The Path Begins In Rupert

By: Mara Munro

I sit at one end of a warmly coloured couch, holding in my right hand a freshly pasted collage, the torn sides of the magazine images and words curling upwards with the hastily laid glue. My left hand waves and points sporadically over the quickly constructed yet deeply inspired piece attempting to describe the subconscious significance of the work, which becomes clearer with every word. I am unaware of my body, its appearance or posture as eight strangers on various chairs and couch-ends around me stare intently during this uninhibited explanation of my ‘work of art’. I am living purely in this moment of free expression derived deeply from within and inspired by childhood crafts. This moment was my apex of a daylong workshop I had the opportunity to participate in called: ‘Visioning: Choosing your Life’.

We gathered one clear and sunny day in Rupert Quebec; brought together at Linda Vanderlee’s newly renovated barn by an ad, the word of a friend, or the serendipitous beckon of an azure flyer. Linda, a consultant, facilitator and coach, yet more aptly defined as an inspired woman walking her own path of success, greeted us with a warm voice and hot coffee. Nestled at the back of her property, the barn felt comfortably isolated with its rustic clean finish and view of the rolling Gatineau hills. Thus, we embarked on a journey aimed at bringing us closer to the seat of our individual goals, desires, fears and successes, whilst addressing the beliefs and values within us that worked towards or against these desires, and the support systems needed to realize them. With a creative spontaneity and focused energy quite unlike anyone I have ever met, Linda skilfully, guided us through various exercises which ultimately broke down walls erected by years of social training built of ‘I can’t’ and ‘I should’, until we reached our personal bridges hung with placards reading: “I dream’ and ‘I wish’. Between munching on slices of melon, grapes, cheese, chocolate and almonds we opened our hearts to the stranger beside us; we held glue and scissors and let our subconscious run rampant through glossy magazine pages; we lay in silence meditating on our “ideal week”; and most rare to me, we each had moments of speaking a truth so deep that the shock was liberating.

Events like these usually transcend sex, race or age, and this was of no exception. At first it struck me that I was the youngest of the group and that perhaps I was here ahead of my time. However, by the end of the day, I felt an overwhelming gratitude to my fellow ‘visionaries’ (as one dubbed us), for their thoughtful and carefully reflected advice. I felt privileged to draw from their experiences and accumulated wisdom, and that, in the time they had set aside to assess their own futures, they were happy to help someone with fears and questions they may have left in their past. Yet, even stronger than this difference, were the immense similarities I saw amongst the hopes, fears and desires driving us all. Linda later said: “we are all always searching for our dreams”, and I realized that there is no magic age, no miraculous event that clears the path forever. We are always bumping blindly against walls of beliefs rooted in false values and seeing clearly in mirrors held by friends; the visioning process is a truly effective method of recognizing this.

It then became apparent to me that this visioning group, and the unforgettable day we had together, was no chance occurrence. We all had one thing of the upmost importance in common: we were all ready for it. Someone once said that they have avoided taking this workshop because they were scared of what they might find, not around them, but within. This sentiment is of the utmost validity, and is the crux of my new self-discovery: the only answer you will get from a day like February 11th is that you have all the answers inside. For many, this may be reason enough to run in the opposite direction, yet for those who are ready this is the most liberating, empowering and energizing answer in the world.

One Saturday morning, just less than one month later, I met with three other ‘visionaries’ for coffee and catch-up. Since the workshop, we had undergone changes ranging from career moves and emotional and spiritual awakenings to subtle shifts in daily routines; all were life changing. One remerging colour of our conversation was that the workshop had helped up to broaden the scope of what we believed was attainable in all aspects of our lives: the pink bubble of possibilities was filling and expanding. Thus, despite the constant questioning and uncertainty repeated in our stories, underlying it was not fear, but optimism towards the variety of choices we now allowed ourselves to envision.

With this perspective in place, I noticed that every one of us had developed a certain faith. “Everything happens for a reason”, Linda had said, “and once you get clear as to what you want, it will come to you”. How sceptical I would once have been and misinterpreted this advice as idealistic thumb sitting. Yet now, my lens has changed. It seems as though coincidences are all too relevant and frequent now to be chance, as a fellow ‘visionary’ said: “’incidence’ is the part of this word that has the most meaning because the insight that we have gained has materially impacted us”, thus, “we have to believe that this is the way the universe responds to our inner changes”. We all seemed to have developed a certain level of faith in the beautiful mystery that is life, and these incidents that allow us to reach towards what we want. As we parted ways this cold and sunny Saturday, I felt again energized with the power of support and inspiration that resonated in me that Saturday in Rupert.

In retrospect, I am brought to the essence and title of this workshop: Visioning. One of us said: “In the beginning I thought that visioning would let me see something that existed already which I couldn’t see before. After the workshop, I realized that nothing exists until I can see it first in my minds eye”. To me, the word connotes two important things: the inner clarity to define ourselves, enabling the outer clarity to view the world as a place that supports us, where we can be agents of our desires and goals. For me personally, the proof is in the paper pudding, my dream is to write, and this vision has commenced through the strength and inspiration drawn from this workshop and the people in it.