Life at the Northern Walkabout

Life at the Northern Walkabout was many things last week. But foremost, it was peaceful. After the building and hammering was done each day, we gathered around the fire, sipping homemade wine, singing original songs and laughing. There were so many hilarious conversations and classic stories told. And the power that came from singing aloud outdoors cannot be described. While Sean and I have nights at our apartment playing music, I don’t typically sing in front of other people. It was definitely a first for me to join with others in making such joyful sounds. At the end of the night, I felt so liberated, so myself, so strong from stepping outside my comfort zone and projecting myself. As the sun set one night, Sean and I found ourselves alone on a canoe, drifting across the lake.  When you’re in the middle of nowhere with a quiet soul next to you, the only thing you can feel is “present”. I felt so very present. As we rocked in the waves and I watched Sean fish I thought, this is what living really is… this exact moment. I think that people have many defining moments in their lives and for me, squinting to see Sean through the sunshine behind him, defined our place in life right now. This is what our relationship is: inspiring. And I hope that even as the years ahead of us are chaotic we can go to the lake to be present and find ourselves.  And so our week came and went with hot coffee in the morning by the fire, hiding under the canopy during rainy afternoons, making sweet potato hobo pies for lunch, watching the elk on a nearby farm, crawling atop new rafters for a night-cap, not checking the internet for days, falling asleep on a wooden swing, reggae music playing from a Jeep, chickadees singing, woodpeckers pecking, a little dog barking, hammers hammering and skills saws sawing, with love acted out and gratefulness spreading.Like I said, our week at Northern Walkabout was many things. But foremost, it was peaceful.