I’ve had a lot of time to think about different things and with Christmas approaching I’m starting to think about the possibility of peace on earth. Yes, I know it sounds like I’m a little loopy, but no I’m serious.

Peace on earth seems like such a difficult thing to achieve when people can’t even achieve peace within their own families, friendships etc.

What does it all boil down to?

Well in my own opinion and short experience and time on this planet I would say that people are too stubborn. I think it’s as simple as that. People are too stubborn to forgive one another, to move on and to look forward to the future - instead they dwell on the past.

So what’s the solution?

Well it’s quite complicated and involves every single person living on this planet to make an effort. That’s 7,387,836,597 or 7.3 billion people. Peace on earth would require us all to make an effort to forgive...

As a wise man once said…

“With our thoughts we make the world.” - Buddha

I think it’s important to remember, even in the midst of our busy lives, everything that we are grateful for each day. I remember a teacher I once had who introduced the idea of a gratitude journal. Basically, this is a journal where you write down everything you are thankful for and it helps you to focus on all of the positive things in life. All you need to do is write down three things you’re grateful for at the start of your day and it starts your day off on a positive note.

I don’t keep a gratitude journal anymore but I still notice things that I’m grateful each day. For example, I was going for a walk today and a beautiful flock of chirping birds flew by in the blue sky and I thought of how fortunate we are to live on this planet that’s just beating to the sound of life.

Sometimes, it’s easy to forget...

I have officially finished my first week of work at the Saddle Lake Health Center and it has been such a great week :)

The first thing I have to say is that the people in the community and at work have been so friendly and welcoming. I have had the chance to meet a few new born babies this past week and really enjoyed getting to meet the mom’s and extended family members.

Saddle Lake is a beautiful place with a rich culture and history. I am so happy and grateful to have this unique opportunity to work in Saddle Lake and hopefully to make a positive difference in the community.

I’ve noticed quite a few similarities between the traditions and people of Saddle Lake and Sveta Jana, Croatia (where I was born).

The first similarity is that most families live together. Grandparents, children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren live in the same home. If they aren’t living in the...

I spent the past week in Edmonton, Alberta.

Edmonton is a beautiful city, somewhat similar to Toronto except a lot less chaotic.

During my stay I visited Blunt Salon which is a super cool spot with great stylists. I also went to West Edmonton Mall, which is humongous. And then, the training caught up with me and I spent the following two nights ordering room service, reading training materials, watching CNN and doing yoga. Oh and taking bubble baths :) … (photo courtesy of the yoga bath bomb from Lush)

I have to be honest, I started to miss home, home being, St. Paul. I missed cooking my own meals, having my own space and the quietness of the town.

I did however meet some truly wonderful people and look forward to officially beginning work this Monday!

Maria

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How cute is that little martian?

I think he’s very cute, but that’s just me. You may be wondering what he’s doing in St. Paul… well let me tell you.

St. Paul Alberta is the home of the world’s first UFO landing site!

In fact, the tagline for the town is: “St. Paul - A People Kind of Place”

There is a sign next to the UFO landing pad and it reads:

“The area under the World’s First UFO Landing Pad was designated international by the Town of St. Paul as a symbol of our faith that mankind will maintain the outer universe free from national wars and strife. That future travel in space will be safe for all intergalactic beings, all visitors from earth or otherwise are welcome to this territory and to the Town of St. Paul.”

So basically, everyone is welcome :) even these guys…

That’s something I noticed fairly quickly about the people of St. Paul, they are very welcoming and...

ONTARIO - Curvy, Rocky, Forests, Moose and Deer

The beautiful province of Ontario took two days to exit!
Day 1 I traveled from Hamilton to Sault Ste. Marie and Day 2 from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay.

Driving through Ontario was beautiful but a pretty high intensity drive. There was thick fog both mornings and to boot warning signs for deer and moose pretty well every 2 minutes. It sure kept me ALERT!

MANITOBA - Out of the Woods

Day 3 I drove from Thunder Bay to Winnipeg.
The drive became so much easier once I got to Manitoba since the forests, rocks and curvy roads of Ontario were no longer.

Instead, the drive was literally straight forward :)

SASKATCHEWAN - 50 Shades of Gold

Day 4 I drove from Winnipeg to Saskatoon.
Wow, were there ever fields of gold, all shades of gold, yellow and beige I never knew that there were so many shades. I’m serious.

When I arrived in...

With 6 days left before I leave on my journey, I’m packing up what I think is essential and my definition of “essential” has changed over the last month, especially after conversations with good friends and family.

I’m hoping to maximize space by keeping items out of boxes.
I’ll take a picture once I’m ready to go.

Some things I just couldn’t leave behind:

• art supplies, paints etc.
• cards and letters I’ve received from friends/family through the years
• yoga mat
• my mom’s jars of pickled red peppers and pickled beets :)

By the way… I knew that getting my car windows tinted was a good idea at the time- they are really going to be useful now!

Until next time.

It’s interesting really, I feel like the quality of social connections I have made over the last several years of my life have been quite amazing.

Perhaps it’s my own increased value of family, friendship, networking etc. or perhaps the people I have met have just been amazing. I think it’s a mix of both.

The impact others have on our lives is pretty significant. It ties into some of the research I did on mental well-being and the relationship between mental well-being and social connectedness. To put it simply - the more positive connections you have with others the better you’re mental well-being.

I think the part that is challenging, is maintaining connected with people, especially those you don’t often see - but I think that’s the important part of any great connection (is the effort).

It’s been a pleasure to meet all of you wonderful people (reading this or not reading this)...

In just 20 days I’ll be leaving the home that I have come to know and love for the past 22 years Hamilton ON and will be moving to St. Paul Alberta. That’s 3 400 KM, 32 hours, a 5 day drive and 4 hour plane ride away.

A lot of people have asked me why I had decided to make this change, well there are a few reasons. I won’t go into all of them because there are a lot, but I talk about 3 today.

Exploring. Canada is such an amazing country, which on a larger scale is a part of this beautiful planet we call home. If we all had more money and more time, many of us would choose to explore the planet and see all of its beauties. I guess this is my first attempt to do that but in a more permanent way. My move to Alberta will be by car and will take me across 3 Canadian provinces. I hope to see many things during my trip and will document them through photographs and through this blog.

Learnin...