Michael Robert Dyet's Blog, page 72

Shattered Doors, Left Hand Turns and One Rogue Gust of Wind

Hmmm, how we can deal with the troublesome reality that much of our days are now spent living on the edge of calamity?

My apologies if that sounds pessimistic. I’m really not that kind of person by nature. But I’ve become increasingly aware that the margin between good fortune and misfortune is disconcertingly thin in this day and age.

It was an otherwise normal Monday morning that got me pondering this reality. I had shifted gears, reluctantly as always, into making-a-living mode.

I was in my car on the way out of my apartment building’s underground parking garage. I arrived at the exit to find that someone had destroyed the overhead sliding door. It was knocked completely off the frame leaving bits and pieces of the apparatus strewn over the floor.

Perhaps the perpetrator was inebriated or just plain mad at the world. It really didn’t matter. What struck me (if you’ll pardon the pun) was what might have happened to me if I had been on the other side of that door at that crucial moment.

More and more often I find myself at these potential-for-disaster moments.

Case in Point: Making a left hand turn on a city street. This simple manoeuvre has become tantamount to taking my life in my hands if there is a large vehicle in the opposite turning lane impeding my view. 90% of the cars coming in the other direction are driven by people either going much too fast, not paying attention, mad at the world or all of the above.

Heaven forbid I should wait until I have a better view. If I wait more than 30 seconds, car horns will start blasting behind me. I’ve even had idiots who squeal their tires, zip around me and make the turn in front of me. So I sometimes feel compelled to live on the edge and make the turn blindly. On a few frightening occasions, I’ve narrowly missed being t-boned by an oncoming car.

Case in point: Flip through the newspaper or watch the evening news. Chances are that at least one a week you’ll hear about a person – who snapped under pressure or fried their brain on drugs or alcohol – who committed a violent act that no one foresaw. All too often the victim is someone completely unknown to the perpetrator. They were simply in the right place at the wrong time.

Case in point: We are all just one bad quarter, or one ill-conceived decision by a C-suite executive who misread the trends, away from being out of a job. It doesn’t matter anymore how well you do your job or how dedicated you are. We’re all just numbers in the corporate equation. When the equation doesn’t balance, the axe falls indiscriminately.

In the language of metaphor, we’re all walking a tightrope across Niagara Falls one rogue gust of wind away from misfortune. So how do we cope? Live in the moment as much as we can. Plan for tomorrow when circumstances allow it but don’t steal from today to do it.

Today is all we can really be sure we have. So we’d better make today count.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Follow Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm regularly at this site. Categories: Shifting Winds, Sudden Light, Deep Dive, Songs of Nature, Random Acts of Metaphor. Originating at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 .

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CANADA: The True North Strong and Free

Hmmm, where would you find the longest coastline in the world, the largest amount of fresh water in the world and the longest bridge in the world?

If you’re a Canadian, you just need to look out your window for the answer. 145 years ago today we became The Dominion of Canada.

We Canadians are not known for flag waving. We’re a modest nation most of the time. But once a year we let down our modesty and celebrate how truly great we are. And today’s the day.

It has been said that Canada lacks an identity. But I beg to differ. We’re defined by the land we live in and by the majesty of that very land. We are not just that country up above the United States. We are not an afterthought.

We are the second largest country in the world:

with a land mass of 9.9 million square kilometres 25% of which is still covered in verdant forest

with more than 100 stately national parks and no shortage of historic sites

with 243,792 kilometres of soul-stirring coastline

with 2 million crystal blue lakes and 466,697 square kilometres of freshwater

with the longest national highway in the world: the noble Trans-Canada highway stretching 7,841 kilometres from coast to coast

with the longest bridge in the world: The Confederation Bridge between Prince Edward Island and the mainland

with more than our share of majestic mountain ranges: Torngats, Appalachians, Laurentians, Rockies, Coastal, Mackenzie, Mt. St. Elias and the Pelly Mountains

with the magnificent and breathtaking Niagara Falls

And since I happen to reside in southern Ontario, let’s talk for a moment about the Great Lakes – a string of five interconnected lakes unrivalled anywhere in the world.

Together lakes Ontario, Erie, Michigan, Huron and the mighty Superior hold 6 quadrillion gallons of fresh water – one fifth of the world’s fresh water and 84% of the surface water supply in North America. If the water contained in the Great Lakes was spread evenly across the continental U.S., it would submerge the country under about 9.5 feet of water.

Yes, we Canadians are a modest people. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t proud of who we are and the land we live in. In many ways, Canada is bigger than life. It is a metaphor all on its own for beauty, freedom and tolerance in a world much in need of those qualities.

We are Canadians, 34 million strong, and proud of it. And we aren’t about to change anytime soon.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.comor the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

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Recalibrating My Senses to the Diminutive Scale of Nature

Hmmm, in this world where bigger-is-better seems to be the rule of thumb, there is much to be gained from learning to notice the minutiae of the natural world.

I’ve grown weary of the monolithic proportions of man’s creations. More and more I find myself turning for perspective and inspiration to the small creatures that so often go unnoticed.

Take this little Arctic Skipper for example. It is less than an inch in size. If you care to look for it, you’ll find it in moist clearings and mixed woodlands in late spring and early summer. The checkerboard pattern of orange and brown is always a delight to me – especially when it shows off by perching on a splash of purple wildflower in a sea of vibrant green as this one did.

So easily missed… unless you slow your steps and train your eyes to focus in a new way.

These mating Aurora Damsels are minute wisps of blue, black and sunshine yellow in the quiet pools and backwaters they call home. Such delicate and elegant little creatures with their feathery wings, bulging eyes and intricate markings.

So easily unobserved… unless you make a conscious effort to seek them out.

Would you notice this tiny Long Dash Skipper if it chanced to cross into your field of view as you strolled through a grassy meadow? It’s even smaller than the Arctic Skipper. Unless you view it through binoculars, the distinctive spot band would never register with you.

So easily passed by… unless you chose to scan each foot of meadow that lies ahead of you.

Have you ever thought to scan the lily pads of marshy ponds and small lakes for this two inch long Lilypad Clubtail? And if you did, would you notice the azure eyes, yellow chevrons and distinctive gold claspers? There is only an 8 or 10 week window in late May to early August to behold it before it fades away until next year.

So easily overlooked… unless you recalibrate your senses to the scale of nature.

These miniscule creatures are a metaphor for the fact that beauty is often found in tiny corners, in small doses and in delicate distinctions that only a practised eye can uncover. Trust me – it is worth the effort to change your perspective and go looking for these miniature expressions of life. A beauty lies there which you may never have imagined.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.comor the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

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The Technology Catch 22: Stop the Train, I Need to Get Off

Hmmm, is state-of-the-art taking us down a road to a hinterland devoid of human interaction?

I’ve become more or less accustomed to the relentless march of technology in our society. I keep pace as best I can to avoid getting left too far behind. But every now and then I hear about a new leap forward that sets off my have-we-gone-too-far radar.

This week I heard a speaker describe how a corporation has built an almost entirely automated warehouse using cutting edge technology out of Germany. It is one of those cases where science fiction and reality begin to merge.

Human beings are only found on the periphery of this technological marvel. Actual living, breathing workers unload boxes off incoming trucks at the loading dock and onto outgoing trucks on the other side of the facility.

Everything in between – absolutely everything – is automated. Boxes trundle along belts to their predetermined destination where robotic arms ensure they are placed in exactly the right spot on exactly the right shelf. This same robotics system picks orders and sends the boxes along the belt system again to the shipping area.

Yes, the whole concept is quite amazing. It is a technological marvel that likely saves the company tens of thousands of dollars every day. It also puts dozens of employees out of a job. Manual labour, it seems, is going the way of the Dodo bird.

But isn’t there a Catch 22 in this technological breakthrough? There’s something rather disturbing in the notion that human beings are creating technology that makes human beings redundant. It is happening with disturbing regularity.

Grocery stores and big box stores now have self-serve checkouts. You scan the bar codes on your purchases and pay by debit card or credit card. No cashiers needed.

Gas stations have pay-at-the-pump technology. Pump your gas, pay electronically, jump in your car and go. Again, no cashier needed. (Aside: I’m holding out on this one. With the price of gas these days, someone is bloody well going to wait on me and take my money!)

Let’s set aside for the moment how many people are being put out of work. What I find disturbing is how impersonal our world is becoming.

Where is the human touch we used to value so highly? More and more of our interactions are with a computer terminal. I can envision the day when I will be able to go about all of my daily activities without ever setting eyes upon another human being. Even for someone like me, who prizes solitude, this is a disturbing picture.

What if, as we push our humanity farther and farther away, our human values began to decay? There is a strong case for the argument that this has already begun. In an increasingly impersonal world, it is easier to look the other way when someone else is suffering – or to take advantage of someone less fortunate for our own gain.

The next generation, automated warehouse is a rather potent metaphor for the dehumanizing of our society. The more we are able to serve ourselves the more self-serving we can become.

Muscles decay when they aren’t used. So do our emotions. Maybe we had better slow down the technology train before it takes us to a hinterland of human interaction where we become like the robots we created.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.comor the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

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Newspaper Headlines, Radio Sound Bytes and a Holy Discontent

Hmmm, should I tune in more to the news of the day or should I work even harder at tuning out?

Confession time: I don’t subscribe to a daily newspaper and haven’t for many years. I rarely buy a newspaper and when I do I find myself inclined to bypass the first few pages where the main news stories of the day jump out at me.

I don’t watch the 6:00 or 11:00 evening news on television. Nor do I pay much attention to the news headlines that tantalize me on Sympatico when I log out after cleaning up my days e-mail messages.

I do stay peripherally in touch with what’s making headlines via news bytes on the radio on my drive to work in the morning and on the way home in the late afternoon. But I’m seldom inclined to go looking for more details.

In short, I consciously tune out the steady stream of shocking, disconcerting and tantalizing headlines. It is a coping mechanism I’ve developed for keeping my sanity. From time to time I feel a bit guilty about tuning out the news. My conscience takes me to task for it.

Perhaps I should want to know more about Luka Rocco Magnotta and the grisly crime of which he is accused. Or the fact that he was previously sought by animal rights groups for allegedly posting videos of himself torturing kittens.

When I google “Luka Rocco Magnotta”, I get 77 million hits and discover that there is already a Wikipedia article about him. Am I the only one not starved for details about him?

I heard about the shootings at the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto. I felt bad for the victims and said a prayer for them. But should I want to know more about the apparent gang connections? There has been a non-stop string of follow-up stories in the media which seems to imply that I should. But I haven’t read a single one of them.

What about the economic crisis in Europe that just won’t go away? It has been two years and still there seems to be no end in sight. Now Spain has joined Greece, Ireland and Portugal asking for a bailout – to the tune of $125 billion.

A nagging voice in the back of my brain insists that I should want to better understand the complex economic principles behind this ongoing crisis. But truthfully, I don’t. I seriously doubt if even the major players in the game really have a grasp on the nature of the beast. Does that make me a hopeless sceptic?

I am aware that student protests have been going on in Montreal since February over tuition hikes of 75% over five years. I sympathize with them and salute their persistence. But the radio sound bytes are keeping me as much in the know as I care to be.

The media, it seems, is trying to fire up in me a holy discontent about each of these stories. They want me to tune in and hold my breath as I read the latest details. But if I allow them to do so, I am quite sure I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

I confess that I do apply the ostrich metaphor. I bury my head in the sand when they ramp up the headlines. I tune out when they turn up the volume.

It’s not that I never feel a holy discontent. It’s just that I have to pick my spots. Otherwise, I might be the next headline when my sanity unravels – and then you’ll be reading about me for months on end.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

~ Send comments to michael@mdyetmetaphor.com .

When I Grow Old and Wear the Bottom of My Trousers Rolled – Filling My Treasure Chest

I grow old… I grow old…

I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled

~ T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Hmmm, when I reach that bittersweet age at which it becomes clear that I have little time left and what time I have is best spent looking back, what defining moments will write themselves upon the final slate of my reckoning?

Will it be the bolt-from-the-blue events that I didn’t see coming and left me at a loss for words?

Perhaps January 28, 1986… The space shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after take-off and disintegrates taking the lives of its seven astronauts with it. Will I recall the disconcerting realization that even the most brilliant scientific minds sometimes do not fully comprehend the power within the technology they have developed?

Perhaps September 11, 2011… An act of unimaginable terrorism that toppled the World Trade Center, killed 2,800 people and sent shock waves around the globe. Will I relive the chilling awareness that evil had been unleashed and that we would never again be able to awake completely free of fear?

Or will it be the quantum leaps forward in technology that changed the very fabric of human life?

Perhaps I will look back upon the creation of the World Wide Web marvelling at how it made the world seem suddenly small and wondering how we might have better used that interconnectivity. Will I wonder what might have been if we had not gone down that information highway?

Perhaps I will reflect upon the amazing strides in medical research that mapped the intricacies of the human body and the brain that is its nerve center – and be humbled by the knowledge that we still cannot cure cancer.

Or will it be the small moments that did not register on the Richter scale of human history but sent a shiver or a thrill down my spine?

A thicket teeming with song birds in May, as rain drizzled off my Tilly Hat, and I stood transfixed by such abundance of colour, sound and the scent of spring.

A sudden strike on my lure, line screaming off my reel, the back and forth battle and the sight of a 30” Pike materializing out of the water.

The stirring and majestic sight of a Lake Superior sunset illuminating the evening sky with shades and hues I had not imagined were possible.

Or will it be simply the fact that I lived to see all of these wonders? Perhaps I will look back upon the years of my life and see it as the sum of its parts – each defining moment dependent upon, and inseparable from, the other.

What metaphor will then come to mind that defines the whole and praises the thousands of moments that comprise it? I shall have to wait for the answer to that question. But this I know: I must live within those moments as they happen for they are gone all too quickly.

When I grow old and wear my trousers rolled, I hope my treasure chest of memories is full. Then I will be able to look back without regret and go joyfully into the hereafter. Onward now, for I have some treasures to gather yet.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.comor the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet

home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To”

instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

White Tuxedos, a Tims Moment and a Wylie Road Fire Truck

Hmmm, how often do we give in to our off-the-cuff reaction without considering what lies on the other side of our limited perspective?

I saw a rather peculiar sight on my way to church at 8:30 am this morning. A man was walking along the sidewalk, on a predominantly industrial street, wearing a white tuxedo with a backpack slung on his back. He was shuffling along rather listlessly looking like he wasn’t sure where he intended to go.

My off-the-cuff reaction: That’s weird. I wonder what that dude has been smoking.

I turned into a plaza at the next stoplight to grab a coffee. Inside the Tim Hortons, a man with a young son was berating the women taking his order. From the snippets of conversation I picked up, it seemed he was upset that the service was slow and was very offended by how the woman serving him replied to his complaint. He demanded to his money back.

My off-the-cuff reaction: What a jerk. His reaction is way out of proportion.

At that point, my brain made on those sideways leaps that sometimes happen. I recalled an incident from the day before. I was at bird watching at Carden Alvar on Wylie Road. Wylie Road is a 10 km side road. It starts out as a reasonably groomed gravel road but trickles down for the last 7 or 8 kms to a one-car wide, dirt and gravel

back road.

I was out of my car, scanning for Grasshopper Sparrows, Loggerhead Shrikes and Upland Sandpipers, at one of the designated viewing spots. A fire truck went past with lights flashing and sirens howling. A few moments, later another fire truck went past. Five or ten minutes later, an EMS vehicle towing a small trailer went past.

Those of gathered at the viewing spot raised eyebrows and exchanged “Looks like something major happened” off-the-cuff comments – all the while hoping the vehicles involved were using Wylie Road as a short cut to someplace else.

Half an hour later, not inspired by what I was seeing, I drove on down Wylie Road to get to the next side road and more interesting landscapes. But to my chagrin, I found the road was blocked near the end by the EMS vehicles. I couldn’t see past the fire truck. But it appeared – to my limited perspective – that nothing major was going on.

Frustrated and muttering, I had to back up 500 yards to find a place to turn around and backtrack 8 or 9 kilometres down Wylie Road. It put a damper on the balance of the day.

Back to this morning. My brain began to connect the dots. Clearly something very serious – perhaps tragic – had happened on Wylie Road on Saturday afternoon. Something of much greater magnitude than the minor inconvenience I experienced. I was unable see past the fire truck which symbolized my limited perspective on the moment.

And the white-tuxedo-man with the backpack… It is entirely possible that something tragic had happened in his life that shook loose his grip on reality. In the moment, I couldn’t see past the apparent peculiarity of his behaviour.

And the disgruntled customer at Tim Hortons… It is equally possible that his life had come off the rails and the frustrating wait at Tims that day was the last straw. In the moment, I couldn’t see past his apparently inappropriate behaviour.

The fire truck on Wylie Road blocking my path was a metaphor for what often lies on the other side of our limited perspective. All too often, we react to what we can – or cannot – see without considering what lies beyond our view and outside our ability to comprehend. The story behind the story is often the most important one of all.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Send comments to michael@mdyetmetaphor.com .

Making the Leap of Faith on Butterfly Wings

Here is the secret to inspiration: Tell yourself that thousands and tens of thousands of people, not very intelligent and certainly no more intelligent than the rest of us, have mastered problems as difficult as those that now baffle you. ~ William Featherstone, Canadian Artist, 1927 – 2009

Hmmm, in our never-ending-race-to-the-finish society, life comes at us so fast and so relentless, it wears us down at times. Our reserves of inspiration can run dry from neglect.

At times like these we wonder “Why do I bother?” or “Does anybody really notice what I’m doing?” It’s a short trip from there to the question we all hate to face: Do I really matter?

I think William Featherstone has it about right. We all face adversity with about the same capacity to deal with it. Too often we take ourselves out of the game by covertly admitting to defeat before we begin. We begin from a place of resignation rather than inspiration.

Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Essayist, Lecturer and Poet, 1803- 1882

I’ve always liked this Emerson quote. It tells me that it is okay to be different. It empowers me to respond to that quiet voice that says: “There is a different way for you. Not better or worse, not faster or slower, just unique to you.” I find inspiration in accepting that my path veers away from the main road from time to time.

Leaving a trail doesn’t have to mean achieving great heights or becoming famous. It may turn out to be a trail that no one else ever follows. But it is my trail and my destiny. Others may be inspired by it or may not understand it at all. The point is it leads to where I am meant to go.

Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity. ~ W. Clement Stone, Businessman, Philanthropist and Author, 1902 – 2002

The older I get the more important living with integrity seems to be. I have learned that other people’s approval is a shallow well that runs dry very quickly if I have not been true to myself.

I’ve spent my share of time shying away from unpleasant truths. It seemed easier to give them a wide berth. But I learned – sometimes the hard way – that you can only hide from the truth so long before it cripples you and robs you of your inspiration.

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. ~ TS Elliot, American/British poet, 1888 –1965

I’m not particularly good at this behaviour. I’m one of those who analyzes and evaluates the situation from as many angles as possible to reduce the risk. It does help me to see the way forward in many cases.

But there are times when the analysis becomes circular. It keeps leading me back to the precipice without a clear answer except the conviction that I have submit to inspiration and take that leap of faith. I’ve seldom regretted it when I do.

I’ll borrow my metaphor from Maya Angelou today. Grasping truth and partaking of beauty often requires transformation. Transformation is a risk. We can’t know for sure where we will be when we emerge on the other side. But it is a safe bet we will be inspired to find ourselves there.

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. ~ Maya Angelou, American Author and Poet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.comor the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog. Visit www.smashwords.com to download a free preview of the e-book version.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

~ Send comments or questions to michael@mdyetmetaphor.com.

 

In Grateful Praise of May’s Avian Concerto

Hmmm, if I could but touch the unseen hand, so much greater than I, that conducts the joyful symphony of migrating song birds.

Got a spare hour or two today? Take a stroll in a burgeoning woodland or a grassy meadow and tune your ears to the avian concerto. Migrating song birds vocalize with reckless abandon at this time of year as they surge northward in colourful waves.

It always amazes me how their diverse songs and calls blend together effortlessly. From the break of dawn through the early evening hours, the symphony plays on and on with endless variations and rotating arias.

I couldn’t begin to describe them all but a few jump to mind.

The Thrush family are among the most gifted singers. Their ethereal and flute-like songs waft through the woodland like wandering spirits… the breezy, phrases of the Swainson’s Thrush spiralling upward… the liquid, ghostlike vee-ur vee-ur of the Veery wheeling downward… the rounded ee-o-lay of the Wood Thrush from deep within the woods.

By contrast, the Baltimore Oriole is the Pied Piper of the woodlands with its rich, emphatic piping and whistled notes that make it impossible not to turn your head and seek out the flash of vibrant orange and black.

Rarely does an hour pass when the strident wick wick wick wick of the Northern Flicker does not echo through the forest. The hurried and accelerating kik-kik-kikkikikk of the Pileated Woodpecker is less seldom heard, but all the more welcomed for the treasured sighting of the crow-sized Pileated with its flaming red crest.

There is no more tireless singer than the Warbling Vireo whose languid back-and-forth warble is a constant companion throughout the day. But a close second is the abrupt here I am, where are you phrases of the Red-eyed Vireo that repeat as many as 40 times per minute.

I loved the tiny and brightly coloured warblers for their often brilliant splashes of yellows and oranges with jaunty highlights of black, brown and muted blues. But their vocal repertoire is equal to their appearance.

The ringing tsee tsee tsee tsee-o of the Redstart insists that I turn and look even though I have already seen a half dozen of them.

The buzzy trill of the Northern Parula – zeeeeeeee-up – rising up the scale and falling over the top, is unmistakable and almost always emanating from high overhead.

Black-throated Green Warblers flit and dance through the conifers with their dreamy, lisping zee zee zee zoo zee announcing their presence.

And I can’t forget the high, single pitch zi-zi-zi-zi-zi-zi-zi-zi of the Blackpoll Warbler gaining strength and then diminishing to the conductor’s command. How such a tiny bird summons such a piercing call is a mystery I will never comprehend.

The May avian concerto is unrivalled as a metaphor for new beginnings, second chances and the indomitable will of nature to carry on as the song birds traverse thousands of miles in response to the call of Mother Nature. It renews me every spring and for that I am profoundly grateful.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.comor the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

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OPENING A DOOR TO A WORLD OF ENDLESS POSSIBILITY

Hmmm, on the occasion of my 150th post, perhaps a look back will help me look forward. Where have I been these last three years and where should I point my feet for the future?

A little over three years ago, I launched Metaphors of Life Journal – AKA Things That Make Me Go Hmmm with the intent of promoting myself as a writer. I had no sense at the outset how difficult it would be to find something worthwhile to write about each and every week.

Are there really 150+ things worth commenting on? Truth be told, I’ve recycled a lot of the same themes and attacked them from a slightly different perspective. There may only be a handful of things worth writing about but endless points of view from which to explore them.

So what do my Blog statistics have to say about what you – my readers – found most interesting?

By far, my most read post is When I Grow Old and Wear My Trousers Rolled ( http://tinyurl.com/4f8pfqj ) – using a line from T.S. Eliot’s renowned poem “The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock” to inspire an exploration of memory time capsules from my 50 odd years of life. I’ve been inspired to revisit this theme a couple of times and I haven’t tired of it yet.

My blog counter reports a mind boggling 21,957 visits to that post. I venture to say that at least half of those visits where search engine spiders. But that still leaves almost 11,000 visits – by design or by chance – to that one post. Nostalgia, it seems, is a rich vein for all of us.

I must confess that I can’t fathom why Random Act of Metaphor: October Flocks of Geese ( http://tinyurl.com/24fj3kw ) ranks second at 4,623 visits. I was simply pondering the points of view that could be extracted from “two flocks of geese bisecting the sky in opposite directions against the stirring vista of October’s extravagant panorama”. Perhaps one of you can shed light on why that simple subject made such a connection.

My very first post entitled The E Principle ( http://tinyurl.com/4g2p3y5 ) ranks third at 2,989 visits. I can better understand the popularity of this post as it explores the “e-volution” of our world – how technology has impacted our interpersonal relationships. I imagine we all wonder from time to time if technology has redefined our relationships in ways that push us farther apart rather than closer together.

The 2010 Winter Olympics inspired the number four post on my top five at 2,324 visits. Reebok, Crosby and Joannie Rochette ( http://tinyurl.com/4sdxobs ) was a bit of a rant on the $10,000 reward offered by Reebok for the return of the hockey stick Sidney Crosby used to score the winning goal for Canada in the Gold Medal Game. Thanks Sidney – I have no doubt that the popularity of your name as a keyword search propelled this post to its high ranking.

I confess I am rather fond of the number five post on my most viewed list at 1,341 visits. Blue Smoke, Black Ice and a Bucket List ( http://tinyurl.com/36h4vt5 ) dealt with the realization that our fate is not always in our hands and how that can give us pause to stop, recalibrate and rethink the path we are on.

My blog statistics indicate that 63,678 visits have been made to my blog over the past three years. Let’s reduce that by a factor of 4 to eliminate web spiders and the people who dropped in by accident for a few seconds only. That leaves almostm 16,000 visits or over 5,000 per year.

Metaphors, it seems, are popular critters. I have discovered that viewing life through the lens of metaphor connects the past to the present. It helps us understand those fundamental truths that endure through time, through ever accelerating change and through the uncertainty of what is yet to come.

Metaphors open a door to a world of endless possibility – and that is why I love to wonder about within them. Here’s to another 150 Deep Dives, Shifting Winds, Sudden Lights, Songs of Nature and, of course, Random Acts of Metaphor.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

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