The beggar speaks of the cruelty of fate, if not the cruelty of people, as well as our own good fortune. To kick a beggar is not simply an act of contempt but a denial of our own fear and shame that "there by the grace of God go you and I". Shame, it is said, is a destructive force that cripples a person. We know, on human terms, that cruelty and contempt are destructive but in the absence of support for righteousness we do what is easiest: we lie ... to ourselves. Each layer of The Crust of Denial is added to tell ourselves we are better people; to shield ourselves from the needless pains of consciousness in a culture of invidiousness that sacrifices sharing to self-promotion, enlightenment to achievement, self-realization to self-actualization. I'm okay, you're okay (only really, I'm better).

September 8, 2006  Toronto
Taking a chance is the simple act of hoping to be lucky. Pushing your luck means taking another, and another, chance that your luck will continue when by all reason it really shouldn't. When you take a chance you are normally willing to accept the consequences. When you push your luck the cost of failure may increase. Tempting Fate is another thing altogether. Tempting Fate is a like pushing your luck but with more chance, added by telling yourself that you can't fail; not simply that you are going to bet on having good luck but thinking bad luck won't come your way. Oh I'm not going to get a parking ticket today. It's as if you are daring the world to test your luck. If you go as far as telling others you won't fail then those would be the "famous last words". Tempting Fate is perhaps the bravest but it depends on how lucky you really are, or the most foolhardy if it's just how lucky you think you are. Take a chance by all means; run that red light. Even push your luck if your feeling lucky; the lights are on your side. But Tempting Fate is just bad judgement, an accident waiting to happen.

August 12, 2006  Thunder Bay
What does it mean to be "in the driver's seat"? The car is leased from the only dealer in town, who conveniently also owns the only petrol station in town, and the terms of the lease state specifically that the vehicle is not to be driven off-road. Official roadways, those that are maintained by the government, are the only terrain over which a vehicle can be insured against potential damage or loss. Hey, the dealer doesn't make the rules. There may be many accidents, and certainly proportionally more fatalities, on these officially recognized roads. There are even the occassional hit-and-runs of pedestrians and cyclists, neither of which class of road user is welcome on the roadway on account of their slow pace of progress in reaching their destination. Certainly neither the roads department nor the leasor of vehicles is interested in seeing the road shared by all manner of travellers taking their respective journeys at their own pace. There is one speed on the road and even if it provides poor gas mileage you either keep the pace or get off the road. Keep on truckin.

July 21, 2006  Pikangikum
Even just working on contracts that use government funding, but never actually having worked for the government, i think i now know what it means to work for government: toiling away in obscurity for someone who doesn't appreciate the effort but expects it nonetheless. Working within a hierarchy in which you have no decision-making powers except those you need to protect yourself from stepping on others' feet and offending those above you. And if you forget your position for a moment to express your frustration or doubt you are quickly reminded that not only are you doing all this for the greater good but it is not your place to question the greater good and those who are responsible for ensuring it -- not you of course because every credit for your work will be appropriated by a superior who cares little or nothing about what it took to get there. Don't worry, be happy.