News
July 2022

From 2022-07-13 to 2022-08-13

ECOTOURISM EVERYDAY

REINVENTING ECOTOURISM

No need to pack-up a suitcase to experience ecotourism. Every day, every hour, we can live that reality, and it can take on a multitude of forms: being outdoors and taking advantage of the warm sun, the gentle breeze, the wonderful aroma of blooming flowers; contemplating the moon’s silver lining and the starry sky; listening to the falling rain and the high-pitched song of the cicada; taking public transportation to go visit the beauties of nature that surround us and that charm people who come as tourists; tasting our good fruits and vegetables grown locally in abundance; enjoying fresh water and cold ice cream; savouring the simple things of life without over-spending and consuming.

Above all, in the wide open spaces, allow the heart to discover what is most beautiful in one’s life: spending time together with loved ones; playing with children and hearing their laughter; sharing some activities with couples and family members; rediscovering each other; visiting aging parents or elderly friends—to be a ray of sunshine in their lives. All of these loving actions are possible and fill the soul with marvelous memories—perhaps less exotic but no less real. So many ways of benefiting from nature in an environmental perspective while contributing to our well-being and that of others. It is possible to be ‘green-friendly’ in one’s own environment, and renew one’s self without having to pack-up and leave.

AT THE HEART OF ECOTOURISM

By preserving nature, the best of our human existence is also protected. Saint Benedict once said: Listen with the ear of your heart! To complete his thought one could say: See and smell with your heart! This summer, may our senses be opened to the incomparable beauty that surrounds us day and night, to taste and see in the ordinary moments of our existence the blessings that are ours to relish. This is a fabulous invitation to a different way of living ecotourism— that of the heart and everyday in one’s own environment.

Lorraine Pagé

From 2022-07-07 to 2022-08-09

How much by the hour

The little boy goes back into the house with a sad look on his face.   He returns to his father and asks:

- Dad, could you lend me $10.00?

- Well, that's what you wanted to know. To borrow money from me

- Go to your room and go to bed. I've had a hard day, I'm tired and I don't want to be bothered with such nonsense.

 

An hour later, the father, who had had time to decompress a little, wondered if he had not reacted too strongly to his son's request.

Maybe he wanted to buy something important. So he decides to go to the boy's room.

- Are you asleep? - No, Daddy!

- Listen, I thought about it and here's the $10.00 you asked for.

- Oh thanks Dad!

- The little guy reached under his pillow and pulled out $25.00.

- The father saw the money and became irritated again.

- But why did you want $10.00? You have $25.00! What do you want to do with that money?

- It's just that... I was short of it. But now I have just enough.

- Daddy... can I buy an hour of your time? Tomorrow night, come home early. I'd love to have dinner with you!

Always take time to to be closer to the ones you love

(A little wink from Micheline and Jean- Marie)

 

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

From 2022-06-19 to 2022-07-19

FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISHES...

One by one we have empty hands and if you have never had empty hands then hurry up and empty them. You will see, you will not regret it. Someone close to you needs a heart that is not cluttered to deposit its overflow of joys or sorrows; someone needs your hands to help them.  How can you give a helping hand with your hands full?

So never again say that you have nothing to share, because that nothing is everything to someone else. And when you turn around to continue your journey, oh surprise, you will find baskets full and overflowing. Don't pile them up in your attic. Hurry up and give them away so you can go back to being empty-handed.  Our world needs them.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)