Over the course of the last year, I have begun to think very specifically about my desire, or more importantly my need, to make a shift in the pace of my life. What I found is that often photos capture moments that represent the energy or memory of a time that I felt present, connected, and peaceful. This photo was one of those moments…..on a dock in Canada, surrounded by a huge expanse of sky and a vista of raw, beautiful nature.
But that moment almost didn’t happen.
My husband bought a cabin in Canada a number of years ago to nurture and pursue his love of nature and fishing, and I had no plans to ever go there. It is accessible only by boat, it is 45 minutes from the nearest city (on the roughest roads you have ever been on), and there is sparse, if any, internet service. Why in the world would a Type A, wired person like me want to go there? I really felt this was a “boy’s retreat” that I would never cross the threshold of.
In 2012 in an attempt to escape daily life while recovering from surgery, I agreed to go to Canada. I could not go out in public in my city anyway, due to bruising from dental surgery, so off we went. What I found there was a pure, simple, peaceful energy that can only be available when you work that hard to go to that remote of a location! If you allow yourself to embrace the unique immersion in nature there, you can feel it in your soul. The skies are endless, the Eagles soar above, and the only sounds you hear are the waves lapping on the shore, the loons calling at night….and your thoughts.
For those of us who have a hard time stepping away from the crazy pace of every day life, relocation to a place where you have no other choice but to slow down is often a valuable option. So we returned to Canada in Summer of 2013 with friends for a trip filled with great memories. One of our last nights there, before dinner, I walked down to our weathered, off-kilter dock to take some deep breathes and try to make a mental picture of the scene around me. Thankfully my friend Amanda came down to get me and captured this “Namaste Moment” for me. I keep it as my screen saver on my phone to remind me again and again to occasionally step away, take a breath, and look at the beauty around me.
(With that intention, the Gallery on this site is included to represent visual snapshots of some of those moments….of “Type A” focus and intensity, and moments of “Namaste”, when you recognize the divinity and peace of your surroundings.)
