A fool’s errand. April fools.

A fool’s errand. April Fools.

Did you know that April is the perfect month to run a fool’s errand? The obvious April fool’s day demands a prank or two from each of us. But this feisty and dicey month can make fools of us, in all the days. A fool’s errand: that’s April Fools.

The term ‘a fool’s errand’ dates all the way back to the mid 16th century, where it was used to define a “sleeveless errand” [ John Heywood’s dictionary published in 1563].

You see? Sleeveless!

Remember that time you set out on a sunny warm April day, with your short sleeves, or even more optimistic sleeveless top, and the sudden April showers turned into a full on blizzard?

a fools errand walking in april freezing rain in Ontario — April Fools…drags on.

Yes, you and me both:

going out on a fool’s errand. I would like to say ‘only in Canada’ does this unpredictable weather shift happen, however, such weather events, as they are called now, span the entire world.

Let us band together. United, we can get through this month’s storms! With the ongoing capricious USA tariffs, our hasty national election at month’s end and the ever growing uncertainty of spring weather patterns, I dare say, this entire month shall be renamed a ‘fool’s errand’.

Together, we can get through it.
How?
I share with you a simple road map of coming together.

First, take a walk on the wild side, in your short sleeves if you dare. April 4th is the official ‘Walk to Work Day’. Truth be told, many of us live too far from work to walk there, but we can carpool and consider walking to a friend’s meet up or even walk to dinner after work.

APRIL FOOLS – ROAD MAP

You can make this holiday event work for your feet, your heart health and grow your community. On the heel’s of your extra walk is April 7th – World Health Day. Started by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1950, World Health Day marks the beginning of an international awareness campaign that brings to light one health issue each year.

2025 – A YEAR OF APRIL FOOLS

This year with so many changes, their 2025 mission appropriately focuses on healthy mothers and babies, acknowledging they are “the foundation of healthy families and communities, helping ensure hopeful futures for us all.” Supporting the health of mothers and children everywhere helps us all.

We can all start at home and work our way out into the community. And, that leads us to celebrating our great mother earth on Earth Day, April 22nd. Did you know this year marks the 25 year anniversary of Earth Day and is still to this day, the largest secular day of protest in the world? Indeed, this is a community worth growing each and every day.

“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way.” — William Blake

By participating in any of these community celebrations, you decidedly avoid running a fool’s errand and choose wise action instead. That’s something to be proud of on Earth Day.

Lastly, end of the month our fate is sealed on April 28th election day. Whether a fool or wise wo/man be, remains to be seen. Don’t fret. Vote. Decide and take action. Then, clear your head with a must visit to High Park. (plan here)

The most beautiful part of April is just around the corner. End of this month and well into May, the Sakura Cherry blossoms will be at their peak spring bloom. Your April journey concludes here. Find a bench near the blossoming trees and pat yourself on the back. You’ve made it through the April fool’s journey. Not ready for more adventures? Take a break, read here.

BAND TOGETHER

This April, let us get together with our family, friends, open hearts, on strolls in the park, at bbqs and picnics on the porch, in journeys exploring what our beautiful Canadian land has to offer and grow our community and spirit.

If we must run a ‘fool’s errand’, may it be one that is full of hope.

“Spring has its own secret and it’s called hope; hope for better days.” – Joyce Meyer

Written for: South Etobicoke News, APRIL 2025

March 1, 2025March 2, 2025

Lost and Found

Lost and found this spring.

Heavy clumps of melting snow plummeted from shingled roofs, on my walk along the slippery sidewalk. Nearby evergreens bowed wearily under the weight of their captive snow. Record snowfalls buried us knee deep this past February. But the big melt is coming and so is spring, I thought. Getting lost and found this spring is refreshing…

Big Melt is Coming

big melt of spring with Grady the winter loving dog lost and found

I was lost in thought, when a sloppy glob of slush hit me on the head and brought me back to reality. I realized everything is lost and found, not just me in my thoughts.

In the fall, nature may seem lost but then is found again. As the trees stand barren, the land feels empty. Earth grows cold and dark.

Time passes and the loss of autumn is reborn this spring.

The warmth is coming; it is inevitable. Spring is almost here and she brings us new life. Despite the late-winter blustery winds and the snow covered branches, buds grow quietly, determined. In no time at all, they break through to the warmth of the spring sun. March rallies new found hope in hearts worn down by the cold, dark nights of winter.

This is a month of beginnings.

However many trees lose leaves, no matter what branches break in the winter winds and how many garden plants may have wilted away, many more are returning. Nature grows more each spring. We cannot stop her. She is robust and determined in her emergence.

lost and found from autumn to spring
health column on wellness

This graceful life lesson of all that exists, is understated and so often overlooked.

Life is expanding.

We are expanding with every breath.
My gentle nudge to every client is: ‘No Breath is Ever Wasted’. Thus, no step is in vain.

Every step we take is the right step along our path. We are of nature. And, nature is all that is. As the snowdrops reveal their slender white caps through the late winter snow, we are reminded to accept what is. Accept it why? Because ‘what is’ is continually transforming and growing. What is today, is no longer tomorrow. Know this fundamental truth: our biggest challenge is to choose our direction. Spring, the season of re-birth, supports us in setting a new goal, naturally.

– your new direction begins now –

grow in a new direction from being lost to found

But which way do you grow?

Are you a meadow or a forest? Perhaps, you are learning another language or growing a family? You can’t grow everything at once. After all, even nature only grows in one direction at a time: first roots below then plants above. Simple, no?

Do this Spring Exercise to enhance your mind and body connection.

First, decide what five plants or animals grab your attention? Then, choose what you find interesting about each one. Without a doubt, there is a connection and life lesson there for you. Every lesson on your path is like a day in the season of your life. Ask yourself a question. Instantly your mind starts to figure out the answer. The trick is to take time. Now, sit with the question long enough (at least a few breaths, ideally longer!), as if you are thawing from a winter of rest. The question of direction is like planting a seed in the garden. At this moment, you truly are in charge of your destiny.

What will you plant? What will your grow with your mind, with your heart?

You have the ability, the skills, the experience and resources to grow in any direction you choose. No matter how small a change you make, it creates a world of difference in your life. Remember the Chinese proverb: a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step (Lao Tau, Tao Te Ching) You may be inspired by the migration of the monarch butterflies as you spot the first butterfly of the season. This could mean you are ready for big migrations. Perhaps the returning hummingbirds catch your eye. Some Indigenous cultures view hummingbirds as good luck, harbingers of joy and love. It may be a sign to open your heart to joy of life this season. Whatever the lesson may be, know that is there just for you.

I found this lesson for spring in a little free library: 
The only true exile is the writer who lives in his own country. -- Julio Cortazar

You are right on time.

“A tree as great as a man’s embrace springs from a small shoot;
A terrace nine stories high begins with a pile of earth;
A journey of a thousand miles starts under one’s feet.” — Tao Te Ching Chapter 64

I wrote this article for March Health Column of the South Etobicoke News 2025.

Learn how to grow your mind and body connection with mindful journalling:

April 10, 2024June 10, 2024

Spring Colors are Good for You

embrace spring blooms The colours and aromas that surround you offer a vibrant and intoxicating rising energy flow

Spring Colors are Good for You – Look for them this spring.

Let’s go. Spring into Colour this season; it’s good for you!
Spring is a time of growing new roots, new shoots and strength. Nature provides a unique energy to support you. In spring time, the foliage, the flowers and the landscape are expanding in vibrant energy. This feeds us like a mountain spring feeding into a river along the mountain side. Trust this process. We are not aside from nature: we are nature. That’s why spring colors are so good for you, your body, your heart and mind.

Plan a hike in search of spring colours, as you get active in the warmer days ahead. After our mild, but drab winter, surely you are ready for a burst of colour and the aromatic hint of fresh blooms in the air.

Spring Colors are Good for You start with early spring bulbs and then move on to exploring spring shrub roses, viburnums and honeysuckles

This season embrace spring blooms

The colours and aromas that surround you offer a vibrant and intoxicating rising energy flow much needed after a dreary winter season. It’s also a sure fire way to boost your wellbeing.

Your guide to colours in nature is below!

Farmer’s Almanac is forecasting greater showers than usual this spring, so expect your garden blooms to be more showy than ever. With mild temperatures and plenty of rain this spring, colourful blooms are bound to be plentiful.

Whether you’re a seasoned gardener tending flower beds full of crocuses, pasque flowers, irises and daffodils or a spring hiker in search of our beloved wild Trilliums, Arethusas (Arethusa bulbosa, a native purple orchid) or Coltsfoot plantings, you will surely enjoy the ‘warmer than normal’ temperatures predicted for this spring.

Hellebores of spring are gentle, smiling faces of colour.
Take a sneak peek into Toronto blooms of spring here.

By the way, when spotting Coltsfoot, remember this herbal, medicinal yellow flower is the first to appear on the forest floors and tends to grow nears streams and wetlands. On your next woodland hike, impress your friends by announcing ‘I sense water is near’ the moment you spot a patch of Coltsfoot (Tsussilago farfara) growing in the distance.

Spring Bulbs & Ontario Blooms in Color

For some Ontarians, spring blooms such as crocuses and snowdrops may have appeared early this year since there was no snow until now! The dump of spring snow we received was the ultimate April fools wasn’t it?

That’s just fine with the parade of April and May flowers to come.
Peony, Magnolia and Sakura blossom lovers: revel in the magnificent blooms that arise from rainy spring days. However, I would argue that the most beautiful blooms of spring are Azaleas and Rhododendrons. Rhododendrons bloom especially well after they have received a few weeks of rain, affirming the phrase ‘April showers bring May flowers’.

With more than 10000 species in the Rhododendron genus, you are sure to find a stunning, colourful variety that you can’t resist adding into your garden.

Patio and Balcony Spring Colours

In case your garden is non-existent due to condo or apartment constraints, or brown thumb syndrome (Brown thumb syndrome is easily overcome by simply hanging out with a few gardener friends on the regular…Ok, I just made up that condition, but it could be a thing), plan a date on your calendar to visit a local conservatory in the GTA. Our local, Centennial Park Conservatory is a warm, inviting and delightful place to stroll on any day.

It’s open 365 days of the year. You can visit anytime.

If the Farmer’s Almanac prediction of ‘plenty of spring rain’ proves to be true, walking through a covered greenhouse, conservatory or arboretum is the perfect way to enjoy of spring day in search of colour.

Centennial Park Conservatory is a spring must-see. The conservatory building contains three sections: main greenhouse with tropical plants and wonderful tropical temperatures, South wing with arid, dessert, warm loving plants (perfect for Arizona weather lovers) and the North wing that showcases seasonal designs and stunning colour displays. As a master gardener, you are sure to be inspired on your next visit to your neighbourhood conservatory. If you are a ‘budding’ gardener, guaranteed you will be awed by the sheer abundance of plants and colour that coexist together in a professional planting.

Spring Colors are Good for You embrace collecting a wild bouquet to brighten up your kitchen or back porch reading nook or tea corner — Enjoy a spring day with me on a farm in Ontario. Vlog here

Not used to seeking out spring blooms and colours?

Searching out something out of the ordinary is good for your brain. Furthermore, it is exceptionally good for problem solving. Get smarter this spring! In Entrepreneur Magazine (MAR 29, 2023), Amy M. Chambers notes the first hack to embrace in problem solving is to step away. Go on.

Distance yourself…

from a life challenge at hand, by devoting time to an outing completely unrelated to your dilemma. Heading out for a garden walk or a woodland hike (Rouge Valley anyone?) can guarantee you a better solution than sitting in the office. Thus, exploring Allan Gardens (another wonderful Toronto Conservatory) is not just about finding colourful blooms. It is also about taking time away from everyday problems.

Get outside!

Hike some of 1500 km+ of the Bruce Trail (did you know it is Canada’s oldest marked trail system?) Explore the vast grounds of the Toronto Botanical Gardens and their enchanting ‘native spring ephemeral wildflower.’

Or getaway on your lunch hour, if you’re in Etobicoke, to nearby James Gardens. No matter where you go, welcome the colours of spring into your day. Allow them to bring joy into your heart and a smile to your face. This is best part of spring.

“Spring is far more than just a changing of seasons; it’s a rebirth of the spirit.”
— Toni Sorenson

As the weather warms, try this summer Ice Tea Flower Ice Cubes recipe

March 7, 2024March 7, 2024

What’s your origin story?

What’s your origin story…

“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” — Joseph Campbell

Spring is the birth, the beginning of a new season. It is the beginning of a new story and life cycle. What is the beginning of you? Was it your birthday? What is your origin story?

For us, spring can be a beginning, a fresh start much the same way it is for our gardens, a blade of grass or baby chicks waiting to hatch.

But before we take on a new growth, it’s wise to revisit our origin. Take a moment to see the path that got you here.

Was your path difficult?
Or was it light and easy?

What is worth noting from your journeys?
Where the lessons valuable?

As you explore your path, you honour your origin story.

In film and television the origin story is the backstory and summary of experiences that reveal how a character or group of people become a protagonist or antagonist. You are the protagonist in the story of your life. As spring approaches, use this energy to initiate a new stage in your life and begin an new life cycle.

Spring can beckon our spiritual rebirth, emotional and energetic upgrade and mind awakening. You are the lead in your story. As a result, you have the right to choose which way you grow this season.

Birth of all things and your origin story.

East versus West.

In many cultures, your birth determines your life story. Your physical origin, where you were born and when you were born is essential to your identity. In Asia, your birth year and birth sign as well as your family ancestry are tethered to you for life. The stars’ configuration and your astral chart is a template of your strengths, weaknesses and your life journey. Thus, you are your ancestors and so much more.

Do you embrace these origins?

east meets west and the sky meets the earth in the I Ching. Heaven rises and Earth Falls. Our origin story

Your life story is closely tied to nature, heavens and the earth that your success is determined (at least in part) by these ties. According to Astrology, all origins depend on time. Asian or Chinese Astrology is Vedic based: defined by nature. Western Astrology is based on the 12 months of the year and follows the seasons.

Our Spring Equinox is heralded as the beginning of a new energy cycle.

The Chinese Zodiac signs are noted in records as early as 5th century BC (Zhan Guo Dynasty). But the Western Zodiac signs and astrological system was also incorporated into Asian disciplines and philosophies as early as 700 AD (Tang Dynasty).

Both systems use time and the cycle of nature to offer insight into what was and what will be. They have been in our modern world for a long time.

Is your destiny written in the stars?

Beginnings and You

Societies around the world celebrate beginnings in a variety of ways. Often, you may hear of a caste celebrating a rite of passage that has no relation to the calendar. You may welcome a 100 beginnings in a lifetime.

In some tribes and cultures, accomplishing a task such as hunting a buffalo successfully, completing a walkabout or reaching a pinnacle point in your life, marks you worthy of a feast. You are honoured with a community celebration.

As part of some extreme mystical sects and monasteries steeped in ancient practices, you may be buried alive (to survive the darkness within and without for 24 hrs) and thus be initiated into a new birth, before you can take your vows. In the Western world, a candle on a birthday cake is often our most welcome annual ‘birth celebration’.

No matter the culture or practice of our origin, we have options on how and when we choose our next beginning. We continually add layers and revising our origin story.

March to a new story.

Springtime is a wonderful time to explore this rebirth, renewal and a chosen new beginning.

Ready to use this season to create afresh?

Create a new story, where you are hero and leader empowered with wisdom, strength and vitality. Why not choose a tabula rasa? Start in a new direction. It’s time you brush off the remnants of yesterday.

Allow spring showers to bloom colourful flowers in your heart’s garden. As spring does naturally, rise up with the earlier morning sun and adopt a new mindfulness practice.

Celebrations to start you off.

Celebrating spring, from a traditional St. Patrick’s Day green pint of beer or painting your face with green Shamrocks, to dancing under the moon during spring equinox, the gardens of spring await you.

Nature is always waiting. Go see her. Walk barefoot in the forest (yes, safety first and look for a clear path or meadow!) Join the many people that celebrate a new cycle and spring in these ways.

Always on time.

But we can choose to celebrate a beginning and ‘new origin of us’ each morning, each hour, every minute. Our cells are constantly dividing, and our body is continually producing new, genetic material and new cells to keep us ticking. This fast cycle allows for the quickest and easiest way to practice rewriting our origin story at any moment we choose.

In the words of Naomi Judd (and many others), “Your body hears everything your mind says.”

follow me on insta @healingmuse. live inspired and grow into your heart fully.

What you feel, think and say, your body hears and builds within. The most valuable lesson and invitation of spring may be that we choose to recognize we can grow at any level, at any time. After all, you are growing right now.

Since we are continually renewing, our spiritual birth and rebirth, our story of origin is constantly evolving. When we zoom far out over across ancestry of time and our generations, we see our story of origin is something deeply profound. It is interconnected with very many people in our lives and never fully defined.

What's your origin story and how does it change every day? Who you are and where you came from are not fixed attributes of you.

Breath Expands

Our story is responds to every breath, to every step, to every path we take. We are the lead character choosing our next adventure. Since there is nothing but our own path, we are always on time to our destiny. We have but this moment to begin again. Spring is simply a vibrant, growing, colourful reminder of our very nature. Inhale and welcome this profound truth. As Jim Kwik writes in his book ‘Limitless’, you are limitless the moment you realize you are always growing and expanding. See the choices before you are unlimited.

With spring in your step, start on your next journey and let me know where it takes you.

Monika Meulman – Your Intuitive Living Guide
Online Intuitive Healing Sessions Available email to book: store@healingmuse.com

Join our Monthly Inspired Living Chat to expand this Spring with The @healingmuse

Where to next? Read this post ‘Taking a Leap of Faith – this year’

April 12, 2023April 12, 2023

Save Money, The Planet and Get Healthy

save money and the planet! while you get healthy

Eating kale saves you money, grows a healthier you and supports your local community.

Join Monika Meulman, a wellness leader and natural health teacher, on a nutritious journey examining many recent developments in the world of nutrition and nutritional medicine.

Planet Friendly Workshop Includes:

Practical experience
hands-on instruction
taste-testing fresh foods
learning to get your hands dirty in the home garden and more!

Date and Time

Thursday, April 13th, 2023
7-8pm

Location

Pape/Danforth Branch Library – East Toronto

701 Pape Ave. directions
416-393-7727

Workshop Details

Practical, hands-on instruction, taste-testing fresh foods, learning to get your hands dirty in the home garden and more!

This workshop is created for our Earth, your well-being and a healthy wallet. We go over natural wellness basics such as: Shopping with a healthy groceries list; planning meals that save you time and money; what it looks like to be optimally healthy, while choosing green, sustainable and manageable food sources in our every day, and take home a green sample.

Download the Slides Here.

Save Money The Planet and Get Healthy – Live Inspired with our workshops.

More spring 2023 workshops – start here

did you know:

Worldwide
1/3 or more of world’s food production is lost or wasted each year

Canada
50% or more $$$ spent on food per year is wasted, or enough to feed every Canadian for five months.

Households in Canada on average waste $28 worth of food each week ($1456 annually)[v]

According to Statistics Canada, in 2007 Canadians wasted the equivalent of 183 kilograms of solid food per person.

Let’s Change that, starting today.

CHANGE

It’s possible, doable, actionable and you can have fun doing.

Start by joining a local community group or garden club. Share your wisdom, your knowledge, your skills and resources.

Save Money The Planet and Get Healthy – AND share what you learn!

FACE THE FACTS

cheap food is actually very expensive:

From use of artificial fertilizer and pesticides to the effects of soil degradation, water pollution, climate change and the obesity epidemic

–

our current food system has a significant number of hidden costs to the natural environment and human health.

–

very real costs far outweigh the benefits of “cheap” food.

from: http://www.natureandmore.com/the-true-cost-of-food-how-it-works

March 31, 2023January 27, 2025

Moon Medicine Circle. Earth Day Celebration and Workshop

Moon Medicine Circle this April focuses on Grow and Flow of Spring.
Planted seeds of love, beauty and great adventures are sprouting.

as spring blooms, so our hearts warm with the rising sun.
take this moment to breathe in a loving, radiant thought.
a thought that fills, soothes and comforts every last bit of you.

Grow Your Inner Garden & Flow with Grace

“Your mind is a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds. ”

~ Anonymous

Our Earth Steward Credo

1- No breath is ever wasted.

2 – No touch is ever wasted.

3 – No step is ever wasted.

So much is in Bud!!

Your breath is the flow of nourishment within.
And movement is the rooting of your new growth.
So growth is awareness arising to the heavens.
Your awareness expands your heart,
growing compassion for all that is.

Celebration Circle – Flow and Grow

We are delighted to invite you to celebrate Mother Earth Day to bring our authentic selves in service to ourselves, each other and all sentient life blossoming.

Patanjali’s System of Knowledge

Patanjali’s system of knowledge teaches us that our words and actions, and the thoughts that preceded them, and the waves of perception that preceded those, are all born from the most subtle of seeds. The seeds, called Sanskars, get planted in the gardens of our minds through many things. For example, our family lineage, our education, our experiences, and societal conditioning all serve as planted gardens.

Actually, we know that seeds, given the right conditions, will eventually sprout. And, like that reach through the layers of soil before it enter the daylight, so sanskar will embed itself through many layers until it becomes a visible flower.

Sanskars

So how can something as subtle as a seed pierce through all of these layers?

We will use the framework of the Chakra’s to support the nurturing of our inner gardens. The Chakras are like different elements or aspects of a garden and in order to grow a beautiful abundant garden we need all the chakras to be flowing with Grace and in balance.

Each chakra energy has a physical, material experience. Let us explore this with a vision and movement. Growing from the ground, the roots up to the skies and stars.

You will learn about Flower Essence and Plant Medicine that nourishes our bodies and aligns with the Chakras with lifestyle practices that ground and embodies our Celestial Soul.

Did you know: You are a living Garden of Eden! When we flow with Grace we can transform and create that which our heart desires.

We’ll guide you in an inner journey that your heart and soul desires to nurture, grow, blossom and transform.

It’s time. Let’s rise out of the muddy waters into a radiant lotus 🙂

Together we will grow beautiful gardens within ourselves, our community and ultimately co-create Heaven on Earth.

Event Date

When: SUNday, April 23^rd , 2023

Following a powerful New Moon total Solar Eclipse in Aries (fire sign).
This Eclipse is illuminating mastery over the self and having the courage to face our shadow side.It is a crucial time for long lasting change to occur.

Event Time

TIME: 2pm – 5pm

Where: Mukti Yoga Studio www.muktistudio.ca

Cost: $55 plus tax

Moon Medicine Circle Guidance

Your Moon Circle Guides: Monika Meulman, The Healing Muse and Lisa Jansen, of Inner Beauty Inner Peace

Modalities & Experiences Include:

Movement (yoga and inner dance)
Yoga Nidra (guided visualization and meditation)
Sound Healing (drums, chants)
Pranayama (breath work)
Mindful Living Lifestyle Practices
Healing Circle
Refreshments

Note (optional): Feel free to wear wild, flowy, boho, witchy, goddess-like, comfortable, colourful clothing

women’s sacred circle news

for inspired living & healing