Christmas 2007

Message from Toinette - your Community Leader

Today I am thinking of Paul and David whom we are going to welcome into Bethany ,our 3d home in the coming month or so. I am reflecting on my visit to them at South Western Regional Center. Something happens to me every time I go. Every time I go, I feel that my heart is softened, more open to real life, to something quite fundamental and deep. Their lives there are quite simple, and I come from a hardened world of shopping malls, driving fast on the 401, sophisticated mode of communications, gadgets, fast food and easy ways to spend money for hobbies and other likes often disconnected from reality, through  a screen. The world I leave behind presents itself as efficient, competitive and almost perfect. It is full of masks and walls which separate people. However I receive so much life when I spend time with David. He reveals something quite essential to me when I visit him. He reveals to me that I am slowly developing a relationship of acceptance and of trust with him, and that it is the gift he has to offer. He reveals to me my humanity. Often it is not so much in the doing that I meet David there, most of the time it is in the being present with, attentive to his laughter’s, tone of voice,  to his silence, to his look at me, to his needs. By slowing down to appreciate his needs, I become more aware of my own presence, my own body, and my own spirits. I am more in tune with who I am; I am more grounded. When I sit by his chair, I am moved by the vulnerability of his impaired body as well as by the beauty of his body “Temple of the Sprit”.  This calls me on a journey, to be sensitive to what I live myself, to be in tune with what he lives himself. Both of us are spiritual human beings on a journey, longing for a meaning to our lives. This meaning comes when I know that I can be in meaningful and respectful relationships with people who accept me for who I am, both vulnerable and strong. As I acknowledge my vulnerability, I become stronger.

When I look at David, I see a man of great courage, great sense of humour, a survivor in front of many adversities. At 74, he is a wise man who has touched many lives at the Center I am sure and who will touch many more. I am really excited to keep discovering his gifts, and to see his gifts become more and more available to himself and inspire many in his new home and community. I welcome David as a new teacher in our community. I pray that I can be a good and open student to the lessons he has to teach me, to teach us as he transitions to his home in Byron. I pray that many will discover the gift of who he is and be transformed by his gentle teaching. 

Thanks you for believing in our community, for believing that we are a sign, a place where David can teach us his life lesson. I pray that by supporting David’s mission you also discover or rediscover the gift and fruitfulness of your own life. Thanks for your on-going support through prayers, donations in goods and or money.

 May the blessings of the Christmas season be with you. Let us share the gift and the hope of our common humanity

 Peace and Joy 

Marie Antoinette Parisio
Community Leader

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