Wednesday, April 7, 2010

CANARY CARAVAN CARNIVAL ... the excitement builds

MAY, 2010 is MCS Awareness Month on The Planet and an excellent time for Canaries to spread the word about Multiple Chemical Sensitivites.  Events and activities are in the works, and here at VARDOFORTWO we are planing to gather and celebrate the grand and the mini-step successes of a life lived well.  For three days--FRIDAY, May 14, SATURDAY, May 15 and SUNDAY, May 16, bloggers will circle the wagons and bring their TOOLS, ALLIES and PROSE to the first three ring circus of hope, innovation and inspiration for those of us who live, thrive and learn from the experiences of Multiple Chemical Sensitivities.

I'm so excited by the wonderful positive response I'm getting from the 'ohana of canaries who want to be part of the whoopa!  So far these friends are adding their ika (energy) to the excitement:

Mary and Keith who author Mary and Keith's Excellent Adventure!
Susie Collins from The Canary Report
Liberty from Moving Beyond MCS
Julie Genser from Planet Thrive

I have emails of invitation ready to send to other MCS friends, and allies of MCSers who bring insight, joy and positive energy to the Canary Caravan Carnival.  Since my last post about the Carnival, my brain has been storming (in a good way!) with topics for our three ring circus and storytelling jamboree.  So far, it looks like these are the three basic categories for blog posts/articles/activities.  Like a good TAP DANCE, we'll fill the Canary Caravan Carnival with our brands of cavorting.

The three rings or circles at the Canary Caravan Carnival of storytelling and sharings will offer:
Tfor Tools, totems and tangents

Toot your hoot with the tools that make your life with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities a life-in-progress.  Tell your stories about the totems -- images, charms and sign-posts that tether you to your strength and serve as affirmation to the unique being you are.  Tangents are the unexpected and often unplanned paths or off-shoots of a life planned; places and experiences that spontaneously happen because we are human and because MCS might have had something to add to the old 'normal.'

Are there tools, totems and tangents that make a difference in your everyday, or perhaps showed up at the perfect time along the way?

A for Allies, angels and angles

We are in this space ship together!  No doubt, that there are times in each of our individual lives where we are lonely, and more often than we'd care to believe, MCS can become an isolating reality.  Through the vessel of cyberspace -- the internet and blogging, the connection with Allies we could not have imagined become part of our net of belonging.  Personal and collective angels come into our lives and a new and unplanned angle appears as many of us connect to the vast universe, the stairway to the nurturing celestial bodies or the sound of nature that persists inspite of the odds.

Share the allies, angels and unsuspecting angles that support you in your journey. 

Pfor Prose, poems and prayers

Canaries, those of us who have included all manner of masks to shield or filter the toxic effects of others' choices also find creative expressions to make sense of life with change.  The mask can also be an incredibly vibrant and beautiful second-skin or other face that says something grand/potent/humorous/gut-wrenching about our experiences at the moment.  Story in prose, poems and prayers have long been a way for the human being to connect and communicate with the god/goddess/higher power within. 

The Canary Caravan Carnival offers a circle for the stories that you have found, written or created to connect with that power that is ever present. 

If you would like to contribute and make a submission to the Carnival, please leave a comment in the Comments or email me with your idea/submission:  ssvardo@gmail.com  Let me know which category you'd like to be apart of, too.

More details and a deadline for submissions will be posted as the days and nights roll.  There's still plenty of time to join in, so please feel welcome to add your uniqueness to the activities.  Help me fill in the white space, and be unafraid to color outside the lines (ahhh...there are no lines!)

Let our canary roars be heard!


Aloha,
Mokihana

Clipart credits go to  http://www.designedtoat.com/  for all the graphics, save for the canaries

6 comments:

Joan Tucker said...

Moki, Thanks for invite. I will create a visualization exercise especially for you and your canaries.
I am currently allowing the swelling in my face to go down after a terrifying run in with some fish or shrimp last night. My very strong allergic reaction is not yet subsiding. Very scary and my asthma and allergies certainly makes me an ally to all of you MCS folks. Jan T

Mokihana Calizar said...

Oh no! Joan.

Thanks for joing in on the carnival. I know we'll love what you create as a visualize. Looking forward to it!

Take care ... allergic reactions are scary; yes, canaries know how scary they can be.

Thank you,
Mokihana

Liberty said...

awesome post Mokihana!
I love that you included those prompts - that helped me a lot (I had no clue what to contribute).
I think my contribution may be about a wonderful tangent that has happened due to MCS. I am not big on writing so the majority of the post will likely be images of art I've done entirely due to MCS forcing me to try new mediums (due to not tolerating my medium of choice).

Thanks for the inspiration!

I think I will also post on my creativity blog in brief about MCS to expose some fellow artists about MCS and raise awareness of the benefits of using safer art materials.

Mokihana Calizar said...

Libby!

You are a bright spark of being. Over the while that VardoForTwo has been part of the cyberworld you have been here to contribute and support. A year ago, two comments were on the blog ... one of them from you.

Your contributions to the Carnival sound exactly YOU. I'll keep everyone posted on the format for getting the content etc. etc. For now ... this is just perfect. Thank you.

Mokihana

Anonymous said...

Great idea!

I would love to contribute too. Not sure which category yet!

A hug for you,

Sandra

Mokihana Calizar said...

Aloha Sandra,
Welcome. Please consider the many ways to join in. Email me when you have an idea ... Thanks for wanting to circle the wagons with us.
Mokihana