Spadina Historic House

Spadina House in snow

Spadina House is a historic mansion adjacent to Casa Loma that belonged to the wealthy Baldwin and Austin families in the 19th and 20th century. The present building was constructed in 1866 and four generations of the Austin family lived here. In 1982, they donated the house and its furnishing to the city. It is now restored in the style of the 1920s and 30s.

The mansion opens to the public on weekends from 12 to 5 P.M. One can visit is through a guided tour only. On this unusually snowy day, I was the only visitor for the first round and thus enjoyed an exclusive tour.

The house and its settings take you back to the Downton Abbey kind of era. A time period when electricity, landline telephone, and personal vehicles were the privileges, reserved to a select few. When butlers, valets, footmen, gardeners, cooks and other house servants literally worked downstairs and sometimes used trapdoors to come and go. When upper-class young woman's first appearance in fashionable society was through a 'debutante ball'. When aristocratic families were dependent on estates instead of doing any kind of real work. It is hard to believe how much the world has changed since that time. 

Wolves at the door

Sitting Area

An unusual four-sided seating arrangement
... perhaps when no one is in a mood to talk to the others.

Conservatory

Billiard room

Master Bedroom

 A pre-electricity era cooling arrangement for the kitchen.

Servant room and dresses

What will happen next has not yet been written...

"Now does matter. What happened before no longer exists. What will happen next has not yet been written. We have only now. That is our greatest advantage. What we do now here in this moment has the power to determine the future... We will find a way. All of history can change with our next move."

Lieutenant Spock
(Star Trek Discovery - S2, E 11)

ikigai - Living Your Life's Purpose

The Japanese concept of Ikigai (‘ee key guy’), from the island of Okinawa, is about finding the reason for one’s being. It is about attaining happiness in doing what you love and living a long, happy and purposeful life.

Certainly, it is not that simple to achieve. For example, the combination of what you are good at and what you can be paid for usually becomes your profession. However, if you do not like your job, there will be a feeling of emptiness and dissatisfaction. Ikigai is accomplished when one is able to fuse the four following requirements:

Do what you love

Do what you’re good at

Do what you can be rewarded for

Do what the world needs

According to Tim Tamashiro, the author of “How to Ikigai: Lessons for Finding Happiness and Living Your Life's Purpose”, this can be achieved by starting small and doing it part-time. Keep doing your regular job, but also invest time in learning and doing things that fulfill the above essentials. This will give you an opportunity to convert that part-time ikigai to a full-time one down the road.

Image compilation: Bing Creative Commons

a brand-new start

Silent drop of flakes

fresh scent of snow

everything so clean

everything so crisp

as the world being cleared

for a brand-new start

Crystal Trees

Trees and branches turned into crystals after a snowstorm and freezing rain on February 13, 2019.