The Author? I grew up in Southern Ontario, but my heart found a home on the East Coast of Canada, where I graduated with a B.A. in Literature from Canada’s smallest university.  Still, roots pulled me home to Ontario and currently, I’m traipsing through Hamilton, discovering its devastating beauty and building community with my neighbours.  I work at one of four L’arche homes in Hamilton, and I can’t imagine anything better.  I will try just about anything once, from sky-diving to eating pickled octopus.  I am a big fan of being outside, making music and eating sushi.  I am striving to live mindfully, peacefully and justly in all that I do.

Why a Blog? This blog began as a series of emails that I was writing to a group of friends and relatives in the summer of 2009.  There are some back-dated posts from these emails and an older blog that I abandoned a few years ago, which are available here.  I blog because I find writing therapeutic, and I find it a good way to communicate ideas with others.  Hope and peace  are characteristics that must be cultivated, like a garden, and writing is one expression of that.

The Content? Community, justice, story, authenticity, journey, beauty, peace, hope.  These are all words that I hear used frequently.  I have been part of a few groups to whom these concepts are central but the words lack simple definition, or their definitions fail to express the complexity of the concepts.  Through this blog, I try to share my thoughts on the meaning of these words.  And as a philosophy turned literature major, I do this best through writing and discussion.

Why “One Deep Breath”? To be honest, it’s actually a phrase I stole from my oldest brother when I began my first blog many years ago.  I kept it when I transitioned to this blog because I think it encompasses the idea of experiencing one moment at a time, always remembering to breathe deeply and to live fully.