Goldenballs' big heart, go-to reporting from the Mideast, and All the Light I have not seen.

3 Things (with links) and a poem to reclaim hope

What's that expression, some weeks feel like decades? That's a bit how I'm feeling over here.

We had our first snow in south western Ontario and the world was kissed with beauty. The snow was gone almost as quick as it came, but it brought me joy, much needed in a week with “all the feels.”

The view at the end of the street after this week’s early snow.

However your week came at you, I hope you encountered joy that filled your landscape.

Thanks for spending part of your weekend with Things I Wrote Down. Now, here are a few things that stood out this week and a poem.

1. The big heart and fascinating story of David Beckham

We finished the new Netflix documentary about the famous footballer, former English captain, and global brand, David Beckham. And I gotta say… I loved it. It's as unvarnished a look as we'll get at a completely varnished and glossy life.

It's a well-made series with a very unique style. I enjoyed how the filmmakers captured the subjects closeup (Beckham, Ronaldo, Sir Alex Ferguson, to name a few) as they watched key moments from the pitch in their storied careers.

A surprise is the genuine true love story of Becks and Posh. The depth of character revealed in Beckham, especially as he became the most hated man in Britain after his red card against Argentina in the World Cup, is compelling viewing.

I spent a few years outside of North America where football stars are like gods (and Beckham among them) during the apex of his career. But I never paid much attention to him (others did that for me). I came out of the documentary as a retroactive fan.

A real moment of, “Man might look at the Goldenballs, but God looks at the heart.”

2. Israel, Hamas, Palestine and the horror of war

What is happening in the world? How do we get our bearings and find news with reporting that we can trust?

I’m tuned into

The Free Press

as it brings reports from the growing conflict in the Middle East. They’re tracking the stories of hostages, the rising anti-Semitism world wide, and the untold stories of Gazans.

I highly recommend.

3. All the Light We Cannot See

Don't you kind of want to just stop everything to watch All The Light We Cannot See? Well, I do.

I'm fantasizing about having an eight hour span of time to watch the 4-part limited series bases on the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Anthony Doerr.

Maybe that's what Christmas vacation is for. I loved the book and enjoy his writing. Can the series meet the high expectations? Can't wait to find out!

---

A poem seeking to reclaim hope.

This week a member of my family went through with MAiD (euthanasia). We’re heartbroken.

I’ll perhaps write more about it at another time, but for now am grappling with the reality. As you my know, Matt, Dan and I have been releasing a documentary to warn and inform people about the expanding regime of death in the Canadian medical system. It’s painful and surreal to experience it so close to home.

The Coles notes summary: this doesn’t feel like a beautiful act of human agency. It feels like an irreversible act of despair.

The poem I'm sharing this week is about hope because, God knows, we all need it.

these words of life you form in me

these words of life you form in me

take shape of 
always remembered
things

the soft whisper hits its mark 
cuts through 
every fragment
a violence 
against the hardness of my heart

you quiet noise with song
you speak into the endless void 
of silence

form such life in me

those words
seeds
organic, rooted
growing

renovate a heart of
hope in
me

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Catch up on this week at Things I Wrote Down: