I recently read a piece of writing that serves as a warning for young travellers, essentially that the beautiful world that they explore and the interesting life that they lead is cursed. Because the relationships formed are short lived and special, but not necessarily meaningful, and the more places you explore, seeking a place that is ideal for you, the less likely it is that you will find that place worth settling down in. And once you do decide to set roots, it's difficult for anyone close to you to truly understand the experiences you've had. The piece of writing did resonate with me as I continue to explore and travel - there is some truth to the words, but geez reality made me a bit sad too.
These thoughts about finding a best fit place and developing meaningful relationships has definitely come about for me this summer in Ontario. I was back in Ontario after some beautiful experiences and travelling on the West Coast, Australia, New Zealand. I found myself concerned about how my most loved people have felt over the past year and how our relationships have managed to thrive, or connection dwindle. I have made some far reaching connections on different continents of the world, and I questions if a life is more full of beauty when you have shorter interactions/relations with people of a variety of lifestyles, ethos, worldviews, or is a life more full of beauty when you set roots deep and have connected meaningful relations with fewer people?
I'm still working on a balance of those two...and always remind myself that 'not all those who wander are lost'. (I still don't know who wrote this piece I'm referring to but please read it here and let me know what you think by commenting on this post)
I do know that I had a completely blissful summer. Still making new connections with really amazing people and making efforts to fill every other moment up with re-connecting, catching up and expressing my love for the people I know I definitely enjoy being with, whom I want in my life well and truly into the future and who I feel I may have neglected while being away.
Geez, August was just so lovely! After having oodles of family around and celebrating Kelly's wedding, I spent a super pleasing week in Toronto catching up with people I love and visiting places I love too. I celebrated one more relatives wedding and then set out on a canoe trip on the French River with a family of 5 and a new friend. In two canoes filled up to the brim with gear and food, we paddled leisurely, swimming often, playing games with the kids, setting up camp spots and cooking food, having beautiful fireside chats about all things but mostly working less and living more, building sustainable alternative, creative communities, re-aligning priorities, forgetting about expectations, and recognizing that life is just stories created by each of us. I was inspired to be a parent by the way this family is and re-inspired to be creative about what and how we work.
After the excitement of the canoe trip, I got to visit my sisters liffle farm and also my new friends' urban farm in Guelph. I spent a scattering of a couple more awesome days in Toronto over the next weeks, then scooted out to the Shelter Valley Folk Festival; a calm yet positively energetic music and community festival where I put a workshop on for Otesha about electronics from cradle to grave, I sat in the sun and listened to great music, danced under the full moon, and spent great time with a few special people. Beyond the community of people involved in planning the festival, I was feeling pleasantly on the fringe of the folk fest, I headed on to the Otesha Projects training week for two small teams riding this September/October throughout Ontario.
As I already knew, I am still very in love with The Otesha Project, and the feeling of home that each event brings about that I'm involved in. The people are silly, hopeful, generous, full of hugs, they're creative, interested and interesting. The same Otesha quirks exist year after year, team after team. I rode with the 7 members of the phenomenal food tour for the first 4 days of their journey, an amazing privilege to be a resource of any sort to the team as they built community, visited farms and preformed the Otesha play.
And September continued to be special as I attended one more ritualistic right of passage for my long time dear friend Elysia, as she was married to her favourite person. A joyous time to be spent with some of my very longest friends.
Alas, after these wonderful summertimes, another journey abounds. I'm west bound again; with my bicycle in tow, heading for Vancouver, then riding up to Cortez Island to do a volunteer internship at Hollyhock. And as I bus my way west across this beautiful (huge) country of ours once again, I continually reflect on my past experiences and lessons learn. I think a bit about what future days will bring and I always remind myself of my mortality. This here life is only once, so I'm going to try my very best to love living it and cherish each moment.
