Hirayama is not a hero. He is not an allegorical figure who represents the plight of everyman. He is a plain individual, singular in his simplicity, ordinary by all measures. Yet in living his mundane life, we see the quiet dignity of someone who marvels at the splendour of each day. Wim Wenders, (Paris, Texas […]
Living Our Perfect Days Read More »
Thomas Merton once wrote: “I love beer, and, by that very fact, the world.” This statement is at once whimsical and puzzling. How does a fondness for pale ale stray into a confession of love for the world? Perhaps Merton suggests a fundamental relationship between the mundane and the sublime, the miniscule and the cosmical. Ask a brewer
I Love Coffee, and By That Very Fact, The World Read More »
I meet clients who come to therapy when they are hanging by a thread. Their careers are unforgiving, academic pressures unrelenting. Parents are walloped by the rigours of child-rearing; others are worn thin caring for aging parents. Responsibilities multiply, but the hours remain few. Despite a profusion of duties, they are weighed down by expectations that
Simplicity: Sanity in Mad Times Read More »
I am standing by the harbour, peering past the sailboats and skycrapers into the mountains in the distance. A bar of sunlight lifts the hillside, cold and deep. Clouds curl into flakes and break over waters glistening with the starkness of light. The nip of winter air, sharp and bristling. Black mountaintops dotted with snow. The city
Nature and Mental Health: The Call to Come Home Read More »
Every meditator experiences ebbs and flows in practice. There are times when awareness arrests us, engulfing us in crystalline stillness. Other times we brace against squalls of the anxiety. Sometimes our discipline is sharp and square; we practice without waver. Other times we are reluctant to drag ourselves to the sitting cushion, depleted by the
Can’t Sit Still? What To Do With Restlessness in Meditation Read More »
The bamboo forest appeared surreal and fantastical. The vertical, segmented columns rose into feathered tops that swayed in the wind, the path covered by long, papery leaves. I hiked the forest in astonishment. In my imagination, bamboo forests are places of old Eastern legends, the backdrop of martial arts movies and ancient Chinese fairytales. Yet,
On the Pilgrim’s Path: Walking as a Metaphor for Life Read More »
For many living in western societies, modernity brings with it the blight of busyness. Stress weighs us down; the onerous demands of studies, career and family can leave our bodies neglected and minds frazzled. Hives of self-help advice tend to underscore the importance of balance. Here, balance serves as a central metaphor for that harmonious
In Search of Elusive Balance Read More »
Imagine the following: A mother laments her relationship with her adult son. “I am constantly thinking of my son. I cook and bring over food. I gave him the down payment for his first mortgage. I babysit my grand daughter. But my son speaks to me with disdain. He doesn’t call.” Her voice quivers and
Stuck in the Right: The Curse of Being Correct Read More »
Through his analysis of personality and psychic development, honed over many years of practice, Alfred Adler proposed the notion of the fictive final goal as the organizing principle at the core of personhood. The fictive final goal is a vision of completion, the ultimate end that holds the aim of all striving; it is the
Meditation and the Fictive Final Goal Read More »
Inhale acrid smoke flying embers the bodies of trees particles of charred soil manic flames bourne of greed hazy blindness swirling confusion madness driven mad anguish multiplying anguish without beginning without end this searing pain. Exhale great vow immense oceans cool dharma rain showers of beneficence soothing balm poured from brokenness given from poverty unremitting
Fire-Breathing (For Wildfires) Read More »
David Chang Counselling is gratefully located on the territories of the the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. David supports and celebrates diversity in race, gender, sexual orientation, language, culture, and neurological composition.
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