Stand Up For Mental Health Brings Its Own Brand of Inspired Insanity to The Stanley May 31st

Most people think that you have to be nuts to go anywhere near stand-up comedy. We are nuts!!

Help us by voting at www.stormtheschools.com

Imagine The YES Camp Community feeling - within our school system! Storm the Schools will make it happen!

Objective:

To help in transforming the high school atmosphere into one of mutual respect, appreciation and create an environment that fosters community, growth, education and empowerment. YES!

Background:

"We're all in this together -- by ourselves.: Lily Tomlin

Becoming is NOW AVAILABLE AT BANYEN BOOKS & SOUND, 4th and Dunbar, as well as at DUTHIE BOOKS 2239 West Fourth Avenue, Vancouver.

When we tell our stories and share them, our journeys are enriched and transformed.

Objectives

• Empower Upper North Island youth as leaders and peacemakers through creativity, education, peer support and hands on community involvement.

• Supply youth with the skills needed to navigate a rapidly changing world and the confidence to achieve their dreams.

• Create opportunities for conservation and cooperation in the North Island region.

• Provide rural youth with access to fine and performing arts, learning, mentorship, and skill building opportunities with the creation of an annual full summer leadership program and year round workshops, a youth centre and events. 

• Participate in building inclusive youth friendly communities that celebrate diversity.

• Engage youth in preserving and valuing local and traditional knowledge.

•  Invest in youth as leaders and problem solvers.

• Organize, support and encourage youth driven initiatives and events.

• Unite youth across boundaries to find solutions to common problems.  

Just a quick update that I'd also like to share. One of the things I felt called to act upon this year was to begin providing a venue and opportunity for entrepreneurs who are looking to experience business and working relationships that honors their values. 

I'm pleased to announce that last week a small group of us met for the first time, and the vision I proposed for this collaborative endeavour has been well-received. We are continuing to build this as an organic grassroots movement in order to maintain the integrity and vision of the intention that inspired its' birth.  

Weary to the bones, feeling the heaviness and despair, the fatigue demands you to sit and breathe awhile. As you sit and withdraw within the burdened mind and heart, you pant for breath, for life to return. A gust of wind stirs and refreshes you momentarily, clearing away the dark thoughts of the day, the months, and the years, and you raise your head and eyes to observe.

"How did I not notice this?" you ask. Two paths open before you. One appears to lead down the same path life has been handing you the past 10 years. It doesn't feel right, it feels like a lie, like all smoke and mirrors. The other road is shrouded in mist, within a dark forest. Even so, off in the distance you see a speck of light, like a promise, of something that appeals to a deeper part of yourself.

You look again, at the foreboding dark forest, the mist, and wonder what lurks in the dark. Its’ eeriness sends shivers and goose bumps crawling across your skin and through your bones. What surprises you is that the bones know, they know that this is your road, and one that you've passed many times before.

Finally, tired of the same repetitious path of life, the path that has lulled you into a slumber of pity, self-loathing, even longing, you find a spark within the heart that ignites a tiny spark in the belly, and then the head, and you know the adventure begins: The life you were born to live. All that needs to happen now is to turn towards the ominous and hopeful path of rightness, not familiarity, and to strike out on foot with courage.

For many, the piercing arrow of fear strikes to heart with its' ghost-like quality. The transparent, smoky, frail, and temporal arrow of fear relies on illusion to fool them and their ever-so intelligent mind that can never be wrong. As they turn away from the path of rightness, of their true life that they were born to live, fear returns to the dark woods as a whispery haunting laugh follows the blind back to the illusion of familiarity and security.

You remember this, how many times you glanced and walked on; how many times you stopped and longed; and you even have a vague recollection of having passed it without even noticing. No, the time has come, the pain of familiarity has made you too numb, and you long for life to seize your heart and start beating again with the joy of promise given to you as a child in the arms of the Supreme.

Checking in one more time, you feel the excitement build in the bones as the pilot lights sparked earlier fuel the passion to be alive and ride life. With nary a look back your heel strikes out and into the gloom of the dark forest, and the promise of that light off in the distant future. Inside the forest, you find the familiar surround you again, as the denseness of this familiar place brings memories, mistakes, missed opportunities, and the healing to let go.

This dark forest is love and loves you. The embrace is firm, cold, and yet bold. Welcoming each error of past misjudgment transforms you, empowers you, fuels you, heals you, and the forest urges you on as each barb yields to the beautiful rose. And one day, in the unknown distance of time, you step out fully into the brilliance of your authentic life upon the meadow of gaiety.

Dancing, singing, rejoicing you spin and turn and tumble with joy. After moments or hours, as time is no longer the prison it once was, you stand, exhausted with joy and delight and turn slowly absorbing the beauty that surrounds you. Gazing back along the road less traveled you see the path from the forest to discover the beauty in the tragedies and pain, as majestic Oaks, Maples, Firs, and so many more, tower to the sky with a firm strength that stands the test of time.

Bending to knee, falling forward, embracing the earth, and all your self-worth, you give thanks with tears and sobbing that releases the fullest joy imaginable. And the quiet voice of Love speaks into your heart, clearing your mind once again, and says, "Sweet child. I honor you. It was you who seized upon Courage and found Strength where I reside. It was you, My Delight, and you bring great Joy to My Heart, knowing that you have claimed this Gift of Life fully."

The bones speak again as the flesh is crawled with goose bumps and the rightness of the words sink into the flesh. Rolling over and sitting up, you lean back on your hands for a moment to gaze up into the blue wonder to ponder thanks. "My dear God," you say, "I have fought you, misunderstood you, and even abused you, yet you call me your delight. Thank-you for acknowledging that which is in me as you, and never, ever, giving up on me."

Regaining your feet, you feel the ground firmly beneath you like you've never felt it before. You feel the blood course through your veins with a fury of life that will never lay down again. You feel the gratitude and love of a heart that has swollen in proportion to ALL. And you forge on with a zest and appeal for experiencing joy that leaves your mouth watering, knowing that the path of rightness is your own and that goodness will always reign.

A ghost appears, ever so slightly, to pierce the truth with a nightmare of fear. And just as quickly, you turn one last time and remember what that forest has taught you. For all the mistakes, wrong turns, hurts of life, and damage caused to others, forgiveness and love have never left you, let you down, abandoned you, or held any grudges. It was you, it was fear, it can and has been let go, and firmly planted in the roots of majesty. You will prevail.

This, I just wrote, from heart and creative spirit.

You will know what to do and when. And if you fail to act, then you will have still chosen. Whatever you do, do not allow yourself to stew in regret, for there you will surely find illness of every kind.

• You're Too Sensitive!
• You're Reading Too Much Into It!
• You're Too Emotional
• You're Very Intuitive 
• How did you know?!
• You're Overwhelmed Mentally and Emotionally

Have you ever heard any of these things? I've heard them or variations of them for a considerable time. Strangely, with different people, during a different era of my history, this was not the case at all. There was more love and respect, more authenticity, more openess and honesty, and generally, a greater sense of community that allowed this sensitivity to exist in harmony. Once the harmony disappears though, a sense of craziness overtook me - until.

Letting go of resistance, means being able to relax with life.  One of the ways to let go and flow is to allow everyone in our lives and society to be exactly who they are, which often means letting go of the control we have on them to perform or act in a way that only benefits us. It's one of the ways we ensure our happiness.  As long as people act the way we want them to, then we are happy!  It's also one of the ways we disempower ourselves.