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Lineages

Everything in our universe or perhaps parallel universes is connected.

In the bigger context, we are not exactly sure how, but we know that everything is relational. In a manner of speaking, the power of 10 concept brings this to consciousness, as we peer into the depth of space while peering to through microscopes or at hybridized atomic signals. We see the beauty in continuity that finds humans somewhere on the small side of the continuum, but rather beautifully placed to visualize the large and small of our existence.

In our connectedness, another way of thinking about our eternal relationships is to think about lineages.

A lineage refers to the line relatedness that cuts across generations upon generations of things.  Those things could be genes, cells, animals, plants, geological formations, planetary systems, galaxies or universes. Using some kind of tag or marker, we can figure out who came from who, what came from what, in very specific ways. Those lineages can also be spiritual, connections that flow philosophies, beliefs, perspectives, languages, arts from a generation to the next, from a town to a town, across a province, a country, a continent or a world. In the biological context, there is a great interest today in which cells were derived from other others as there phenotypes subtly and steadily change due to physiological, immunological and genetic forces. We are looking at specifics to find new mechanisms, new ways to preserve health, new ways to treat and manage disease, and new ways to detect rogue cells or early warning signs of life science systems gone awry.

For me, perhaps most important in this lineage tracing adventure is to reflect once more on how connected we really are.  We are really part of a magical large family of entities, activities and consequences. While this could be termed the diversity that arises from evolving lineages, I like to think of it as the critical message that we are always more the same than we are different.

 

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Days of Summer

The weather in the Left Coast has been exceptional this spring and summer.

And, of course, here in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere of this earth, we enjoy long days of sunshine and light.  The sublime early sunrises and late sunsets are good for the energy and activities of recreation, hobbies and spiritual renewal. The days allow one to get a lot of work done but still have much time for favourite pastimes and creative journeys.

For us, it has been a summer of renovation.

Our home is in the late stages of revitalization. A complete gutting of the main floor, a literal raising of the ceiling into a great vault, a new kitchen with spacious island, shiny appliances, and new colours to make the heart arouse. The new book shelves in the den-living room will allow us to put out many fine volumes that are hidden in boxes or stuffed away out of sight until now. A new high resolution television screen will visualize the best of football, golf, hockey, nature, movies and special moments. My dragons are re-emerging from boxes to sit on guard of our home in a quiet, stately and elegant way. The new sense of space in the rooms makes breathing seem easier and the air more easily inhaled. These changes are complemented by new flooring throughout, bright hews of yellow, blue, orange, white and grey to lift the eyes and the soul.

The outside of the house will be painted soon too, a fresh white with grey trimmed.  An uplift!  And the doors all will have been replaced with tighter fitting, more attractive versions, from screen doors, to wood and glass. And the lower level will soon also have new flooring, a new bathroom and a general uplift too.

Meanwhile, it has been a big golfing summer.

I have golfed more holes than any previous year. It has been much fun with buddies from Beach Grove and elsewhere to pursue the good times of birdies, pars, bogies and double bogies. There are many jokes, many playful insults and a little praise here and there.  Golf is a super way to exercise the body, exorcise the soul, and connect with nature……..hawks, eagles, pines, poplars, flowers, grasses, cat tails, water, ducks, geese, herons, squirrels,  and one some courses, deer, coyotes, and occasional nutria can be seen.

We have had many dinners this summer with family and friends.  They just seem to keep coming.  These feasts are beyond our usual number. Celebratory in many ways, but mostly to celebrate life and good cheer.  All of these calories mean keeping up those early morning personal training sessions and walking four miles as many times per week as possible on the golf courses rather essential to homeostasis.

And, in amongst all of the recreative activities, there is the stimulation of science with my colleagues.

We are pushing hard on our biomarker development programs, and it seems that investors are noticing our quality and capabilities with a new level of enthusiasm and engagement.  I anticipate much progress as we head towards the late summer days.  More chances for innovation and help for patients and healthcare providers.  It is a passion, a calling, we must relentlessly seek.

Days of summer are fresh.  They are full in all wonderful ways.  Thanks.

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Perspective

Today is Earth Day 2018.

A day to remember that the planet on which we live is in a delicate balance with humans and all other creatures, plants and geo-oceano-atmospheric constituents and activities. It is often a day when, if we have any conscience, we worry about our pollutant behaviours, our excesses in reaping natural resources, and the overall fragility of our micro- and macro-ecosystems. It is also a day to observe the beauty in the natural world around us, to be grateful for what millions of years created for us, and to reflect on the moments in time that we occupy as a human species on a single planet in many galaxies. It is certainly a day when one is humbled by the very complexity of balance that underpins our good fortune on a spinning globe in a special zone where carbon, oxygen, temperature and atmosphere provide us with a place to feel comfortable. The creativity of humans and other adaptive species of animals and plants in this space and time is utterly amazing.  Much has been accomplished in a stuttering fashion over thousands of years by our species alone.

The risk has always been our hubris.

Our penchant for more, for excess, for here-and now thinking. Just how long we can maintain the ecosystem that includes diversity of wildlife, stability of climate and the very survival of our world’s livability is unclear. I often wonder whether we can outlive the sun or live to see our sun fail.  What will the Earth be like if we get that far? How will we support the steady growth of populations that harvest too much, waste too much, and care too little about the future? No one person can change this situation.  No one government or not-for-profit agency…… If we do not consume ourselves in the failings of war and competition, we could aspire to a long-lived planetary environment that is healthy for most.  We have a lot of work do to for each other. May we find the path while still creating and innovating with the great spirit of free will.

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Brock and Brooke and Bernstein and Bountiful

Hi blog!  It has been a little while since I lengthened you with a few thoughts.

I hope you have been fine in my absence. A few interesting things have transpired that make the heart fly.

Last week, Alan Bernstein visited our community as the 2017 Friesen Prize Laureate.  Among the activities Alan participated in, there were a couple of trainee roundtable sessions.  I organized the one at St Paul’s Hospital site. It included 14 trainees from all over the city, from a range of scientific disciplines, who were of a full spectrum of ethnic groups, states of health and genders. They gave glorious short presentations and provide great discussion with Alan in each instance.  It is the kind of session that makes one know that the world will go forward just fine when these young people have a chance to fully develop and lead.

The science trainees each have their own story – how they became a science trainee, what their life-journey has been, what their deepest aspirations, inspirations and anxieties might be. For sure they have learned, they have grown, they are on a bountiful path to excellence, one that will benefit them, science as a whole, and our society.

These trainees are not really different than two other young stars who were busily performing this week and weekend. Brooke Henderson was plying the brisk winds of the Bahamas at the first LPGA event of the year.  She pressed forward well, and was leading or tied fhe lead well into the final round.  A stumble here and there kept her from the winner’s circle, but not from another top 10 finish.  While she will not be happy with that finish, Brooke has so much to be thankful for and happy about.  She is a solid Canadian kid, just a kid because she is only 20 years of age. She has a great family, mother, father, sister! There is much love in that family.  There is much support.  Brooke has developed her natural talent on that backdrop. She has built a runway to excellence in golf and life based on the supports around her and her own growing depth of character. She will do well this year.  The year will be bountiful, and she will magnetize many young children to the game of golf, and especially to being grateful and decent.

Then there is Brock! This weekend, Brock Boeser came to the NHL All Star festivities as a rookie….another 20 year-old, a rookie in the best ice hockey league in the world. He came with his family from a little town in Minnesota to the glitz and glamour of Tampa Bay and Amalie Arena. He then proceeded to outshine many other stars.  He dramatically won the shooting accuracy competition, indeed breaking one of the electronic targets with his heavy wrist shot.  This win alone just blew observers away.  So much so, that stars like Sidney Crosby made a specific point of going over right away to introduce himself to Brock and have a chat.  This happened over and over throughout the two day event. When the semi-final games were played on Sunday, Brock continue to shine.  He scored the winning goal on a beautiful shot to the right upper corner of the net, and then provided a goal and assist in the final game. He did all of his with incredible humility and quiet presence. When the voting for the MVP of the event was finished, the winner was Brock Boeser by a large margin.  He humbly skated up to receive this recognition.  Apart from the financial bonuses and the car Brock receives because of these achievements, it is most exciting and fulfilling to know that his young man from rural Minnesota, who has lost several family members and friends in recent years can achieve what he does without fanfare and hubris.  He is bountiful, but also beautiful.

May we always reach for the beauty of trainees, of developing scientists and athletes, in a way that emphasizes the paramount importance of “goodness”, of humanity.