June is National Indigenous History Month and today is National Indigenous Peoples Day. In these past two months many of us have learned what many others have known, so many atrocities happened. Many families were torn apart and so many little children lost their lives, as well as their opportunities and right to learn and grow and be loved. The news we all recently heard from the the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir, was so heart shattering and it is with a heavy heart I write this entry, with the hope that I can share some resources that I have had the pleasure of learning from and about, and to provide you with some online news that offers us opportunities to learn more. https://tkemlups.ca/wp-content/uploads/05-May-27-2021-TteS-MEDIA-RELEASE.pdf?mc_cid=9817e1654e&mc_eid=b8b7b8f08d Working as an Occupational Therapist I have had the opportunity and privilege to work with many Indigenous People in 3 provinces. With each opportunity I was fortunate to learn about Indigenous culture. In Calgary I spent hours creating thermoplastic splints to support arthritic hands and thumbs; while my hands were working I enjoyed learning all about the occupations their hands were involved in, e.g. riding horseback on their ranch, illustrating books (thank you for a copy Shirley) and creating beautiful items such as dream catchers (which requires amazing dexterity). I was moved by their stories, their openness, their generosity, and wonderful sense of humour. In Calgary I also purchased Anne Wilson Schaef's "Native Wisdom for White Minds - Daily Reflections Inspired by the Native Peoples of the World". Anne explained that her book, which follows the days of the calendar year, was a collaborative effort created by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Anne uses the phrase "white mind" in response to the experiences she encountered in her "travels throughout the world among Native Peoples". She describes "White minds" as those minds that tend to come from a more "Western society or Western culture". She describes white minds as seeing "nature as a force to be tamed" and seeing people more or less as objects that need to be controlled, with little or no regard for those individuals future. I found Anne's collection to be a wealth of knowledge, and inclusive of so many Indigenous peoples. It offers quotes from Indigenous North Americans, Aboriginals, Maori Elders, Africans, and Spiritual Leaders, Hawaiians and Samoans and more; and she compliments each quotes with her own insights. If you are looking for great read that captures deep insights in short passages, please look up her book. What does reconciliation mean? Oxford Dictionary- The restoration of friendly relations. I found that as I learned more about Indigenous ways of life, I wanted to learn even more. I am adding some news and resources here for your consideration in hopes that reconciliation is enhanced as our knowledge is deepen. Reading and participation in continuing education and performances has always helped me gain a greater understanding of this amazing world. I saw Susan Aglukark in concert - Highly recommended. I see now that her creativity has spread to children's books. https://www.cbc.ca/books/20-canadian-books-for-kids-and-teens-to-read-for-national-indigenous-history-month-1.5597339 I participated in a webinar sponsored by Deyen - An invitation to transform. I learned about the artistry of Bridget George. Beautiful! https://bridgetgeorge.com https://deyen.ca/courses/canadian-history-through-the-lens-of-indigenous-women way̓ lim̓lm̓t thank you

This past year's National Volunteer Week was - The Value of One, The Power of Many . As many communities hear they can start opening their doors, let's reflect on the acts of kindness that millions even billions of people are sharing around the world and the many acts that are a direct response to helping people manage their physical and mental health during this pandemic. Volunteering offers us a different kind of wealth. The word wealth, comes from the old English word - "weal" which meant - welfare and wellbeing. Prior to the use of the word "weal" was the word "wel" which meant - good fortune. During this pandemic, we could all use a little more well being and good fortune... volunteering is something we need. Many people have continued to volunteer on the front lines; however, during the pandemic many have felt reluctant to volunteer as it does typically place us in proximity to others. Given volunteering is one of those opportunities to help others while energizing ourselves, I sat down and thought about 3 ways people do volunteer their time, energy, and passion, without placing themselves in proximity to others. Loving Kindness - An ancient practice that we can practice with ease daily. Remember a time when you felt a deep heartfelt sense of love from someone. Focus on that memory, feel that feeling and then send that feeling to others... to your family, your friends, and then wider to your community, our nation and the world. Reaching further out with your mind and sending that feeling, that sensation, of love to others. What a gift to receive and to give. Check out best selling American Author- Sharon Salzberg for more information https://mindfulnessexercises.com/street-lovingkindness/ A shared smile - The pandemic has literally masked the smiles off of our faces. One antidote, to help us share the energy of our smile is to wear a mask that has a window to our smile. A study in Experimental Psychology shows that just moving our face into a smile, creates positive emotions for us and elevates our mood, even if we are faking a smile. So we can fake our way to a better mood and spread that positive energy- volunteering our time and energy, with a smile. https://bestlifeonline.com/smiling-health-benefits/ Advocacy for a cause - We've heard that persons with disabilities are especially hard hit during this pandemic, with forced isolation, challenges reading lips if you are deaf or hard of hearing, challenges for those who are visually impaired who use touch to navigate their surrounding, potentially touching contaminated surfaces. Volunteering your time to send emails or letters to governments and businesses, to promote the use of masks with clear windows, to increase funding for computers for those who are isolated and don't have a computer, and educating others on the benefits of automatic doors, taps, soap and paper dispensers is an excellent way to volunteer. https://inclusionbc.org/programs-services/ We can volunteer without being hands on and these acts of volunteering can have a huge impact. If you are up for volunteering but still not sure how "out there" you want to be, here are 3 ways to add the essence of volunteering to your day, while brightening the days and lives of others, during this pandemic. Wishing you a great big smile, from a heart filled with loving kindness, that is determined to help you with a worthy cause!

I just participated in ConnecTra Society's Okanagan Virtual Roadshow - where Vancouver's Adapted Music Society (VAMS) presented it's documentary - The Strong Sessions . They featured a quote that was tremendous ~ "Disability is not a barrier to creativity". I think this documentary demonstrates inclusion, creativity, beauty, barrier free accessibility and more. The documentary introduces you to VAMS, cofounded in 1988 by Sam Sullivan ( former Mayor of Vancouver) and Dave Symington. The documentary shares with you VAMS roots and their artists, and showcases how the group meets and jams and creates in a heritage building that is clearly accessible. There studio was featured; welcomes in bright sunlight and has open spaces that offer energy for the singers, songwriters, musicians, and editors. I hope you have a chance to stop with your bowl of popcorn or your favourite munchie and check out The Strong Sessions! https://vams.org/videos Their website features bios on the artists; check it out and enjoy! https://vams.org/artists

BC Housing is there to help eligible individuals and households by providing financial assistance to make your home safer and help you function with greater ease and independence. BC Housing wants to help you age in place. The Rebate for Accessible Home Adaptation program is available to those people with permanent disabilities or those who have lost functional abilities. Certain new adaptations require an Occupational Therapist (OT) Assessment to be completed as part of your application. Design 4 Accessibility can help you by assessing your home, either in person (adhering to Covid-19 precautions) or virtually if need be. RAHA is set up to provide funds to a maximum ($17,500 per lifetime) to install items and equipment such as: easy to use door levers, replacing round door handles that are hard to grip. program to keep you at home, safely grab bars (up to three) in the bathroom so that you can hold on with a firm grip while stepping in and out of your bathtub/shower, or reaching down to wash your feet, or sitting right down into the tub and strategically placed for you to grab onto to pull yourself out of the tub a higher toilet to ease the strain on your knees when you are moving from standing to sitting and then getting up. installation of multi-cue fire/carbon monoxide alarms to help you better see and simultaneously hear the alarm - this way you know for sure you are at risk. installation of drawer glides that help you more effortlessly pull out those drawers and reducing the needed reach to obtain those items stored ( especially heavy items!) Installation of non- slip flooring which is especially important in those areas of the house where water and other juicy or squishable matter can send you into a trip or slip. There is an "other" category, were the OT can inform BC Housing of additional recommended adaptations. I would include a rationale that indicates how the adaptation will provide you with additional opportunities for independence and safety, e.g., changing lighting. These other recommended adaptations are based on approval by BC Housing. If you have questions let me know.

A friend of mine Sandy walked into the Safeway at 4th and Vine in Vancouver and was immediately taken with the low lighting and a gentle hush in the air. Sandy had landed at the Safeway in the midst of their sensory relief shopping experience, an hour of lights low and sound turned down on Thursday afternoon. The overhead harsh lights had been dimmed, there were no overhead announcements, and the music was turned down a notch or too. It had the feel of a library, as if there was respect for those reading and concentrating on the labels. Shopping was peaceful. Picture yourself in need of a few important items, heading into an everyday kinda Safeway : with your fatigued child who has sensory processing challenges, see yourself walking into those bright lights with them after they have spent a day immersed in intense and overwhelming study at school. with your aging parent, who is using a hearing aid (which picks up all the sounds of the surrounding area) and who is experiencing signs of mild cognitive impairment especially when feeling overwhelmed, and you are trying to share a conversation about the ingredients they need for a week of nutritious meals, with your own splitting tension headache that has been with your every step over the past week, i.e. pain hugging your skull, eyes lowered under the strain, walking into Safeway to get ginger ale to ward off the rising nausea. If you knew you could immerse yourself in a quiet more comfortable shopping environment, that recognized the challenges due to sensory overstimulation and recognized the benefits of low lights and low sounds, wouldn't you want to try and target that time to shop under these circumstances? I spoke with the Manager of that Safeway complimenting them on their sensitivity and leadership. She informed me that their sensory relief hour benefits her staff as well. The hour gives them a sensory break from the regular bright lights and buzzing loud activity filled room, that is filled with music and announcements. Our nervous systems have been overloaded for years and we keep requiring it to be more tolerant and flexible. For some there is less room for flexibility. We all have a breaking point but some of us are canaries in the coal mine (Canaries were used as they were super sensitive and could detect life threatening carbon monoxide in mines; reportedly British Legislation in 1986 ordered miners to switch to electronic detection and ~ 200 canaries were freed from duty over the following year). We can all be sensitive or overwhelmed at times, but for some sensory processing, i.e. taking in information through the senses, can be very challenging, and they are the first to alert others that too much is too much. Children, teens, and adults who suffer from sensory processing challenges have a need for calmer quieters spaces and this sensory sensitive hour has proven its weight in yellow gold according to the 4th and Vine Manager. This sensory hour has also proven beneficial for employees which means we could all benefit. I hope that more stores who are leaders start to embrace this exciting change, this golden opportunity to create a more enjoyable shopping experience. If you want to learn about stores that support sensory relief hours see - https://www.autismbc.ca/blog/sensory-friendly-shopping-time/ If you want to introduce sensory relief hour in your local store, let them know. Stores are here to serve you and meet your needs; when they know what you need they are often more than happy to make positive changes. Yes this photo is fuzzy - it indicates that something is wrong and your senses have picked up on it! Happy National AccessAbility Week - where we celebrate the accomplishments of persons with disabilities.

From Unsplash - Free download. I love watching credits of a film and imagining all the expertise buzzing around to create films. When the credits close that is curtain down for me. I watched "A Call to Spy" , (a historical drama from 2019) on Netflix the other day and want to share that in the credits I noted "Disability Inclusion Consultants ~ Respectability". The movie featured many courageous characters, one of which was a disabled American woman named Virginia Hall who became a spy for the UK's Special Operations Executive
( aka SOE) during WWII. Virginia had lost part of her leg in a hunting accident and she wanted to be a diplomat. As life typically unfolds, her life took place while she was making other plans; at least initially. She used a prosthetic limb and given the portrayal of her in some of her endeavours, it appears that she was very able. For a great review ~ https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-call-to-spy-movie-review-2020 https://www.respectability.org/hollywood-inclusion/ Parts of Hollywood are working to create a true reflection of our disabled population in our films. It appears there is more work to be done. National AccessAbility Week (NAAW) starting May 30th, 2021, is about celebrating the work and fine achievements of persons with disabilities. NAAW is great time to delve more deeply into the world of film that features persons with disabilities or are created by persons with disabilities. Currently at Rotary Centre for the Arts ~ Toronto's ReelAbilities Films Festival ( ReelAbilities is International - starting in the USA and is the largest showcasing of films about persons with disabilities or by persons with disabilities). Check it out! https://reelabilities.org/toronto/ Right now with RCA if funds are tight, you can choose the fee you are able to fund, starting with $0.00 and up. The films are showcased until May 31, 2021. https://rotarycentreforthearts.com/news/post/35/RCA_ReelAbilities_Film_Festival_Toronto/ Thank you Rotary Centre for the Arts. Back to Hollywood ~ Many vocal actors want to create a more diverse casting crew that reflects our true population of persons with disabilities. In 2020 stats demonstrated that only 3.5 % of TV series actors featured are disabled. ( Stats vary but it in the USA reportedly - 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 people are considered disabled). Whenever possible, take a look at some of the films that feature persons with disabilities created with actors who are disabled, as many films are featuring persons with disabilities by actors who are not disabled. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-56661259#:~:text=More%20than%2080%20actors%20and,towards%20disabled%20talent%20in%20Hollywood.&text=A%20recent%20report%20found%20that,characters%20were%20disabled%20in%202020. Wishing you a bowl of popcorn (or chips if you are more inclined), a fuzzy blanket, a great film featuring persons with disabilities, and time to reflect after to films. Share news of great films with others so we can all learn more about what is actually happening out there in the film world. Celebrate National AccessAbility Week , in any way you can.

How can we celebrate NAAW at this time? We would like to celebrate the achievements and lives of persons with disabilities; however, we have some concerns about "getting together". This pandemic has challenged us and opened our eyes, ears, and hearts to the lives of others. Many of us would love to celebrate in person as we have learned more about the day to day challenges persons with disabilities face over the past 15 months. We have also learned about how persons with disabilities have been impacted even further by pandemic social isolation, challenges with communication (e.g. for those with hearing impairments who are missing out on the ability to lip read), and challenges with navigation (e.g. for those with visual impairments needing to touch surfaces to help locate one's bearings in the outside world). How can we celebrate persons with disabilities? By hands free volunteering! Think back to a time when you volunteered your time and attention, and made a difference, in your life and someone else's. You felt good... even great about what you accomplished! Wouldn't it be great to kindly send that positive uplifting feeling of goodness to others in a hands free fashion; sending a different kind of wealth (the word wealth comes from the old english word - WEAL which meant - welfare and wellbeing). Volunteering is a different kind the currency, i.e., an exchange of goodness and service. During this pandemic we could all use a little more wealth and good fortune, especially those particularly hard hit during this pandemic. Some physical or mental health disabilities affect us in a temporary fashion ( e.g. a broken ankle, or elevated anxiety after an car accident) and some disabilities are permanent. Disability in some form or another will touch all of us in our lifetimes. Weeks ago I dropped off bottles at Habitat for Humanity's bottle drive and noted the fatigued eyes of the handlers over their masks. I was grateful for their work and wondered how many people would love to be volunteering if they were a little less worried about volunteering on a front line, at this time. I wondered if there were other ways we could volunteer and celebrate National AccessAbility Week. Three non- touch socially distanced and powerfully positive activities came to mind: A loving kindness practice that includes focused attention on self ( we all have had our moments of struggle) and others, e.g. persons with disabilities. The practice of loving kindness in traditional Buddhism is acting with compassion towards all sentient beings ( i.e., a creature that can feel pain and suffer). This practice varies, so please do some research. I like to take a quiet moment or two and sit, and conjure up positive feelings from positive memories I have had through an exchange with others. I focus and feel that positive feeling grow in my heart, feel it building and gaining momentum, and then I picture sending it first to myself (some days my inner critic leaves me weary) and then to my loved ones in my family, then my community, my city, nation, and the globe. It's a great feeling to know that you are helping others without leaving your quiet space. A shared smile from behind the mask , given to persons in general - remember some disabilities are invisible! We are suckers for a smile. It is not surprising that Amazon has a wonderful convex line in their logo, signifying the bridge between A to Z. Their deliveries leaves a smile! Advocacy - That is writing your thoughts down and sending them to some organization, government agency, and/ or someone influential, who is a changemaker, citing concerns you have about barriers you see in our built environment for persons with disabilities. Barriers come in many forms. Physical barriers - e.g. 1 step or stairs and no ramp to get into a business, the entrance for persons with disabilities is through the back door (not a lie, still happens- I saw a sign in the North Okanagan, accessible entrance at the back. I followed the sign and went down a dark side lane and around the back of the 3 story building to find it. I thought to myself, how many of us would agree to walk greater than 100 ft down a dark side lane to access a building? ). Barriers in communication - e.g. no hearing loops in theatres (for those with hearing impairments), no alt text on websites ( for those with visual impairments), or small or decorative fonts that are hard to read, and signs that you have to bend down to read, to get the emergency contact # if you see a bear! I saw such a sign in our local greenway park. You get the idea. A place to start for your nibble fingers - https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/about-the-bc-government/accessibility Let's come together in spirit, to acknowledge and celebrate the accomplishments of persons with disabilities, during our annual National AccessAbility week starting the last Sunday of the month of May! Volunteer positive and loving thoughts over the air miles from the comfort of your own home and meditation practice, share a warm smile and hello from behind your mask (ideally a mask that has a clear window so people can read your lips), and put your fingertips to the keypad to let influencers like yourself, know your concerns regarding the barriers you have discovered in your community, that can affect an individual and at times, the whole family. Thanks ! EnJOY the week!

In 2007 while traveling home from work at the Penticton Regional Hospital, my driver's side front wheel was slammed into by a young lady who was driving while on her cell phone. She was cutting across 97 C. Within seconds I was T Boned, then off the highway and stopping only when hitting an mound of earth. I spent 3 days at KGH ( including Valentine's day) and received the most amazing care from all the healthcare providers who tended to me. I was in the hallway or shower room for almost half the time and anywhere I was throughout my stay, I was cared for in a most kind and respectful way. We are so fortunate to have such expertise provided to us when we are in need. We have an amazing group of women and men who have worked for years to develop expertise that provides us with exceptional care and medical attention. This is the week to celebrate our nurses; let's think of ways to support them. We can volunteer our energy and time to acknowledge and thank them this week and at all times. Energy - Take the time to read up on or listen to the news about how they are doing, how they are managing in this time of ongoing traumatizing events, due to Covid- 19. Share these stories with others, so that more and more people are aware that our nurses are either in or at risk of a crisis. https://www.castanet.net/news/Kamloops/324465/Kamloops-healthcare-workers-feeling-overwhelmed-unsupported-and-abandoned-union-says-as-COVID-19-fight-continues Time - Knowing how our nurses are managing during this pandemic, take the time to write to our health authorities and government(s) about how we want our nurses to feel more supported, valued, and appreciated. Ask governments, BCNU ( British Columbia Nurses Union) and the health authorities what can we do to help them? https://www.bcnu.org/news-and-events/campaigns-and-initiatives/current-campaigns/support-bc-nurses We need to show them we care. They need our help too. Thank you to all of our Nurses across this nation!!! We are in awe of what you accomplish on our behalf. Thank you, Merci, way̓ lim̓lm̓t (thank you)

It makes sense to me that April is anti-stress month. Why? We can get outside, use our dormant senses of smell and basque in the richness of beautiful feathery songs or glowing buds and blossoms. Nature is the definition of anti-stress for many. Unfortunately for the rest, they have not yet learned to connect with the calming and energizing nature of a divine spring day. Many of us are living upwards of 90 % of our time indoors and this statistic is from 2009. The pandemic and encouragement to remain at home for work and play, has only upped that statistic. If nature is a healer, and there is all kinds of evidence to that effect, then nature is a path to anti-stress. Dressed for the occasion, sunglasses and sunscreen in tow, warmer winds in our faces, ears fixed on the waves crashing onto our beautiful shores, eyes open to the bluer sky than we have seen in months, and the sweet scent of fresh blossoms inhaled deeply into our lungs... is free of charge. We all have different abilities when it comes to using our senses. We all can use our senses, as an anti-stress remedy... free of charge. If you are working from home, take a moment or two on your breaks to dip your face into the sunshine, inhale deep into your lungs the scent of mornings (once, twice, three times), focus your gaze on the distanced, perhaps the formation of clouds, listen with eyes open or shut for the sweet sounds of feathered friends. This is mind-full ness of nature. This is grounding oneself in the restorative powers of nature; the healing powers of nature. When renewed and ready, you will head back into your home office and manage your productivity with greater calm and renewed energy. Nature, the antidote to stress!

I grew up swimming and fishing each summer in Lake Winnipeg, walking through a magnificent birch tree grove, observing thousands of tadpoles in the wet ditch that surrounded our cottage and counting amazing monarch butterflies. Things have changed. Swimming is hit or miss given the degree of green algae, the white birch grove has been replaced with cottages, the ditches are no longer wet ( haven't seen a tadpole in years) and the monarchs I can count on 1 hand. Where did these glorious moments go? What is it that our 10 years old kids are saying? "That was then, this is now." We celebrate Earth Hour as a global community, once a year and we love it. How about adding one more hour a year on Earth Day? Or ... if not able tonight, add one Earth Hour every solstice, or once a month. Please join me and many, who remember those days and feel the pain of knowing that our younger generations are not so fortunate. Every Earth Hour we create, we are actively contributing to a recovery, repair, and replenishing plan for our loved ones and for coming generations on this glorious Mother Earth. EnJoy! https://jourdelaterre.org/Visuel/kit_media_campagne_2021_canada_EN.pdf

You may be sitting up in bed in the middle of the night feeling alone, but are you alone? Stats show that many people are up in the middle of the night. If you can imagine all these others going through the same challenge you are at night, you may not feel so alone. In 2019 Psychiatrist Dr. Ram Randhawa, of the University of British Columbia's Sleep Disorders Program, said approximately 30 percent of Canadians are struggling with sleep, i.e., getting into sleep or staying asleep throughout the night. This statistic was pre-Covid 19. We know Covid - 19 has significantly increased our experience with anxiety and depressed mood. Worrying and mind spinning about sleep alone is enough to disrupt sleep. What can we do to improve our sleep? We need to; sleep is how we create our own healing. Dr. Cary Brown, Professor at the University of Alberta, Occupational Therapist / PhD in Primary Care/Medical Sociology from the University of Liverpool in the UK has some answers ; yellow glasses and shiatsu. Yellow Glasses - There is a lot of information out there about sleep, and it is best read during the day, preferably hours away from sleep, especially if you are using your tablet, phone or laptop. If you are reading on a screen in the evening that is emitting a blue light you are waking yourself up, and readying yourself for morning activity. https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/an-international-problem-how-to-solve-your-pandemic-related-sleep-issues-1.5359150 Shiatsu - https://cbotlabs.wixsite.com/handselfshiatsu Wishing you a rest - Full night.

Today we celebrate World Braille Day! We are grateful to French educator Louis Braille, whose creativity brought to light the written word and numbers for persons who are blind or visually impaired. Louis invented what we call “Braille” and January 4th commemorates Louis’s birthday. Louis Braille was innovative creating a series of raised dots in specific patterns, to represent the alphabet and numbers. Louis’s inspiration was based on the work of Charles Barbier de la Serre, of the French Army in the late 18th century, who created a military code that was tactile, which meant the messages could be felt by a finger and thus read at night. “Ecriture Nocturne” also known as “Night Writing”, could be interpreted without the need for light and created safety. Braille has welcomed those who are blind or visually impaired to a different life and opportunities for education, communication, and freedom of expression and opinion. By running one’s fingers over the varied arrangement of 1-6 dots, expression, both given and received, becomes the foundation of greater sharing and equality. Braille can be created by a pointed stylus, a Braille Slate, and a braille writer which is similar to the typewriter. Braille displays provide people with information that is on a computer screen. Braille displays can have been 40-80 characters. Forty-character displays can be used for most jobs. Where do we see Braille in our lives? If you were to have your eyes closed and stepped onto an elevator that has access to many floors, and that elevator moves more quickly than you can count, how would you know what floor you are on, if there were no verbal messages indicating the floor? Thankfully Braille is used on many elevators; it is located beside the floor number. Next time you are on an elevator check for Braille. In order to ensure equality for all, public buildings, that would be used equally by persons who are blind or visually impaired, often do not have Braille. Will you take a moment to imagine what it would be like to navigate outside your home, where there are no indications or signs that can tell you where you are and where you need to go. Let’s take World Braille Day and think about Braille. Let’s take this year 2021, where we are conscious of how we are “all in this life together” and ask, discuss, request, and require that Braille be more visible, in our public buildings, on our trails, and in our playgrounds and parks. In 2021 and on, let’s require that Braille show up in our everyday lives.