Another lovely, and lively, day in the Pacific Northwest. After my morning meditation and a quick snack of ginger granola and fruit, I packed a couple books and snacks into my backpack and headed out to the nearby Beaconhill Park to check it out. It's a lovely park; one of the nicest I've been to, and it's quite large. I wandered about until I came to a willow tree by the edge of a large pond. Sitting down at the bench nearby, I soaked in the environment. Peaceful, and beautiful it was with the sun shining bright in the sky. This day was shaping up to be much more relaxing than the first. After a time my mind turned to a couple events that I had planned for later in the day.
After my biking adventure to Royal Roads University, I decided I would bus there today. I was to meet the leader of the horticulture program at noon to get some information, have a look at their learning environment, and possibly speak to some of the students. There I was, sitting on the bench, surrounded by ducks, geese and peacocks (nearly close enough to touch), when I realized that I didn't want to pursue a career in horticulture. Gardening is good, and learning to grow my own food is even better, but I concluded that I didn't want my full time job to be tending to parks or gardens or greenhouses.
My goal over the past six months has been two-fold: find a career I love, and make sure that career is viable in a low energy future. I went on a sabbatical in February of this year with the intent of becoming an illustrator. Two months in, after discovering blogs like Zero Hedge, Peak Prosperity, The Archdruid Report, and others, I realized that spending the next year on art was going to be a mistake, and a waste of time and money. The kind of future I'm expecting will have little room for luxuries like art for art's sake, and trying to make a livelihood from it would be next to impossible. That's when I began my search for a trade skill to learn. I thought I had found the answer in horticulture, but I was wrong. The thought of going to the school and speaking to the horticulture program leader didn't excite me one bit.
Faced with the conundrum of what I should for work, I turned to The Druidry Handbook for some inspiration. I should state now that the option of staying where I am doesn't sit well with me. I'm a federal employee working in the I.T. field, and aside from the job being unsustainable, I find it sucks the life out of me. I only stick around for the salary and the benefits. I want my time to be spent on far more productive and meaningful activities. Reading the handbook wasn't all that helpful for resolving my issues in the short term. All options would either require years of learning before any money could be made. I needed something quicker than that, simply because the decline into a deindustrial future is going to be a slow, drawn out process.
That's when a man, in his late thirties, came walking up with his bicycle and young daughter in tow. He stopped to greet me and said, "what's the good word?" I was confused, and I suppose my face reflected that because he followed up with "what are you reading?" Having decided that I wouldn't hide my true self any more, I told him flat out that I was reading The Druidry Handbook to learn more about nature spirituality and sustainability. He was totally on board with my message. We got to talking about the environment, caring for it, and local volunteer groups like the Sierra Club. He had recently applied for a job with them. After the short chat, he moved on and wished me luck. I did likewise, and couldn't help but think how amazing this city and its people are. These are my people.
Turning back to my little crisis of my work identity, I put the book down and let my subconscious work on the issue for a bit. I watched the ducks sun themselves on the far side of the pond, and the geese peck away at the green lawn as the gears in my mind churned. Another person wandered by; this time it was a young woman with a fancy camera. I had seen her earlier in the park taking pictures of the ducks and peacocks. I told her I had spotted what I believed to be a falcon in one of the nearby trees. She was off right away to get some pictures. All these little encounters with the people here give me hope that moving here would be an amazing vehicle for my personal growth, simply because it would help me get out of old habits. I began to wonder about her motivations: was the photography a hobby, part of an education or a career? Followed by the thought that if she knew what was coming like I did, then she wouldn't waste her time chasing birds with her camera. That's when the insight hit me; it doesn't matter what she does as long as she's happy doing it.
I was so ready to sacrifice what I loved doing because I wanted to be prepared for tough times, while having already admitted to myself that the transition to a low energy, deindustrial future was going to be a drawn out, decades-long process. So why couldn't I pursue a career in art, so long as I made time for preparing in other ways? Even better: what if I were to combine my desire to produce art with a practical trade skill like woodworking? I could learn a valuable trade skill, and express my creativity and blossoming druidry all at the same time. Woodworking is enjoyable, it would allow me to work with my hands, and I could create! I am letting the idea percolate in my brain.
All of this happened in the morning. Later on, I explored the park more thoroughly. Everything was on foot today; I had had enough of biking for the time being. I decided then to wander up to Victoria's downtown area to get a feel for the lunch time crowd, and to check out some of their book stores. The area didn't disappoint. If anything, it felt like an expanded and wealthier version of Osborne village, my eclectic neighbourhood in Winnipeg. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I'll be back there again three days from now to check out the farmer's market, and to sit in on the next Transition Victoria meet up at Solstice Cafe.
The afternoon was a lazy affair. I came home to cool down a bit from all the sun and walking. I changed into some shorts and a tee, and headed down to the closest beach. It was about a ten minute walk from my hotel. Again, I was stunned by the beauty of this place. In fact, I was feeling guilty that I could derive so much pleasure from this place! The mountain vistas, the crystal clear water, the bright blue sky... I think the guilt was born from my willingness to leave my family and friends behind to enjoy the overwhelming, natural beauty of the island. I thought the Okanagan Valley was a lovely place, but it's nothing compared to here.
In the evening I met up with a fellow reader of the Peak Prosperity web site who lives in Victoria. We talked about the uncertain future we all face, what actions we'd taken thus far to prepare for it, and just generally enjoyed the fact that we could sit down and chat with another person face-to-face about these issues without having the other person shut down out of fear or denial. It was a great experience, and I hope I can meet more like-minded individuals. We will be meeting up again on the weekend so that my compatriot can show me around the island. I didn't rent a car so my mobility is somewhat limited. I would like to see what some of the outlying regions look like.
My gosh, it's late! I can't believe this is only my second day here. It's been a whirlwind of exploration and outreach. So far, so good.
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