What Saskatchewan Has Taught Me

Right now I’m in Saskatchewan – a province in Canada that many think is boring and dull because it has a flat landscape.  For me, it’s anything but that. It has clean air, people are relaxed, there’s a simplicity to life and such open space that it is possible to have an open and creative mind. I am staying in downtown Regina right now, and have had a marvelous time. Yoga every day, meeting people at the local eco-cafes and walking in the sunshine, just like many others are. Life West of Ontario is unique and always leads to a breath of fresh air for me.  Though Saskatchewan has many social and economic problems, it has a richness beneath the surface – a sense of possibility and new horizons that allow the soul to open and fly into the sky. 

I feel generally happy here. It reminds me of what my home town of Guelph used to be before it was named one of the best places to life in Canada. Aside from the amazing win of the one and only Green Party seat in the province of Ontario that tells me there still are people who care about the environment, Guelph has become more modernized and Toronto-ized. It just isn’t the same.

I contemplated and dialogued with my groom-to-be, Ted, about the difference between Guelph and Regina in my outlook and state of mind. What became quickly apparent is that here I feel connected again – to the Earth, to people, to the outdoors, to the yoga studio. It seems there could be a consistency of community that Guelph used to have. People here seem to still trust each other and aren’t too busy to give a “hello” and share some stories.  Life is slower which means it can be more heart-felt and mindful. Now I get I’m on the vacationer’s high, but it got me thinking about the importance of community and connection. Without it, life feels lonely, depressing, meaningless and unsupportive. Yet the challenge is finding the right community – the one where there is compassion and understanding and wants you to come alive and express yourself in the way you’re meant to be.

Some find community through their workplaces, others through their art form of writing, music, theatre, etc. Others will find it through their illnesses or difficulties in support groups. And some will find it through interests like birding, yoga, or travelling. 

I’ve been in communities that don’t work for me at all. Communities of activists, farmers, or neighborhoods that I didn’t feel safe in. 

You could say I’ve been on the hunt for finding the right fit of community, yet what I’m discovering is that community shifts and changes depending on who I feel I am at the time, in my truest essence. When I identified as an artsy Torontonian, then I found other artsy Torontonians. When I identified as a spiritualist, I found other spiritualists. All were facets of who I am, in some way. But it has never been the full breadth of me. What I’m discovering is that I belong to various pockets of communities.

I am a writer, I’m a person who strives to live a spiritual and creative life, I’m a minimalist, I’m an entrepreneur, I’m an intuitive, I’m a compassionate person, I’m a woman, and I’m a healer.  I’m also a survivor of various experiences. All of those aspects of myself need support and need a community that works for me. My challenge is to find the communities that can meet most of my needs so my full self can blossom. 

For me to fulfill my community needs, I need to ask myself the following questions:

·   -Where am I and what do I need in my life right now? 
-Where am I going in my life? 
-What do I want to cultivate more of in my life?

For example, right now I’m a woman interested in feminine spirituality who wants to write a transformational book, do speaking events and help people tune into themselves.  I need support to help me write my book, learn how to present and book speaking events and how to make a successful venture serving clients I love.  I also need to be around others who want to grow spiritually and have a simple and well life.

Where I’m going is to book speaking events and workshops across the West, live according to my eco-values, and have a healthy body and mind.

I want to cultivate a simpler life of spirituality and well-being, develop my writing practice and skills, and learn more about how to make it as a speaker. 

So, given all of this, the kinds of communities that could support me are:

·         -Yoga & meditation community

·         -Community

·         -Toastmasters

·         -Women Writers’ Communities

·         -Entrepreneur Groups

Neat, eh?

So I invite you to do the same for your life.  Ask yourself the 3 questions:

·        - Where am I and what do I need in my life right now?

·        - Where do I want to go in my life?

·        - What do I want to cultivate more of in my life?

Then make a list of the communities you can connect to in-person and online.  Pick one of those communities that you can start putting your time and energy into and see what happens. You will be pleasantly surprised at what shows up in your life.

We all need community to flourish – that is what life is all about. Without it you go invisible and you get lost.  Make your roots happen in your life. And you will feel your heart expand in the world:)