A Favorite Decade and Lessons Learned

Last week I decided to participate in my friend Rain's

Rain's Thursday's Art Date for the first time.

I'm going to take part as often as I can,

and thank goodness the deadline extends well into Friday,

because it's well into Friday.

This week's prompt is Your Favorite Decade.

Can you pick a favorite decade?

My favorite is the 2020s.

Yes, pandemic and everything that goes with it.

I attribute this to Watson Kirkconnell.

I'm willing to bet that you're thinking

Watson Kirkconnell???

Maybe not my friend Debra at She Who Seeks, 

because Kirkconnell is a memorable and noteworthy Manitoban.

Manitoba Historical Society

I met Kirkconnell sometime during my year as a grade eight student

at Wolfville High School in 1963-1964.

My parents had returned to their alma mater in the fall of 1963

to earn their education degrees, and Kirkconnell was the President of Acadia University.

Wolfville High School's Basketball Team

(I'm in the upper left)

My parents let me attend numerous university functions,

often on my own and even at night. 

At one of them I met Dr. Kirkconnell, likely when Teresa Stratas,

a famous Canadian-born operatic soprano, performed at Acadia that year.

Both Dr. Kirkconnell and Teresa Stratas were appointed Officers in the Order of Canada,

two of 7,212 people so honored (as of January, 2020).

Teresa Stratas

pappaspost

 

Watson Kirkconnell attended our Baptist church as well,

and I would often see him from my perch in the choir loft.

How about this for an illustrious career?

Kirkconnell was professor of English at Wesley College in Winnipeg from 1922 to 1930 

and head of the classics department there from 1930 to 1940.

He led the federal government’s “Nationalities Branch"

(which became the Citizenship Bureau) during the Second World War.

He headed the Humanities Research Council in 1943 and the Baptist Federation of Canada in 1944.

After a period at McMaster University, 

he was President of Acadia University from 1948 to 1964.

He wrote 40 books, 130 brochures, and 600 articles, as well as innumerable translations

from some of the 50 languages with which he was familiar.

And he was especially important for translating Ukrainian and Icelandic poets into English.  All information from Manitoba Historical Society

Watson Kirkconnell certainly made an impression on me,

so much so that I went to his 80th birthday celebration at Acadia in 1975.

On this occasion he said something I've never forgotten,

and it's the thing I remember him most for.

He said that every decade he lived was better than the one before

and that he was looking forward to his eighties as the best decade yet.

I thought at the time, in my mid-twenties, that that was how I wanted to live my life.

I wanted every decade I lived to be the best one yet.

Now I'm in my seventies, and I love this challenging decade.

By the time it's over, I'm sure it will be my best one yet.

I now recognize that each day is precious, because it could be my last.

I am not burdening myself with the drive to live each day as if it were my last.

That's exhausting and too much pressure.

Instead I'm savoring each day and appreciating what it gives me, good and bad.

Life has taught me some lessons over the decades, 

and these lessons fill my heart and bring me peace:

Being born is an improbable and miraculous gift.

Just by being born, I've won the biggest lottery ever.

Joining the Human Story

Myrtle Louise MacBeath

with her parents, Sara and Don MacBeath

Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada  March 1950

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

Life is motion.

I wish this weren't true, but it is.  You have to keep moving physically, even when it's hard and hurts.  Whatever your physical condition, do something, move forward, and improve.

Never stop pursuing your dreams!

As long as you are alive, you are worthy of achieving your dreams, big or small.

Walk in another's shoes before you judge.

You never know what someone is going through.  Grant people empathy, compassion,

and understanding, especially if they're grumpy or rude.  Try not to judge.

You get out of life what you put into it.

My father's adage was "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well."

This was not the best advice to a daughter who is a perfectionist, but he meant well.

I learned early on in courses that had poor teachers or professors

that what I got out of a course depended on what I put into it.

I've applied that lesson to many important things in my life.

Never stop learning!
We are privileged to live at a time when the world's knowledge is literally at our fingers,
and the volume of knowledge is exploding!
Curiosity, imagination, and chasing your passions enrich all phases of life.

My Mother
who taught me to read and to never stop learning.
Acadia University, Wolfville. Nova Scotia, Canada
Circa 1947
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Be generous!

My father always said, "If you can't afford the tip, you can't afford the restaurant."  

This is important throughout life, not just in restaurants.  

Be generous with tips, with charities, with little kids selling lemonade,

with firefighters holding out boots, with compliments, and with appreciation.

Forgiveness is good for the soul.

Forgive others for things they have done to you, and give forgiveness to those

who ask it of you.  Forgiveness is a powerful force and soothes your soul.

Smile, even when you don't feel like it.

Smiles are free and easy. They can lift another's spirits and your own,

so spread them around, to the little kindie with bows on her shoes,

to the hot and tired groundskeeper,

and to the invisible and overlooked elderly and disabled.

Value the work of others.

There is dignity and worth in every job, so value the contributions of everyone.

It's not the size of a paycheck that matters,

but rather contributing to the functioning and wellbeing of our society.

My Favorite Photo of My Father
who taught me the values of hard work and the dignity and value of all work.
St Peter's Bay, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Circa 1929
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Kindness is my favorite word.

Another adage of my father was, "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar." 

I've translated that into treating others with kindness, as I would like to be treated.

Be gentle and forgiving to yourself.

None of us is perfect.  We all make mistakes.  Most of the time we do the best we can.

So forgive yourself and treat yourself with the understanding

and compassion you would give others.

Laugh often and loudly.

Laughter makes just about everything better,

so find things that make you laugh and laugh freely.

Family is everything.

However you define "family," love each other, stand up for each other,

and don't let stupid things push you apart.

If you're lucky enough to have brothers and/or sisters,

love them and treasure them for they will be a constant throughout your life.

First Photo Together
Donnie, Barb, Me (Louise) with Bertie, and Roy with Gretchen
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
April 1959
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Most Recent Photo Together
Barb, Bertie, Roy, Me (Louise), and Donnie
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
August 7, 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Don't be a gingerbread man.

It's easy to be a runner, to run from love, or challenges,

or confrontation, or opportunities.

Courage is the wiser course.  

See the humanity in those who are different from you.

People in our world are hurting, and the fear and hate of those

who appear different are making things worse.

We are one species, Homo sapiens.

We have far more in common that the superficial variations we see among us. 

Love is the greatest gift of all, and it comes in many forms,

from the soothing touch of a mother's hand,

to the rambunctious lick of a favorite dog, to the look in a lover's eyes.

I have been blessed with love throughout my life,

and my greatest love of all is my husband Terry.

Terry and I Enjoying Life

Vegas, Nevada, USA

April 4, 2021

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

Thursday Art Date?

My main form of creativity is writing, and today I'm sharing writing.

I hope all is well with each of you!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue



On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

14Ks