own responsibility and charge. Doesn't mean we can't 'be there' for people and them for us, but in the end we walk our path, they walk theirs. At least, that's what I feel, yeah, that's my path - is it yours?

Anyway, I wrote this earlier today:

Sometimes life can feel like the waters in a river, carrying us along, a bit out of our control, with circumstances and people like the multitude of things that affect the course of a river - the diversions and obstacles that cause the river to slow, stop, gush, rush forward, change direction this way or that - persuading us, pushing and pulling us despite ourselves...

But we are more than the water, we are travellers, we don’t have to just go where the flow takes us –natural, or on a path made by the influence of others in our river…we can pick up our canoe and go overland if we need to: whatever it takes to ply our course.

Cul de Sac River - Black and White

So all said and done, this is how I see life - not sure how you see life...do you think how I describe it makes sense to you or do you have lessons that you've learnt that I too could learn from?

Pure Gold

Vigie Beach St. Lucia

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 15:44:00 +0000

A walk along a beautiful beach, a stone's throw from the small airport, George FL Charles Airport: When you live on a small island, some days it can seem like there's not a lot to do to pass your time - you get 'small island fever' and wish to get out into the 'real world' ... but other days you are grateful for the genuine beauty that is at your feet, on your doorstep...and of course the warm weather that allows you to enjoy it barefoot.

barefoot

rasta

breaking

Rat Island

calm shallows

'Spring' blossoms

LIAT's Lucky Day

'Ball Up!' (what happens to you when one of these catches you :-)

Sea Almond leaves

Dancing

Beautiful Vigie Beach

Thanks for another lovely walk Ladies!

Still Alive!

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:10:00 +0000

Haven't forgotten this blog - just been busy elsewhere and reassessing things, as we do from time to time.

So, part of what I've been doing is playing around a bit with photographing the natural world around me (more than I already did) sunsets, waves, sand and seas have been catching my eye a lot - so I put together a little photoblog today over at my work blog Island Effect - take a look see and you can always sign up for updates there if you like!

xo
F

Walking for the Kids - Pawasol Pou Ti Mamay sponsored walk

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Pawasol Pou Ti Mamay - Umbrella for the little kids - that's who I'll be walking for on Sunday 24th March - just 5 miles (8k for the metric people :-) around a beautiful part of Saint Lucia - would you like to sponsor me? Or would you like to walk and get sponsored? Drop me a comment either way and lets raise some money for this great little charity!

Pics from previous walks around the route

Dawn Breaks

Bended Tree

rains over St. Lucia Channel

Waves

succulents colour the hills

tough green leaves in the bright morning sun

Waves cut dramatic platforms

Trees open from shady paths to let in the light

Seas glisten in the early sun

The big pond just waking up to the morning breezes

and the little pond

pillars of cacti scatter across the hills

Wild Frangipani

Healthy Caribbean Pancake 'Recipe'

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:20:00 +0000

I woke up this morning thinking, "Well, I missed Pancake Tuesday, so I think I'll make healthy pancakes for me and my Dad this morning" ... they came out well, so I thought I should share my 'recipe' with you so you can make and enjoy them yourself...

In a bowl, pour in an amount of spelt flour...yes, that's enough...
Dash in a smaller amount of Sweet Potato Flour ... yeah,yeah! That's good!
Sprinkle Farine (Cassava) over that now...yup, enough!
Dash in some salt, a bigger dash of cinnamon and a kwas (little piece) of sugar and a biggish dash of baking powder...stir it all up and make sure you mash any lumps of baking powder

In another bowl beat an egg into some milk, then pour this into your flour mix until it's all combined and there's no lumps...add more milk until it looks about the consistency you remember your mother used to make...

Set the batter aside in the fridge to do whatever it is that it does in the fridge..whatever, it works better when it's had it time

Brush a light coating of oil into a pan and drop your pancakes to your desired size, into the pan - swirl them around to thin out if you want thin ones, flip them over as soon as the top of the batter is just drying out

Drizzle fresh lemon juice and honey over them and eat hot!

Enjoy!

As 2012 ends...

noreply@blogger.com (Finola JC) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 20:56:00 +0000

At the end of this year, I’m looking back and seeing that I’ve come a long way … I keep saying to people, I feel like I’ve become Me. But I’m also seeing I have a long way I can go yet too! Life has been amazing so far – lots of hard lessons, lots of unexpected joys, lots of challenges, lots of peaceful moments and lots of fun…and I’ve written posts about this and that along the way the last few years as I ‘discovered’ things…sometimes ‘advice’, sometimes just observations, sometimes questions…so, I thought about, and tried to write an end of year post that shared some of what I thought were good ‘takeaways’ for this year…couldn’t get it done – kept wandering off into sounding like a tacky free ebook on (dubious) Secrets to Having it ALL :-/

So, just gonna end the year by saying ‘Thank You’ to everyone who’s been and is a part of my life so far –and that goes for whether you were a part of the fun parts and the tough lessons or whatever you were - and by saying to the Universe…looking forward to the ride, the walk, the exploration, the experience of life yet to come.

Wishing everyone a great journey through life!

My favourity sunset of 2012