One degree of Change can Make a BIG Difference
I had no idea of the impact finding that for sale sign precariously hanging on the peeling white birch bark trunk would have on my life, and by association everyone of my friends, family and colleagues. One tiny degree of change in direction that altered the course of everything.
I found out several months later, how lucky we were to glance
upon it. An overly eager buyer had taken the sign down several times, as his insultingly
low offer had been refused. By chance the sign had just been replaced on the morning
before we drove by. Making that phone call to Alberta started a chain of events
I would never have imagined.
Some, in fact more than a few, would say I have been obsessed with that little five acres ever since. I would also agree that it constantly occupies a large part of my thoughts. The potential it represents uncovered so many buried dreams I had forgotten about. The first time I walked down the partially overgrown trail, everything popped back into reality.
Dreams Discovered
Living and working amongst the trees, being a care taker to
the forest. The space to grow food, for us, food for the birds and insects. A
place to live peacefully in tune with nature. Where schedules are aligned with the rising and setting of the
sun, and changing of the seasons. To meander through the trees, seeing the
ferns unfurl, flower buds swell, dew drops on leaves, smell the cool mist
rising from the damp soil. Did I dare to hope it would be possible to live
comfortably in this little piece of paradise?
That invoked the problem solving solution focused part of me
to kick into high gear. Once the course was set it was simply a case of
focusing on the end goal and making it happen.
Where did the desire to write come from? That is not so clear. I feel it was born as a means to overcome a weakness I have. I like to take my time to analyze and understand problems. To think about them from all angles, to create multiple options and by process of elimination arrive at the best solutions. This has always been easier to accomplish by putting it all down on paper. It was a natural progression to journal and record the journey of finding the land and developing it. So why not write a book about it? I thought. Great idea. Maybe it will be a best seller and I can afford to live at Fernhaven full time. But now I know you can never write and publish books from the desire to make money from it, but because it is a labour of love.
Writing and tapping away on a keyboard all day doesn’t leave much mental capacity in the evenings. The creative juices have almost dried up by that time. It is my intention to finish book two which covers the ups and downs of actually building the cabin, by the end of 2025.
I am excited to share more of the emotions, challenges and
successes. To bring the adventure to full colour, and also a true portrayal, so
I can also remind myself of what actually happened. Right now, I am slogging
through the sh**y first draft as we “writers” call it. Once the first draft is
done, next comes structural editing where the account of what happened is
transformed into a compelling story worth reading. Then we move onto beta readers
and copy editing. A bit like finishing
the cabin, the final stages take 3 times as long.
This time next week I will be back at the cabin. A new phase of possibility and direction.
