Bits 'n' Pieces...

I have a number of bits 'n' pieces of things buzzing around in my head this afternoon, and rather than letting them use up my precious cognitive space, I'll write them down for you now, rather than waiting until next week's post.

So, here goes:-

1. One knows that a concept has really hit the tipping point when you see it in Oprah's, O Magazine! Did you all see the Compassion Fatigue article, (page 141), in this month's issue? It is a short but well written article entitled, "Do You Have Compassion Fatigue?", by Tom Jarvis and I was particularly pleased to see that he had acknowledged CF as a problem of both helping professionals and family caregivers.

2. I'm reading two great books on mindfulness this weekend:-

a) Letting Everything Become Your Teacher: 100 Lessions in Mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Delta Trade Paperbacks: NY (2009)

b) You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment by Thich Nhat Hanh, Shambala Publications, Inc: Boston, Mass (2009)

The first is a nicely laid out small book of excerpts from Full Catastrophe Living (2001), designed to "inspire you to embrace what is deepest and best and most beautiful in yourself". It's the perfect sort of book for exhausted people with short attention spans because the excerpts are brief, pithy and very easy to read.

The second is, again, a small book, this time written by the renowned Zen monk and meditation master, Thich Nhat Hanh, based on a retreat he led for Westerners, explaining a range of simple practices for cultivating mindfulness. It reminds me a little of his earlier book, Peace is Every Step, in that it is restful and calming just to read its pages.

3. My own little ebook on Chronic Sorrow has been coming along nicely but, because BC will be embracing the Harmonized Sales Tax in April, I will hold off on publishing the book until the sales mechanism on the website can be set up for the new tax. So expect to see the ebook in about mid 2010. My apologies to those who have been waiting patiently...

4. I am currently looking for a lovely, clean, quiet, peaceful, meeting space, with kitchenette, to rent occasionally for Saturday workshops in the Greater Vancouver area. If you know of such a space, I would be grateful to hear about it at caregiverwellness@shaw.ca.

That's cleared my head for the moment, so I'll leave you with warm wishes for happy and restorative moments this beautiful autumn weekend.

Cheers!

Jan