by Deborah Rogers / photo by Janis Jean Photography
Like many of you will have done by now, I finally took a little trip off the Island in July. I didn’t go far, but wow did it feel good to take some time out of normal life and see some different scenery!
It was a quiet holiday with the usual ice creams, lake swimming, bike rides and hikes, and as always a lot of uninterrupted reading time. Top of my “to-read” pile was the Seaside Book Club selection, Say Nothing, an investigation into a murder in Northern Ireland, and the period of time referred to as “The Troubles.” Not very vacation’y, you might think, but it was a treat to have the time to read deeply, and also the mental space to reflect on the revelations the book provided.
These past months have felt like a period of time that’s required some deep reflection. Discoveries of hundreds of bodies at B.C. Residential Schools, and soul searching about how to reconcile Canadian pride with Canadian history on Canada Day and beyond, shook our June and July. Equally heavy has been renewed awareness of a crisis in our natural world with weather caused by climate change hard to ignore. Oh, and there’s still a global pandemic.
It feels like a lot. It would be easy to become overwhelmed. I’m trying a different approach though, including starting conversations about difficult topics instead of turning away from them, and admitting my ignorance and being open to learning a new perspective. There doesn’t seem to be any point in running away from history; rather, we should learn from it.
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Our apologies – the address for Snowdon House was incorrect in our July issue Adventure Every Day Map. Laura’s beautiful shop is located at 1890 Mills Road.
