sounds of dissonance

yesterday was a pretty chaotic day...it's been a while since I left the house at 7am and came home around 12:30am the next day ;) It was generally quite the fun...but I'm still tired!

have you ever been to granville island bright and early in the morning?
If not...you definitely should! It was beautiful and refreshing...the market was filled with the scent of freshly baked bread and pies, the fruits and veggies glistened from their stands, and everything just looked ready to eat=)
as much as I was taken in with how amazing the environment was, I also couldn't help but notice that things are never as perfect as they seem. even within the touristy "cleanliness" of granville island, there are still people who are simply trying to make ends meet. midway through our shift, my volunteer partner noticed an elderly lady rummaging through the garbage to find some food to eat...by the time we acquired something for her, she was gone. I'm thankful for these moments of dissonance...I realize that as of late, whenever I get engrossed in the material beauty of something/somewhere, God always reminds me to take a step back and see the bigger picture.

On a slightly different note, I'm currently reading Charles Ringma's Finding Naasicaa:
It's a compilation of letters that he wrote his grand-daughter, and so the "teachings" have a personal touch...I'm loving everything I've read so far...here's a snippet:

Life is not first of all demand, but a blessing. It is not first of all what we do with all our energy and talents, but who we are. Secondly and this flows from the first, I believe that life can only be lived meaningfully and purposefully with gratitude. If we live life with resentment and demand then the very fabric of our lives will become distorted...

More to come later about this book.=)