I came back from Calgary today, after spending the last 4 days there at a conference. Actually, the conference was 3 only days long, but I spent an extra day there to site-see. It was a blessing to be there, not only for vocational reasons, but personal too.
The theme of the conference was healthcare, under the paradigm of the Good Samaritan. I attended workshops on a range of topics, including the need for meditation in our lives (how refreshing: when's the last time you've heard a talk on meditation at a conference?!?), the future of Catholic healthcare in Canada, the importance of narrative (story-telling) in spiritual care, and the need to focus on the vulnerable in our society. Wonderful.
Below is a picture of me after the session on Wednesday night. I walked through downtown and was quite impressed. I've been to Calgary a few times but don't remember it being as cosmopolitan as it seems now.
On Thursday night there was a special dinner. Lizzy Hoyt was the special guest, and she and her band played beautifully. I bought her cd afterwards.
The conference ended on Friday, so I spent Saturday checking out the city. I took the LRT to a mall, bought some shoes, ate lunch at a Brazilian restaurant (I drank guarana, I ate feijoada!) .. mmmm!, and late afternoon went on a lengthy walk through a downtown park and up a hill from where I had a nice view of the city.
In the evening I went to a movie.
I returned to my
hotel room late on Saturday night, tired. And while I'd have
enjoyed some company, I nevertheless felt blessed for having had the opportunity to be here.
Tomorrow it's back to work. I'm still in a honeymoon stage, I wake up each morning - even Mondays! - looking forward to what's ahead on that day. Weekends are usually harder, because I don't feel engaged, connected. On Saturdays I sometimes even catch myself wishing that it was Sunday and that the next day is a work day.
This whole experience - preferring Mondays to Fridays - is completely new for me.
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