"Everyone must believe in something...."

"...I believe I'll go canoeing." -- Henry David Thoreau

I sat down to blog today, and was all set to write about motivation. And as I was looking for the quote of the day and simultaneously reading some of Grey Owl's works, I became distracted (oh, the irony) and found myself lost in a dozen paddling websites. I decided I'd blog about something I'm very passionate about; canoeing. Then, after a few minutes of blankly staring at a picture I'd taken a while back, I discovered that I could very easily integrate the two. So, in a very roundabout and story-telling way, I will explain this to you.

I'm an outdoorsy person, first of all. I don't know why; I come from a family of haggis-eating Scottish immigrants who would love nothing more than to sit in the backyard with a beer with The Best of The Proclaimers or Rod Stewart on the stereo. Which, might I add, I do not mind at all. It's tradition!

However, we rarely camp together (and if we do it's "luxury camping") and I'm the only person in my family of 4 that skis, trips, hikes, rock climbs or swims. And I don't really mind. I have accepted that by some strange quirk, I have become addicted to adventure. I love nothing more than the relaxed challenge of wilderness I've never seen. Nothing brightens me more inside than the prospect of exploration.

I could not have explained it better than Grey Owl;

"The feel of a canoe gunnel at the thigh, the splash of flying spray in the face, the rhythm of the snowshoe trail, the beckoning of far-off hills and valleys, the majesty of the tempest, the calm and silent presence of the trees that seem to muse and ponder in their silence; the trust and confidence of small living creatures, the company of simple men; these have been my inspiration and my guide. Without them I am nothing." -- Archie Belaney/Grey Owl

My inspiration, my solace, my love is nothing more than to be outside. I almost immediately relax around water, whether it's the ocean, a lake, a river, or even if it'd just raining. So, it would only make sense that I would be at my most comfortable in a canoe. I can think of little better than to spend a day paddling aimlessly around, traveling wherever a whim takes me.

Exploring is my motivation.

People have all sorts of motivators, often more than one. Some are motivated by money, some by thoughts of success, some by their mothers' praise; by dreams, by the common good, by the name in spotlights, by someone they feel for, by the promise of donuts, even. We are all motivated by something; for if we weren't, we'd never get anything done. We'd all be stagnant.

The strange thing about motivation is that it can't always work when you need it to. Sometimes, what motivates us doesn't apply to the situation in which we need a little help to get moving. This is what I have experienced quite a lot lately.

What started me on this whole tangent was the fact that I was studying for a chemistry exam last week and simply could not bring myself to focus. I was thinking of ways I could motivate myself. No one was going to pay me for passing chem. No one would give me a plaque, the Nobel Peace Prize, a spot on Broadway, an engagement ring, or even an apple fritter. My motivation was leveling off at around zero...wait, scratch that...perhaps negative three. So I started to think; what could get me to study?

I started off thinking about where I was. I had decided to go to Trent because I had an unshakable feeling that I was going to be happy there. Generally, my gut instincts are true, and have thus far never lead me astray. Just walking across the bridge or by the canal can bring my stress levels down and my endorphins up. However, the more I sat and attempted to study, the more I would wish I was outside, enjoying the rare sun you find during the academic year at Trent.

I nearly went insane.

Which is, what I realized, how I had been feeling all of my year last year. I think I find not being at school very hard because a) there's nothing to challenge me, and b) I don't have the means of exploring while at home. I'm nervous to spend the summer back home, because I'm afraid my motivational fires will die out; I'll spend the summer either at work or in front of the TV despite my best efforts, not out cycling and exploring and practicing guitar like I hope to.

So I compromised and promised myself that if I could just hang on for this last exam, that if I could just crack down on the studying, I would plan myself a canoe trip. Myself, perhaps a friend or two, a canoe, a harmonica, and an expanse of water. Even just the thought of it made me happier. My motivation worked for me, although not as well as I'd hoped, in the case of chemistry. Sometimes you just have to do things because you have to do them. "Suck it up, princess," as my Outdoor Ed teacher would say, speeding past you on a portage with a canoe and a pack on her tiny 100lb frame. I always envied her unending desire to push herself and others forward.

I think my motivation has also been cause for my interest in environmental science. I feel like everything I can do, everything I discover, everything I can learn about the environment I can put down as investment in a future where we still have the luxury of untouched wilderness, where I can bring my kids out on the water and teach them to paddle. I think canoeing and interior camping are very organic ways of being. The utter absence of human noise, the almost limitless expanse of trees and water and sky, the knowledge that your presence has an absolutely minimal effect of the world around you... I live for that.

"What sets a canoeing expedition apart is that it purifies you more rapidly and inescapably than any other travel. Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute; pedal five hundred on a bicycle and you remain basically a bourgeois; paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature." -- Pierre Elliott Trudeau

I guess I am just a child of nature.

I wonder what you are, what motivates you?

Think about it. Put it to good use.

-- Cate





This is a shot of me on my trip to Newfoundland two summers ago. :)

Photojournalism

"When in the wild, take only pictures; leave only footprints" --Anonymous

Here are a few pictures I took with a friend's Nikon Coolpix today. I think it's high time I invested in an SLR and tried my hand at photojournalism...what do you think?

(PS, if you wish to use these for anything, please ask first, as I may enter them into a contest or something!)

I love this last one. Please leave comments!! A Nikon sponsor would be nice...
Next blog: environmental and physical motivation. :)

Little Rascals

"We do not inheret the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children" -- Native American Proverb

I experienced something the other day that I think everyone should have at some point in their life.

I was humbled by a kid.

Here I was, on my way across the bridge to Bata for a coffee, grumbling to myself about how early it was and that I had an exam in less than two hours...and there's kids everywhere. Which, might I add, is something I'm used to at work as a lifeguard, but is a rare occurrence on the Trent Symons Campus.

Kids running, playing, screaming. And strangely, they seemed to almost fit; like birds, they moved this way and that, in flocks, alone, up, down, left, right, squealing and chirping and singing. There was one boy standing on the bridge with his friends, staring wide-eyed at the Otonabee River and Bata Library, with all it's bustling university students. Then he turns to one of his friends and says,

"Wow! I wish we could be here every day."

Just like that. Completely humbled me to the core. But more on that later.

I love kids for this simple reason; you can learn so much from them, if you just let yourself. I realized that half the time, kids have no idea what they're saying or implicating, but just being around a child that just is can be an eye-opening experience.

People say that kids are the innocent and untainted members of our society. Yes, this much is true. But the opposite, however, is not. I don't think adults are uncensored version of children -- rather, children are the uncensored version of adults.

Who hasn't had the embarrassing, yet hilarious experience with a kid who points at the person in line in front of you and says loudly, "Why does that man have such a big belly?" or "Why does that old lady look like she's bald?"

Kids don't really have a filter yet, so when they speak, things come out exactly how they're meant. Which, as we can see, can be a good and a bad thing. But I appreciate honesty. So many adults use that filter far too much.

Sometimes I look at a kid and wish so badly that I could be one of them again; to have absolutely nothing to do all day but run around and experience things. I have two younger cousins (whom are really more like nieces, as one is my Goddaughter) and I love taking them places just to see the looks on their faces when they see something new. The wide-eyed look of wonder, the smiles that could light up a black hole...what an awesome thing! And they ask the best questions, too. I don't know how many times my cousin has asked me a question I didn't know the answer to. But you know, I always make it my goal to find out.

It has always been said that our children are our future. That has never been more true.

But people are also saying that the upcoming generation of children are lazy, overweight, and far too engaged with the media.

This is a problem easily fixed.

Take a kid. Put him outside. Watch.

It's amazing just to see what kids will do outside -- things you would have never thought to do as an adult, but now that you see a little guy or girl do it, you wonder why you hadn't. Why not peek into a rabbit hole, do a pike jump off of a dock, climb to the top of a tree? Why not make man out of rocks, a dress out of seaweed, a home for a duck?

Kids love being outside; we just need to give them more opportunity to get out there and see the world. And with that world will come an appreciation for it. Every child should have the opportunity to camp or spend a few devoted days to exploring outside. Kids will grow up and miss the fields and lakes of their childhood and protect them, especially if they realize that past generations have monopolized such land and made such grave mistakes. I have nothing but faith!

As for the kid on the bridge...

He reminded me of something that I try not to forget; that being outside is a privilige. Enjoying nice weather and a beautiful view is something to be appreciated. How many students go across that bridge each day without giving their lives so much of a thought, and this kid is wishing for the very thing we take for granted! Going to university itself is something to be thankful for every day. Going to university to maintain the environment is possibly the best thing I could be doing with my time right now!

So thanks, little man, for making my day. I have no doubt you'll do us proud in the future.

Everyone reading -- your assignment for the week; act like a kid!















Two of my friends enjoying the sunset on Founder's Walk.

Opinions

"It is not advisable, James, to venture unsolicited opinions. You should spare yourself the embarrassing discovery of their exact value to your listener."
-- Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, 1957

First, a short update;

I'm not quite sure where I want to take this blog. It started out as an environmental blog, but apparently it seems to want to be a place where I can rant about the failures of society. I don't think I really want to continue this trend. However, I think this will just be a place for thoughts I think need to be shared, with a mostly environmental focus.

So, I'm going to update you with a few things today, and then I'm going to write another piece, so you may get two posts for the price of one today. I know I've been quite irregular with updates, but exams have been hectic. I'm thinking once summer hits, I'll update at least once a week. My friends have also been bugging me to get my comic series , 'Frank and Honest', out to the public. I think you'll enjoy them, so once I have a decent collection of them started, they may appear here or on a new page!

Okay. So here's my minor rant for the day;

I went back to Dwyer for the afternoon today. I keep forgetting about the atmosphere there. Although I had to go get a Visitor's Pass (this particular secretary didn't know me), I felt at home once again. I had students and teachers smiling and saying hi to me like I had never left. I hadn't realize how widespread my last blog post had become, as teachers and students I had never even talked to expressed that they felt it was very powerful. Thank you to all who read it, and for spreading it around! It feels nice to have support, and to be supporting you.

I would like to address a second article, written in The Central, by a Mr. Ingino. First of all, wow. It's impressive that your passion for the subject is so strong that you must type in caps for half of your column. Second of all, I hope you realize that I may have been the only one to read it to the end, since it was so offensive and grammatically incorrect. I don't mean to be harsh, sir, but I'd like to let you know that making a point with clear and concise writing is a lot easier than literary screaming.

Mr. Ingio wrote a column for 'The Central', stating that the incidents at Dwyer could have been prevented, and that the principal was to blame. This opinion is valid, however when Mr. Ingino stated that "Catholic values need to be upheld" and, in the next breath, said that the principal was to blame and he should "F@#K THE POLICY BOOK [...] you should have followed your f@#$ing policy book and reported that retard of TK to the police." I could not help but laugh.

Honestly?

I go to church with my family to St. Mary of the People Parish, across the street from Dwyer. I took catechism for at least three years, and religion classes for at least 1o. I know Catholic values...and swearing and using the word "retard" (which, by the way, should not be used to refer to anyone) is most certainly not a Catholic way to deal with a situation. How can you expect your community educators to uphold values when you don't? How would you feel if a school official came into your son's class and called him a "retard", "social reject", and "a piece of shit" ? But this didn't happen, did it? Catholic values are in place at school, but most certainly not your newspaper.

[ I apologize for the profanity used here, but I am directly quoting Mr. Ingino's article. ]

I can't believe you can call a principal a "failure" in terms of values when you yourself cannot uphold them...and then even continue on to call him a "hypocrite". Mr. D'amico just arrived at Dwyer this past year. I don't know the man, but I can say that surely anyone who experiences the Dwyer atmosphere must know that the school is a place of love and respect, and that everyone works together. What I do know is that at my graduation ceremony, he passed me my diploma with pride, shook my hand and said with genuine warmth, "Congradulations." I was actually touched at that moment.

Any principal would have done what Mr. D'amico has done. It's not his job to be a bouncer or a cop, and it's not his job to entertain parents wacky ideas of safety -- the school board tells him the general outline of what needs to be done; namely, keep a safe place, run the school efficiently, and deal with incidents fairly. He can't possibly control the student inflow and outflow; the essential Catholic outlook on education is that no one gets turned away. That is a value that was upheld.

"We are Catholics and it should be a badge of pride. Everything has a price in life and we must teach our children value, otherwise we get TK."

Your religion should not be a badge of pride, sir. It's ok to be proud in what you believe. But I feel that it is not something to flash like a rented Jag convertible -- you didn't build it, you don't own it, and you know nothing about it's inner workings. And your religion is certainly nothing you should be using to justify your thoughts when those thoughts are so painfully contradicting of the very values you preach.

I'm sorry, I can't go any further into this article...I could quote every contradictory sentence, but I won't, because it's not worth it.

However, I will say this;

Oshawa, Durham, and possibly the world, would be a better place if people stopped expressing their opinions with too little information and too little time to think about what is being said. Please stop laying blame and spreading hate (I hope I myself am not being contradictory here, as I do tend to speak of these individuals) without first consulting all information and sides and your own true values. If we all use critical thinking and take time before we answer in this fast-paced world, we might be a more agreeable society with better answers to complex problems.

Everyone is open to your own interpretation and your opinion, and even free speech.

But for heaven's sakes, use it wisely!

--Cate