Donna says I could use the bamboo metaphor for the upcoming year. I'm about to grow 30m (90 ft) tall! “It is said that the Chinese Bamboo Tree begins as a nut, a hard nut, about the size of a walnut. The nut has to be planted in soil and then watered and fertilized every day, every day for 5 years before it finally breaks through the ground. If at any time the watering or fertilizing process is stopped, the Chinese Bamboo Tree will die in the ground. But, in that fifth year, the Chinese Bamboo Tree finally breaks through the ground and in six weeks it grows nearly ninety feet tall! Now, the question is, did it grow ninety feet in six weeks or 5 years…. The answer is obvious — It took five years, five years of watering and fertilizing everyday to make it happen.” Les Brown Yes I am a nut. A hard nut. I made this plan in the fall of 2014 and began in 2015. I will be growing like crazy by this fall.
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I'm signed up! From September 8 to September 15, I am studying Forest Therapy in Colorado. The course continues after this week in September for six more months, so it's likely to be a bit tricky to do my forest homework aboard the Lisa Marie! Maybe I'll stop by the Grand Canyon for a quick peek........ www.natureandforesttherapy.org/event/colorado-usa https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/exploring-the-powerful-emotion-of-awe-how-it-can-be-awe-some-and-aw-ful-1.5047156
On the Christmas break, I practised being a world traveller. I took my green "carry on" and my red suitcase (a gift from Shirley). Alice took these pictures of me in the subway in Toronto. I went by GO train to Toronto, took the subway to Bay and Dundas, and took the Ontario Northland bus to Sudbury to visit my Mom. I walked about 3/4 of a kilometre on ice and lumpy snow with my bags (the suitcase was basically full of books). I learned: The green bag is quite heavy after a while. Alice recommends a backpack instead. The wheels on the suitcase are 360 degrees which is awesome, although not so helpful in the ice and snow. I can do it!
Here is my new blog. I hope to document my adventure from July 2019 to August 2020. I got here by having a "deferred salary" (imagine the good fortune I have to work in a profession where this is possible), so I have been earning 80% of my salary these past four years and will earn the same next year, my fifth year. It is a sabbatical, an adventure, a journey of self-discovery and perhaps an indulgence. Friends and colleagues have requested a blog to keep up with me. I don't know how faithful I will be when posting (I'm not much of a journal person) but I hope to connect with you every week or so.