My visits are always chock-full of three main super-calming, super-fulfilling, super-soul-satisfying things:
1. Nature. My parent’s place, which was the site of Michelle and my wedding last year, is nestled in the woods of Northern Vancouver Island. When it’s nighttime we can see every star in the sky. During the day it’s quiet and never really quiet, as the bugs, birds and other animals make quite a bit of natural noise. Apparently, Michelle and I just missed some “fairly annoying” woodpecker babies that spent the first month of their lives banging their faces against the tree outside my parents’ bedroom. As I said about the stars, there’s no light or noise pollution in these parts. And I’m always just a minute or two away from being immersed in some pretty darn beautiful natural landscapes. Vancouver certainly is a green – maybe even the greenest – city and still it’s got nothing on the non-busy, non-concrete, non-noisy world of Merville. So, the nature of this place reminds me of what’s really important on this planet.
2. Deck Talks. This one time, my dad and I built what is quite possibly the greatest deck ever made. And by “we built” I mean that my dad built it and I was there when he did. Anyway, this deck has become a mecca of social gatherings as well as a place where, at least once a year, I discuss my goals for the future as well as my wild, dreamy ideas. No matter how ridiculous these ideas might be it’s okay because we’re in the safe, brainstormy place that is the deck in Merville. My parents are fiercely inclusive and, even though she at times struggles to fully comprehend and engage the talkative nature of the Horn Family, Michelle is slowly but surely carving out her place in the life-mapping, big-picture conversations of the deck.
3. Food. The Horn Family Estate yields a harvest from one of the most impressive small-acreage-garden-harvests this side of the arable soil on which Richmond is built. And my parents have come into their own as the best kind of naturally organic foodies. The menu is typically of the local variety and it is always delicious. And, best of all, when we point our wagons homeward we’ve always got a backpack full of canned food, fresh vegetables and containers of leftovers from giant meals during the week.
So there it is. Through these three things I can easily achieve a relaxed and reflective zen state by the end of the visit.
More importantly, how and where do you find your zen?
