One unbearably hot day last summer, I waited in a long, snaking queue to get on a ride at Canada’s Wonderland. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a slumping figure. I squinted toward the head of the line to see a young-ish, presumably preteen girl crumpled onto the grassy spot next to the line. She looked visibly distressed, but no one - not her friends, not anyone around her in line - seemed to be doing anything to help her.
I stood so far away that I couldn’t tell if perhaps I overestimated her condition; maybe she was just pretending, feigning a swoon to get some attention. I could see people looking at her and then looking around at one another. But still, no one approached her.
As she continued to slump there, I worried for her, figuring she was likely suffering heat exhaustion and dehydration. The line kept inching forward toward the ride, and she feebly moved forward alongside her friends. By the time I reached the head of the line, she and her friends were long gone.
For the rest of the day, though, I felt a gnawing guilt that I hadn’t tried to help her, offer my water … or something. More than that, I wondered why no one else - out of all the hundreds of people in that line - had stepped forward to at least check on her condition.
After that experience, I was *still* really surprised when I read a shocking stat about folks in Toronto … [Read more →]



Recently, some
Bring a little of the outdoors to your indoors!
Last night, my yoga instructor guided us into our class-culminating savasana, that restful “corpse pose” that allows all of the session’s efforts and actions to settle into our bodies. I love savasana, can’t wait for it, and savour every silent, still second of it.
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