Adventure Awaits Us All

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The first flight I remember was when I was seven years old. We were heading back to Bermuda, my first home. I will never forget seeing the world below me get smaller and smaller until we were above the clouds, and all you could see for forever were mountains of white, gray & purple. I used to dream about what it would feel like to be out among them, bouncing around, floating, having my own kingdom in the clouds. Turns out my imagination is the only place where I can actually do that....

The next trip I would take (I was eleven) would be again, to Bermuda. This time I was alone, meeting my Dad over there. It was the only trip we would take (alone) together, and I hold those memories near and dear.   Whenever I smell gas (petrol) I think of my Dad, either on the back of a moped leaning in, or snugged up tight on the back of the ski-doo out in the wild snowy fields of Prince Edward County. 

Travel and Adventure started at an early age, perhaps already in my soul from the start, but thankfully, my parents gave me many an opportunity to do so,  I still Love exploring various parts of the world. The people you meet, the places you see, the scents, the sounds... It really is an incredible feeling; sometimes stupendous, sometimes humbling but always life changing.

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As a touring musician, I have been given the opportunity to play in and feel the vibe of some pretty marvelous spots. Being able to get to far off places with guitar in hand, is awesome and (I must say) pretty addictive. There's something about the connected-ness of it all, meeting folks with similar mindsets, soul wishes and more. That "Hunt for life, for life" I have spoken of before just keeps on playing....

There are people who would rather stay home. I too am one of them at times, there is a time for everything, but for the folks out there who wish upon a star to go somewhere different, to see something, to feel something new, I encourage it TEN FOLD. There are many ways to do it if money is the largest worry. I am lucky because I have music to pave the way, so I know with that skill, it makes things a little easier, but the world is so much bigger (AND SMALLER) than I ever thought. People will always help you along the way, from a bite to eat to a hostel/camp-ground recommendation, to a smile, you will never be alone and such connected-ness helps to dwindle fear.

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You just never know what kind of magic awaits or what kind of food or what kind of splendid architecture! Visions of wonder and beauty imprinted on your minds eye forever...

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The friends you can make! I asked my Grandfather, nearing the end of his 95years, what he thought the most important thing was, his gift of advice to me... He said you can never have too many friends. He and his wife (of nearly 65years) traveled across the world from Quebec to New Zealand when they were in their eighties. Amazing. And so far he has been right. There are many guest rooms, couches and back yards that we are privvy to, just because we went out there in search of travel adventure. Every person I have ever met started out as a stranger, so there's that....

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One day, I too would like to get down to New Zealand and Australia. I suppose one has to reach far and wide to get where they need to go. In the meantime, home is also a valuable place to be and a much needed sanctuary. However that search to find out about other people's lives, taste food from the soils of far away, dream up and off into clouds above new scenery, laugh together under a different set of stars, sitting round a campfire smelling of peat, or the view from a mountain village or the scenery of an old seaside town... Ahhhh so very fulfilling and wondrous indeed! The things I don't know that I yearn to know, through travel....

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Home is where the heart is.

A Path, A Road, A Way

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I wanted to be Madonna. It's true, also, I wanted to be Cyndi Lauper, and Janet Jackson. It was hard, not being them, growing up. I was SO into stars, and music, and clearly, dreaming big, my favourite night of the week was Friday so I could watch "Friday Night Videos" and don't get me started on "Intimate & Interactive" on Canada's music TV station "Much Music." I wanted to be a "Mini Pop" and on Saturday mornings my favourite show was "Kids Incorporated." Don't get me started on Musical Youth or Olivia Newton John, either. I had a tickle trunk which I would pore over regularly, so I could find something to make me look the part of who I wanted to be so badly; a musician, a singer, a star.

I was thirteen years old when I sang the first song I ever sang, on stage. It was a piece from the musical "Annie" you may remember called "Tomorrow." I was thrilled with the reaction from the people but still, it would be a few more years until the next live 'on stage' performance. Where I would sing Sinead O'Connor's "Black Boys on Mopeds." I didn't sing again until a few more years, this time the lead in our high school musical "Anything Goes" my name was Reno Sweeney. It was a blast, but I would go onto the University of Ottawa, finish school, and move to Newfoundland before my first solo "Singer Songwriter" gig.

I had big dreams that LUCK would come in and steal me away from my mundane bartending/washroom cleaning/dish scrubbing/serving jobs. But life continued on and things just worked out the way they worked out. There was hope that I would "make it" and it wasn't for years, almost ten years in, that I realized I have made it. Not in the same way that I thought when I was a kid, dreaming about Prince and Annie Lennox, dance moves, costumes, wigs and make-up (which come into play, at times, to be sure, but there is no eighteen wheeler carting my stuff around!)

The most important thing I learned (actually, words of wisdom from Keith Urban, no less!) was that we all have our own path. We forge our own way, and there is value to being an individual, not trying to be someone else.

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It took me years for those words to finally sink in, but thankfully they have and I am very okay with the path that I am on. I wrote this piece today, as a healthy reminder to myself to lessen the self-imposed pressure!  Things get bad sometimes, and I lose a little faith in myself and the path I am on. This is also okay, we all falter and get "lost" at times and we don't feel like we are ever doing enough. Another important thing I found out (through life experience itself) is that life is complex and incredibly intricate. There are HUGE amounts of things that fill up a life, and every single one can have it's own importance... Smell the roses, polish your boots, hug a friend, call your Mother, pay the bills, go for a walk, drink water, cook something healthy, dance to your favourite song, make it happen, work hard, hang your laundry in the sun, soak in a bath, savour chocolate, road-trip, read, paint, Love, laugh, cry, ponder, wander, leave, stay.....

No one is ever any ONE thing.

We are an abundance, and so very lucky to be here, carving out our very own way. 

An Audience of Trees

Some days I hike into the woods and sit in the trees, pondering life, breathing in that life-giving goodness. I try to focus on exactly what is around me, on exactly what I am feeling, what I hear, what I smell... As easy as it sounds, I find it hard not to let my mind wander into what will be. 

I attended a healing ceremony this past weekend. It helped me in many ways. I rested, I dreamed and I learned. One of the practices I learned to bring into my life is to try my best to focus on "the now." Such a cliché. I know. Be in the now, focus on the moment. Haven't we all been told this, haven't we all read this over and over? When does wisdom sink in, finally? Does it take a weekend of meditiation of an ancient kind? Does it take a weekend spent in a sanctuary of sorts? For me, I think it might just be exactly what it took.

But I know this is just the beginning of something. It will take a lifetime of practice  and discipline. It does seem a little quieter and more peaceful, that somehow, maybe I am closer to spirit? I hope this insight stays up front. By "up front" I mean, I hope this new wisdom does not get lost somewhere deep inside again. I must remember that I have this knowledge, that we all have this knowledge, this 'knowing.' The answers are there, we only need to tune in. Finding stillness and really listening, now therein lies the challenge! Quieting all the noise, tuning in, breathing in, taking care of oneself, finding the courage to step away from the ego...

Nothing is black or white. What might be black for one is purple for another, there is no absolute right or wrong. One has to feel it out, does it feel bad, does it feel good? Your senses are intuitive. They know!   We all live here, searching for something to hold onto, searching for value and happiness. When I asked both of my parents, separately, what they thought the purpose of life was, they both said "To have fun, to live a joyous life." Both of them worked really hard and are now retired, living out their own dreams now and I am beginning to see. We just have to look for it and we will see! See?

Life is long (unless it is cut short!) But if I live as long as my grandparents, I sure have a way to go! I can only hope that I will honour myself first and continue to honour you as well. We are all in this together, so let's help each other! Create smiles, create Love! (click on LOVE, you will see the most amazing and short documentary about an old man in Bermuda who shares his Love every day! Old man Johnny Barnes, I thank you!)

Here is another video, a music video, that I think sums up what I have been saying here quite nicely. One of my dear and musical friends from across the ocean, just released it... Click HERE to watch :) And please, inspire, and be inspired!

Love,

Lindsay xo

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Come People

There is a river rushing outside my window. You can hear it and it runs pretty quickly especially after a long rain, which is happening right now. The river here is not one for diving into, as it is mostly shallow, but it is crystal clear and you can bend down to drink it's glorious cold right from your hand.

I also hear the harmony of bells from the sheep and miniature ponies, grazing on the long green grasses in our fields around this old farm house.

I Love to open all the windows and just revel in all the sounds that are flowing in. The days and nights are getting colder though, and this unique soundtrack will be missed. Living here in Switzerland is different from our Canadian life, but similarities balance both. The food may taste a little different, friends and family have different ways and faces and the hills around here may be a little steeper than those in the Gatineau.

Bottom line though, I have learned through travel and massive change, that you will be who you are wherever you live. You will find things that piss you off and you will find ways to bring joy into your life. You live with yourself your entire life and the way to get through it is not running away hoping for a deep, profound change from within. This ideal/new “solution” will last until the newness rubs off, and then it's back to you again. You with all your fear, strength, insecurities, happiness, anger; over all mood swings (that may or may not be a part of your life.)

Some folks look at me with stars and dreams in their eyes when I talk about living between two countries. For the most part, I do not see it that way. I used to, when I first came here forever ago, it was so new and I was given a fresh perspective for awhile, but me and my life will follow me wherever I go, there is no escape! There is only will. Will to keep going, will to better oneself, will to face fear, will to accept fear, will to conquer fear, will to eat better, will to be better, will to make art (in some form) a part of your life (cinema, art exhibits, baking, reading, music, whatever, there is so much choice in artful ways!!)

Finding the will to teach and to learn is also fundamental. Finding that balance between hearing and being heard...There is no simple way to blast through this cosmos, we are all one in this case, and we can all do it. I suppose accepting that there will be days filled with frown and days filled with smile, and sometimes the two shall meet. Wherever we are in this world, one foot in front of the other, trying to find our way through this beautiful and sad place, knowing we are not alone in the battle but rather we are one. Now HERE is a profound and beautiful heart lifting song that might just hammer that last nail in about what I am going on about... Music speaks louder after all! Introducing Xavier Rudd's COME PEOPLE.