Hi All
For a few years now I keep threatening that I will write a book compiled of quotable quotes overheard as someone passes you on the seawall deep in conversation. As I will never actually get around to this I thought I would throw a few of them out on the blog instead over time.
Love
G
Sunday Afternoon Couple
Second Beach
Third Beach
Groovy Graffitti
B&W Series
Camping it up at Mermaid Cove
A view of Mermaid Cove 
Vancouver Pride
Bangkok Street Scene
At the wedding
Terry and Mohammad
Terry and Claudio
The One that Got Away
Monday was a public holiday so we had time to just hang out and have a lazy day, time at the beach swimming and snoozing in the sun.
All in all a well celebrated birthday.... year older but I think he is actually getting better looking as he goes.
Love to all
Geoff
Hi All
As you would know from previous postings Terry is now back in town for a two week break...time to catch up, celebrate his 40th birthday and just generally hang out, and just spend time with each other.
I can honestly say that after 9 months it has been a little strange being back in each others space and finding our rhythms as a couple again, especially knowing that it is such a short break together this time around...
So after a few days in Vancouver of getting over jetlag we headed up the coast to a place called Saltery Bay to go camping, sit by the fire, lay around naked in the sun and swim, swim, swim...Nature has that wonderful quality of letting a lot of your 'stuff' slide to allow time just to be with each other and reconnect.
Tomorrow is Terry's 40th birthday. It also happens to be two gay friends wedding and gay Pride all in one day....and all of that is before 5pm!
I will post again tomorrow with a few photos of the day for you.
Love
G
Kandy Town
The "oh so glamourous" Jasmine
The view from Jasmine's apartment
Another view from Jasmine's garden
Hi All
Tomorrow will be just one month until Terry's birthday on August the 5th...40th birthday that is!
Love
G
2007
Hi everyone,
lately Geoff and I have been quite reflective as I'm sure you've all noticed. I've started my new Human Rights blog, Sri Lanka is taking a turn for the worse, and Geoff has been putting life and death into perspective. As a bit of a change, I'm adding some photos to help me revisit the beauty of Sri Lanka, and to reconnect with my partner on the other side of the world. T
Dear All
This evening finds me in a very reflective happy/sad head space inspired by nature, death, love and friendship. I don't really know where to start this posting so here goes...
A week ago an old friend Derek from Australia's Dad Gary died, today a friend Tom in the US from my meditation group died, in the next few weeks a friend in Vancouver's dog Sequoia is expected to die of cancer...
Each of their deaths bring something very beautiful to my life...I don't have the words to describe it exactly but it has to do with a feeling of an appreciation for what each of them has given to their friends and families and how they have each made an impression and changed the world in their own ways.
Gary belongs to a category of men who I would describe as 'one of life's good guys'. He watched us fumble our ways through our late teens and early twenties. I'm sure we annoyed the hell out of him sometimes with the constant invasions of his home, but he always made us feel welcome. I last saw Gary at my parents 50th wedding anniversary dinner...a bit older a greyer than I remember him but still the same old Gary, greeting me like I was a long lost friend. At the end of the night Gary and his wife Rose were the last to leave the restaurant and as we all walked out into the street and said our goodbyes I would not have imagined that it was the last time we would see each other....I will miss him.
Tom died suddenly and unexpectedly in his sleep last night. He also belongs in the 'one of life's good guys' category. Apart from his numerous other roles at our retreats, Tom was the offical 'meet and greet' guy as people arrived to register. He was an uncomplicated guy who had a big heart and the ability to just go up to total strangers who were looking lost and a bit vulnerable and make them feel completely welcome and cared for. My last memory of Tom was chatting about how he was going to celebrate his birthday that evening with his wife and kids with a late night pizza after getting home from retreat....I will miss him.
Sequoia has an inoperable cancer and is expected to die in the next few weeks. Sequoia is a 13 year old labrador and constant companion of her 'dad' Chadwick to whom she has brought an incredible wealth of love and joy over the years. Sequoia holds the official title of being one of this planets mellowest dogs. As with all 'labs' she loves the water and the last time I saw her she had decided that she was feeling well enough to climb out of bed where she had uncharicteristically been for the previous few days and just chase sticks in and out of the water at the beach for the afternoon with a few doggie buddies....I will miss her.
I spent today in nature with a friend hiking in the mountians, swimming in a lake and this evening by myself with my first swim in the ocean for the season. Nature brings out the best in me and I reflect a lot when I am in it....with lots of reflecting today....as far as I know Gary, Tom & Sequoia didn't set out to transform the world we live in by doing anything particularly profound but each of them has done so in their own way by just being who they are and loving those who surround them.
I thank each of them for the impact that they have left on my life and for the sense of appreciation that their deaths has given me for those who love and surround me.
G
The past week was spent attending Colombo Pride events. It is not a small feat organizing Pride when you consider that homosexuality is illegal in this country. I am extremely "proud" of Equal Ground, the organization that showed the courage to see it through, and to my own "team Vancouver", who helped us raise almost $1000 toward Pride and other events which will help create awareness in the community and educate people on equality, respect, and diversity.
I've attached a video (see above) that became a bit of an anthem for me during Pride and some photos of the events during the week. I'm also happy to say that I began volunteering at Equal Ground about a month ago, as I am very impressed with their passion and commitment to human rights issues. T
Life as I see it is filled with paradoxical meaning...
Throughout our lives we are faced with what we've done and what we haven't done. Is it better to regret something you've done than something you haven't? Light and Dark, Truth and Lies, Hatred and Love...these things have come to the forefront of my thinking lately with recent developments in the country. CHA (my organization) is presently under fire for its views on the country. Some employees have been targetted and have been asked by a certain political party to choose "money or life". My question is why would you ask a "humanitarian worker" that question"? My naive thought is that as humanitarian workers we are not there for money, fame, etc, but rather to see the country grow, reconcile and prosper. How can one choose such a diabolical ultimatum?
Over the past month I have been fortunate to be invited to some very high profile fora. These fora have all covered the same topic, "Peace and Development". Three of the speakers have been from three different parties, the opposition party (UNP) which was heading the country up to 2 years ago, the JVP (or as a call them, the terrorist maoist party), and the JHU (or as I call them, the militant monk party). The UNP's standpoint was to bring back the Cease Fire Agreement, work on peace, build business and focus on the future; the JVP called for an increased war, the crushing of the Tamil Tigers (LTTE), and a socialized system of government headed by the Sinhalese; the JHU stated that there is only one Sri Lanka and history shows that it belongs to the Sinhala buddhists and the only way to peace is by "winning" the war against the LTTE.
Something struck me during each of these fora, the only person standing up for all out peace had a focus on the future. The latter two speakers often related the situation taking place in the country to the past- the foreign influence, the colonizers, and the glory of ancient civilizations. I saw this reliance on the past as a kind of weapon, a way to distort and justify the present. Much of my reflection was supported by a talk given by an archbishop from Rwanda. He came to speak on the genocide, Rwanda's ministy of Peace and Reconciliation, and his country's position 10 years on. His major point was to let the past be the past, remember it, understand it, but don't let it take over decisions for the present and future-that reliance, he said, is the surest way of keeping anger, hatred, ethnic division, and self-imposed victimization alive.
I walked down the street today and saw the same woman I've seen over the past 6 months with the same four children, begging on the street. I have never been the type of person to give to beggars (I see it as demeaning to the person/people), but tonight I felt something different, a certain compassion and empathy which comes at certain moments. I gave the woman 1000 rupees (10$ Canadian) and she cried. This money may not seem like a lot to us in Canada, but it will probably help her feed herself and her children for the next two weeks. I felt rather helpless at that moment, and I realized that feeling was good...sometimes that helplessness helps us gain perspective.
T
Burj Al Arab Hotel (World's only 7 star hotel)
Night View of the Burj Al Arab Hotel
Francis at the Sharjah Wall
Minarets at the Sudanese Mosque in Sharjah
