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Human society has many levels of performance.  We see gradations from bottom to top in socialization, education, discovery, creativity, innovation, and motivation. The gradations are partly about inherent fabric of individual people, but are also about the barriers, hurdles and impediments that must be surmounted on the journey.  The human mind, body and spirit is a powerful foundation for performance, when harnessed in integrative harmony. Human capacity, nurtured and developed, fostered in enabling environments, is in a sense limitless for the time and space that we occupy on Earth. According to evolved standards of desirable behaviour, intellectual reach and athletic achievement, we seek as individuals and as collectives the highest planes of humanity, pursuit of new knowledge and its validation, and extraordinary records in sport and games.  This drive is innate, relentless and endless, thankfully. Without the need and desire to be better in all aspects of our beings, society would not flourish. We all want better education, better amenities and living comforts, better giving to the unfortunate, more courage and to be or view the positive instigator of excellence.

Humanity was spawned a wide range of cultures and traditions, many being distinctly or dramatically different from each other. Yet, each society has an inherent believe that things can get better through the coalition of well-intended actions and supports. With the world as we know it now linked electronically and through transportation systems, we have more and more both the chance and the obligation to coalesce around excellence that is non-denominational in its purpose and impact.  This is a big challenge when the world is built on the basis of nations, ethnicities, religions and fear.

Many “borderless” views and actions are countering any tendencies or active efforts to be insular and ignorantly combative. There are numerous excellent examples of global organizations put in place to raise the standards of health, education, wealth and performance for all peoples.  We owe as big a debt to these organizations for the good of all as we do to the many veterans of foreign wars. Whether it is the Nobel committee offering the Peace Prize, the WHO attacking new viruses, doctors and nurses caring for the sick and wounded and dying, the engineers who are putting potable water sources into poor communities, the Gates Foundation meeting “Grand Challenges” that address maternal, fetal and childhood health, watchdog organizations protecting endangered species on land and sea or in the air, or commissions investigating and recommending sanctions for irresponsible and criminal behaviours, we are trying hard to foster global excellence for human kind.  Thankfully!

So, keep your faith in being the best you can be, make the most of who you are, and know that every small step you take forward and upward helps our global society survive and thrive during dangerous, chaotic times where some leaders are thoughtless autocrats or careless fools.  We can do better for people, together.

 

There is nothing really more enjoyable that a good swallow of cold, clean water from a drinking fountain on a warm day.  A well-maintained fountain in a strategic location allows people to take a good sip or fill their water bottle. But water is not just timely for the human species.  Every animal eventually needs water in one form or other, and a fountain is a great vehicle for such.  we used to have old cast iron wheel-wells on the farm for a range of livestock…..cattle, horses, swine, cats and dogs, and even chickens to get a little hydration.  The chickens are some of the most interesting beasts to drink from those non-bubbling “fountains”.  They sit on the edge, with surprising balance, take a drink and then throw their heads back to swallow and savour.

In recent years, we have had a small fountain with a pump that pushes water upward and out onto the top of a big ceramic vase-like structure.  In our backyard, it has become a way station for our beagle.  Baxter climbs up the little step that Alex made and then he can roam around among the trees and plants on the raised perimeter of our patio, and while he loves to nose around in the foliage and also look for various “Greenie” bones in buries out there, he especially likes to sidle up to the fountain, and laps up quite a few milliliters of fresh looking water. He looks at us as he quenches his thirst, enjoying the fact that his long beagle ears hang down into the cycling water.  One can always tell where he has been when he comes to see you with wet ears.

Yet Baxter is not alone in his enjoyment of the fountain.  In the earlier Spring, a whole battalion of finches would arrive several times a day to flit, land and delicately ingest a little water.  They always were watchful to be sure that they were not in danger while they got their fill.  In recent weeks, the finches have been replaced by the Crows of Kitsilano.  These intrepid, boisterous, aggressive birds often come in two’s, one after the other and occasionally together, to not only drink from the fountain, but also to wash food in the fountain water.  And interesting degree of intellectual superiority seems to be at play with the crows.  And, we of course are not surprised, since crows are incredibly smart creatures. They are similar to the finches in one key way…..being skittish and aware of who might attack or damage one of their own.  They watch us through the open patio door and are not bothered by our presence, unless we make a sudden move or move out of sight…….where I might be deemed as an enemy planning a raid on their beings.

The birds remind us that the peaceful daily lives of animals who love and need water as much as we do, goes on every day in little scenes that we witness and also in those places we never see.  Thank heavens for the many places for animals to gain water.  It is a critical feature in the Earth’s ecosystems and can never be taken for granted.

A good morning to all, including all golfers already on the links! Here in British Columbia we are having beautiful summer weather, which is great for golf, but not helpful for the massive forest fires raging in the interior of our beautiful province.  My warmest thoughts go out to those displaced, those who have lost property or pets or livestock, to those who are on the front-lines trying to quell these monstrous blazes, and to those wild animals living in peril.  May this soon abate!

But what about GIR?  What is GIR and should anyone care?  Until the past few years, I certainly did not know what at least one particular GIR was. Anyone can go on the internet and find Gir National Park in Gujarat, India.  One can also find GIR as Global Investigations Review focused on international policy issues, or Gir can pop up as the “stupidly adorable”, lovable, hyper-active assistant to Zim, or it could be silicone cooking tools that Get It Right.

GIR only arose for me once I became intrigued with golf.  So, GIR in my world is an abbreviation for “greens in regulation”.  Which means…….that for each length of a hole in golf, there is a desired or expected number of strokes that one should take in order to get from tee to green. So for each length of hole, it may be a par 3, par 4 or par 5 depending on the number of yards (or meters) it is from tee to green. On a par 3 it would be expected that one would get on the green with one shot from the tee, while on par 4 holes, it is expected to take two shots to get on the green, and for par 5 holes one would take 3 shots to get on the green.  Thus, GIR has been achieved in essence when the number of strokes taken is at least two fewer than par for a given hole. In each instance, this leaves one with two putts to get the ball into the hole for par.  This all seems quite reasonable.  Indeed, some of the professional players can get onto a par 4 green in one shot from the tee and onto a par 5 green in two shots from the tee.  Thus, they can actually do better than GIR……really GUR (greens under regulation…..I just made this up!).

So, what is the point of going on about GIR.  Well, when I first decided to take up golf in a more serious way in 2009, I rarely had a GIR result.  I just could not hit the ball far enough, straight enough or accurately enough to do so.  I though GIR was imaginary!  recently, things have changed.  With instruction, lots of practice, better clubs and the tincture of time, I have reached a point where I often am succeeding or nearly succeeding in have GIR on a variety of courses.  It feels good.  It generally goes along with better overall scores per round, and one begins to imagine that you are making progress in this challenging and magnetic pastime.  An occasional GIR just adds “zen” to the game like it is supposed to be.

May your day include at least one GIR, whether it is strokes on the golf course or it is in other facets of life where fewer moves or efforts can yield great results!

One of the most expansive and growing industries is that related to waste, trash, garbage and debris.  All around the world, we face a mountain of trash.  It is a terrific money-maker for those committed to dealing with trash and who are good at using trucks and other technologies to remove such material from towns and cities and country lanes, neighbourhoods and districts, and garbage cans and bins liberally dispersed throughout our communities. Sometimes there are more big garbage trucks on our streets than there are motorcycles, buses or vans!

But there is another aspect of this garbage glut that is frankly overdue for a renaissance of action.  That is, dealing with the aimlessly scattered newspapers or newspaper fragments, napkins, food boxes, coffee cups, cigarette butts, condoms, and receipts…..these materials make our streets and byways ugly and they create work for home owners, businesses and city and municipal departments, as they constantly scour for this waste material that should already be in a garbage can or bin. All it would take to rectify this situation is respect for our environments and each other. People who thoughtlessly litter can stop.  They can use the cans provided by tax-supported programs from which we all benefit. Each of us could “adopt” a city block or neighbourhood wherein we go around once a week and grab the bits and pieces that we find on sidewalks, in curbs, in shrubs and on publicly-facing lawns, etc.  Our community would be much more attractive and pleasant.  We all do live here! I have a new garbage pincer device that I am trying out for my role as a cleaner-upper.

Another related, but perhaps quite different focus for action we could undertake as whole communities, is the mass application of fresh paint on buildings and fences.  I have always thought that there should be a national or provincial “beautification day” for our communities wherein people were given at least a half day off work to scrape and paint and stain our buildings, either anew or as a refresh.  This could be done for businesses and residences, and especially for people who are not physically able to paint up their own place of business or dwelling.  And, what would make sense is that paint stores, lumber yards, etc., could donate the materials including stain and paint, but also brushes, scrapers, pans and the like, or provide such below cost for these purposes.  We would see a lot more civic pride showing through in pursuing these activities together on the same day.  What a difference it would make to what we see around us.  Also, it might inspire folks to plant a few flowers and clean their windows, among other things. The psychological and sociological impact would help us all appreciate our surroundings more than we do, and to take their beauty less at face value as if someone else was responsible.

So pick up the garbage and paint the walls! Cheers!!

Barcelona’s harbour, boardwalk, sandy beach, sea and sky are full of a panoply of natural and unnatural activities.

The sky is big, a big ocean sky, mostly blue with a light haziness and a distant seemingly immobile ridge of thunderheads. The sky welcomes a new aircraft about every 2 minutes on target for runways at the Barcelona International Airport, while seagulls ride the wind in wild and rather erratic ways – flight for pure joy.  Closer to the ground, on the edge of the coastal rocks and just beside the outdoor restaurants cluster the local songbirds, looking a lot like ours, but perhaps more colourful in variegated green hues.  Most look like a relative of our wrens one would think.

The diversity of boats, ships and other watercraft is amazing to say the least. Tall ship replicas run routes from one end of the great bowl-beach to the far eastern limit.  These graceful ships, run with sails trimmed, no doubt by engines not seen, a matched by a range of medium-sized harbour boats carting tourists to-and-fro along the sparkle of a sculpted beach zone. These ships and boats are accompanied by a range of catamarans, sailboats, high-powered seado’s, tankers, cruise ships, wind-sails, para-sails, lifeguard rafts, and paddle boards. There were many human-powered efforts, either on those paddle boards, wind-sails, or in the water swimming, lolling or just hanging out.  The youth of Barcelona crept up onto the huge chunks of concrete used to build a breakwater, just outside the property margin of the W Hotel.  The beach security would periodically come to shoe them away, but soon more would reappear again……a delicate dance between propriety and youthful spirit.

The beach and boardwalk are long……..looking like3 or 4 miles in this location. The human species fills up the sandy corridor, and a few local establishments rent umbrellas to protect against the strong sunshine.  Those same establishments have a fair offering of food and beverages to quench the appetite and thirst. Young is definitely the average genre but there are numerous older souls as well.  The urge to get a tan is a universal drive that brings a spectrum of people, young and old, families and groups and singles to bask. Merchants sell beach blankets with great flourish and nice designs. The police patrol rather obscurely, making sure that all is well in this little slice of paradise.

A few more moving parts are mixed into this interesting scene……motorized and non-motorized scooters, motor bikes, bicycles, and skateboards round out the picture.

The ethnic and linguistic range of peoples here in this small space completes a signature of what peace, harmony and good times can indeed be written…….a vision of beauty that reminds us of the goodness in humanity.  The official signage on the boardwalk-beach speaks to the city always having been and always planning to be a city that welcomes all and accepts any refugees struggling to find a new life.  It is this special statement that boldly tugs at one’s heart.

 

 

It is an interesting morning.  My dear wife and I are leaving on the big silver bird for Barcelona.  Despite all of our travels, we have never made it to Spain’s architectural jewel by the sea. We are excited, and our stalwart dog, Baxter, appears uneasy as he senses we may be leaving.  Aman will take good care of him while we are away, so Baxter should be reassured……..they are a familiar pair together.

The last few days have been a little tough for Janet.  She has had bronchitis.  She coughs a lot, and especially in the morning getting everything cleared out. Many years ago, the children and I provided her with a range of nicknames, including Barch.  I find it notable when she has bronchitis, because she coughs with a bark and the name Barch comes to mind right away.  Barch barks!

Baxter only occasionally barks.  He is a dog, but barking is not his thing unless he gets excited about a special food he likes or he gets trapped out on the deck and we haven’t noticed.

Both Barch and Baxter are dogs.  Baxter by species designation, and Barch by Chinese horoscope designation. They both occasionally bark, but largely they don’t.

In Barcelona, I do not expect to hear much barking, except for a street vendor or two.  I will have Barch with me, but I think her bronchitis is on its way to settling. So, there will be conversation, with our tall Australian friends, Martha, Darryl and Tyla, but no barking. Perhaps only an occasional sound of a golf ball hitting tree bark, but no real barking. And there will be an occasional howl from the stories we hear and from a rare great tee shot. The howling is the wolf in us, a little wilder than our dogs.

 

Since Sunday, June 11th, I have been engaged with the Personalized Medicine 2017 Summit at UBC.  This Summit follows on our first effort in 2015, and with the help of locals and international luminaries from all sectors and perspectives draws us forward to a tangible and staged action planned for the province of British Columbia in the realm of personalized medicine and personalized health & wellness. The Summit program can be found at www.personalizedmedsummit.com. Last evening we had a lovely, relaxed banquet at the Museum of Anthropology, an international jewel of ethnological and anthropological artifacts from around the world, especially from the Pacific Rim peoples. At the dinner, the Summit leader, Pieter Cullis, asked me if I would say a few remarks…..which I did. I noted the fact that I have been thinking quite a bit about human suffering these days, partly borne of my lifetime of engagement in science and medicine, partly because I have lost a few family members and close friends this past 12 months, and partly because of the state in which we find the world’s peoples.  As a global society we are sagging under the weight of wars, ill-lead regimes, economic issues and the persistence of many ailments and health disorders. I noted that Helen Keller, born with sight and hearing in Alabama, USA, who lost both at an early age in the setting of high fever, became an incredible advocate and activist aiming not to overcome her own disabilities, but especially those of others.  Through her own progress, her actions and her voice, she impacted suffering in profound ways.  In her own words, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”. In this context and at this celebratory event, I offered a short poem that tries to aim at the personal nature of our professional intentions through the actions arising from the Summit.  These remarks follow.  They are entitled “Being Personal“.

Just days ago, Pieter asked me to share thoughts on this celebratory occasion

Although I am usually quiet, I gave in, upon his persistent, forceful persuasion

 

The tent is filled nearly to the max with energy of many an extraordinary friend

To sup with sauce, to talk and laugh and hug a bit, while our stomachs distend

 

I must mention a person not with us tonight, not because she’s maimed or dead

Rather she’s snug at home, eating ice cream, and watching crime shows in bed

 

That is my wife, whom most of you will not know or frankly care much about

But if I don’t say how great she is she said, she would ask Pieter, and find out

 

What does this have to do with commentary about our goals of being personal

In ways a lot, for prevention and care are truly about individuals, sick or well

 

Our setting tonight is rather perfect for reflecting on the importance of person

Cultural anthropology speaks to what we value, what we don’t want to worsen

 

The heart and soul of societies lies close to definitions of health and well-being

What habits we endorse, social contracts we forge, what progress we’re seeing

We are organized in sectors, in disciplines, in buildings, in geographies, like bins

We need more gatherings like this one, where we rub shoulders and kick shins

 

Momentum is building, but slow as a glacier’s slide or a snail’s glistening ooze

Acceleration, not the speed of a Tesla, but at least faster, spawned from schmooze

 

For those who are new here on the Pacific Rim and like the feel, we embrace all

For our challenge is our treasure, and together we will go right through any wall

 

May today, tomorrow, days long ahead, link us, inspire us, bring many an action

Which for the public, patients especially gain, with all here, a deep satisfaction

 

Thanks to all travelers and locals who have thrown in together on deep learning

As we shall attain new pinnacles of excellence from talents commonly yearning

 

Each story told of health, risk, disease, and the complexity of journies we face

For the personal in us is strengthening the cause, the understanding, the case

 

So, whatever your views, your roles, your strengths, your needs for tomorrow

I am certain good food, conviviality, fermented grapes can diminish your sorrow

Amen!

It has been a great day overall.  A round of golf with Favian, James and Robert, and little lunch with family, and a fine soapbox derby for my grandson, Oscar.  One divot entered our day though……..Thomas, Oscar’s longstanding fish, a nice beta fish named Thomas, passed on to fish heaven.  There was expected grief and tears, especially from Oscar. Thomas had entered Canada as an illegal alien from the USA when Alex, Karen and Oscar moved here from Omaha.  Thomas has had a long life for a beta fish, with good travel experiences, and owners who kept his little fish tank clean, and good quality food available. He died peacefully.  Gratitude for all of this. I spoke with Oscar tonight and he is doing better.

Losing pets is a common experience we all have, usually more than once in our lifetimes.  These losses come from unnatural and natural causes.  Regardless of the cause, it can be as upsetting as losing a family member.  Pets and their owners become bonded deeply.  The range of pets, their sizes, their species and their personalities will vary, but the love that grows between pets and their owners is inexorably greater as months and years go by. We are made better by our relationship with pets, as they are by our nurturing roles as their protectors and nurturers.  No wonder we grief when our pets pass on, and no wonder pets grieve when there owners pass on.  The magic of domestication of other species by the human species is age old, but probably one of the most important forms of symbiosis in the living world.

Thanks Thomas for being a big part of Oscar’s life and for giving joy in a mysteriously gentle and charming way.

The hubbub of daily life includes many things which stimulate the senses, sights, sounds, smells, and the push & pull of crowds. The maelstrom is not just a feature of modern life, as bustling, noisy, crowded cities and towns are ages old.  The intensity of stimulation is however greater with the traffic of various sorts, the screeching of brakes, honking of horns, rumble of trucks and buses, the dingle of bike bells, and the relentless flow of electronic information on phones and other media.

The need for moments of tranquility has perhaps never been greater.  I have previously related the peace one can find in early morning on a golf course yet filled with others. But it is worth a word about the approach of the great Bobby Jones to tournament golf……it brought a crucial form of tranquility to key shots. As beautiful portrayed allegorically in the Legend of Bagger Vance, the ability of a golfer to exclude the crowds from his or her vision as they frame a shot in their mind’s eye brought moments of peace and focus to execute at a high level. Exclusion of distractions is a venerable approach to maelstroms.  It is a little like the art of “Compartmentalization”, exemplified by the parable that “even Einstein, when tying his shoe laces, thought only of the bow”.

As one who grew up in the rural prairies, working hard along side my parents and siblings on a large mixed farm, I had the luxury of certain activities filled to the brim with tranquility.  A couple that stand out include the days we would spend picking rocks off of a particularly rocky half-section of land.  This was usually done on cool days in the fall after the crops were in the bins.  Winds would leave one sort of alone out there with 3 or 4 others, hocking rocks into the back of a wagon or pick-up truck to then dump in stone-piles at particular locations on the acreage. This was peaceful activity that was really good for the muscles of your body.  What’s more, we often had additional help from first nations folks who were much more artistic than our family members. The beauty of the architecture in the stone-piles they built was stunning actually, much more like an elevated courtyard than a pile.

Another activity that stands out for its inherent tranquility on the farm was combining/harvesting at night in the early fall. This was especially so if you were driving the truck into which the combine operator unloaded hoppers of grain “on the fly”.  You would wait at the strategic site when you knew by prior knowledge of the yield of the crop and the capacity of the hoppers at a particular point on the field.  There was deepening darkness as the evening reached into night time, and when you turned off the engine of your truck to wait, you could hear only the low pitch hum of happy combine engines and gears, while in the sky above the aurora borealis played back and forth like a Carnegie Hall performance of the natural world. This was shear exhilaration.  It is among many reasons we didn’t mind in the least working until nearly midnight to gather the grain that kept our lives solvent and sufficient economically.

A couple of other thoughts about tranquility. This may surprise people, but I like to iron clothes.  Now, at the present time, neither my wife or I have positions that require crisp, wrinkle-free clothes.  And, the pieces of clothing that do need such can be taken to professional cleaners. But a couple of decades ago, when I felt compelled to wear suits and ties and “white” shirts, I would iron nearly all of my clothes.  Even clothes that came back from the cleaners didn’t meet the standard of sharpness to be worn without additional ironing touch-up.  So, in one corner of our master bedroom, the ironing board stood (majestically), never taken down, waiting for my regular visits.  I had as much concern about the quality of the board and the iron as I would now devote to a given golf club or ball.  I loved to make the clothes “perfect” and to see how the iron, typically with just the right bursts of steam, could take a good-looking shirt to a great-looking shirt.  I was fully absorbed in the peace and tranquility of those moments….now gone.

Finally, assuring at least some sufficient level of tranquility in one’s life is both an approach and a state of mind.  One simple thing to do…….intentionally, when not on call, leave your cell phone at home when you go to dinner with your spouse.  While it may initially cause anxiety, it will give way to peace and to a much more meaningful evening. Disconnecting from electronic media of all sorts brings us back to nature, the people we are, the centre of quietude.

I have been very absorbed by the issue of suffering in recent months.  The human condition is characterized in part by suffering.  In some religious contexts, like Buddhism, to live is to suffer.  Suffering is different than pain, although they are often linked.  Suffering often arises in the context of conditions that cause acute or chronic pain.  Yet suffering is much more an emotional-mental-spiritual process or experience that may not be a consequence of specific somatic pain or discomfort. Pain and suffering can be associated with various diseases or ailments, but for many afflictions there may be periods of time when no pain is experienced or suffering is present.

Because we generally have an aversion to pain or suffering, there have been many efforts to assuage, dampen or relieve such.  These have been primordial, natural potions from plants and other animals, they have gases like nitrous oxide, ether, chloroform, etc., and they have been pharmaceutical like acetyl salicylic acid, acetominophen and all of the modern OTC painkillers.  They have been powerful opioids for medical use. They have been mind-altering illicit drugs. The thrust towards relieve of pain or suffering has driven a terrible wave of misuse of drugs with a tiny therapeutic window, wherein the overdose can spell death.  Thus, our journey to pain-free, suffering-free, stress-free lives have contributed to the over-use or inappropriate use of drugs that can kill, and kill swiftly.  We are in a global state-of-urgency regarding this crisis.

I became interested in suffering perhaps as much through the writings of Hans Selye, great Canadian researcher who devoted his life to understanding stress and the “local and general adaptation syndromes”.  His concepts about the neuro-endocrine axis and its fundamental importance in how we adapt or de-adapt to stress have permeated much modern directions and thinking biomedicine, psychology and sociology. Along with his 1000 original papers, and medical treatises, he wrote public-oriented books like Stress without Distress. But the one thing Selye pointed out that got him interested in disease and suffering was the “look of being ill” that patients have, regardless of the specific condition they have.  This look is partly a reflection of the stress, the response to it – the human face of suffering.

When I sat in a large clinic building this week, having a cup of coffee before a meeting, I had nearly 30 minutes to watch the people passing by.  I saw suffering.  I saw people with fear in their eyes, with grief, with tears, in pain, fatigued, bent, disabled.  I saw the contrasting energy of the ill and that of the busy professionals who passed by. The diversity of conditions was evident, and the diversity of the people even greater…….old and young, child and adult.  Moving through this public space were the rapid walkers and sprinters, the slow and almost immobile, the latter with canes or walkers or wheelchairs, or just someone’s strong hand.  Filling this scene there was indeed help and hope for the suffering folks. And, there on the wall was a large, and emphatic mural from Foster Eastman, I think acrylic, with white background and big black letters, boldly shouting to any readers…….GIVING IS A LONG TERM STRATEGY. We all must give to relieve the suffering we see or feel every day. Indeed, it was Helen Keller who said…..”although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”. Be part of the overcoming!