I grew up in the countryside of southern Ontario. 

Where my first playgrounds of curiosity, creativity, and wonderment, were found in the open fields, the ponds, the forest, and lakes nearby, under an endless sky.  

Each day, felt like an adventure, a gift, with time always on my side,

to stay a little longer, to wander freely, and savor each moment completely.

It was a moment of “feeling in tune” with all that surrounded me.  With an inner knowing that I was not separate but “ a part of” these landscapes, these sanctuaries. 

Although simple, mundane, and ordinary they would be the foundation of the first layer of my being, A layer that was filled with a spirit to explore, and a desire to seek more. 

Time stood still, as I perched myself on rocks, in the ditch banks,

surrounded by tall grasses and willows. 

Under a hot summer heat. 

Listening to bullfrogs, songbirds, and dragonflies

As barn swallows circled above me.  

Nothing seemed to matter, back then, It was only about,

that moment you were living in.  

I soaked up these moments for many years

until I started to feel the yearning to step outside

beyond what was comfortable 

beyond what is familiar.

Into the space of the unknown

into uncertainty. 

So I packed my bags and headed out.

What follows would be my story