The silver lining – who says cloudy days can’t be beautiful?

A cloudy day can be a gift. A day to curl up with a blanket with our hands wrapped around a warm cocoa. The special stolen moments where life seems simple and there is time to reflect. Sometimes a cloudy day can seem dark and brooding. And it is up to us, despite the storm, to find the silver lining.

To reflect, hibernate and give time to know ourselves is equally important as expressing ourselves. And in today’s time – we are often expected to output frequently. This can inhibit the challenging and rewarding work of turning inward to learn about ourselves.

Today marks the anniversary of Let’s Taste Canada’s official launch in Nova Scotia. I was asked by reporter Richard Mackenzie from The Casket Newspaper what would be the hardest part of the trip. I responded sharing my life because I am a private person. This is still true.

For me, the storm has been a flurry of change – one of the only constants in life – ignited from listening to incredible interviews and experiencing travel. I had to sift through feelings, thoughts, values, and decisions to realign my life.  As a result, the past six months have been a blur. Of course – as hindsight does – I should have known that a dream come true would have a profound impact on my life.

This period of change has not been easy. I have changed gears from driving and interviewing to learning technical editing and the art of podcasting – with a lot of help (thank you). I have worked on myself, cleared out many priorities and commitments and even chimed in on timely BC policy (this is for a future post). And it has all taken time. Stolen time. Time, I have resented because of the burning desire to continue. Time, I am learning to accept as part of the process.

And so – I ask for forgiveness for my hibernation from social media, podcasts and blogging. In return, I acknowledge my hibernation, my fervor of clearing space for our food adventure and lastly, my first step of being vulnerable, despite the discomfort, is to acknowledge my experience of trying to figure out how to share our food adventure in a way that is respectful to you, to me and to the community.

My first step is to accept my fear. And I’d like to share it with you. My fear is rooted in the inability to listen to how you are doing today. Do you smile? Is there a sadness behind your eyes? Are you ready to laugh? I care about you. In listening and asking questions I try to facilitate the space for someone to listen to themselves. In this format of communication, I can’t listen in the same way and I’m afraid that in sharing I may have some unintended consequence – someone may be hurt or offended. This fear comes from a place of love – because I believe and care about you and your knowledge. So, to work through my fear I accept that this work may not speak to you. I trust that you know yourself best to choose what wish to experience and how you want to participate – or not.

The second step is to identify what is the Let’s Taste Canada community? What is deserving of taking up your time? Feedback is more than welcome.

My thoughts are that our community is rooted in food. Food connects us to ourselves, each other, our community and values. Food is emotion. Food is deeply personal. Facilitating Let’s Taste Canada is a privilege and a responsibility. The stories collected explore how food impacts people’s lives and Canada both personally and professionally. These stories are powerful and have changed me. These stories embrace the messy beautiful challenges of food experiences. And so – I must trust myself because those who have shared their stories have trusted me to share their food story. My hope is that the sharing of Let’s Taste Canada, this community rooted in food, food adventures and sharing of stories will ignite an inquiry for you – just as it has for me. I look forward to growing with you.

In this next phase, I realize I am a part of the story. And so – in the most terrified, raw, vulnerable way – I am stepping out of the storm, letting go of the comfort of listening and into the courage of being part of the story. To share how much I care about everyone – especially you. And from this place of love, I will be gentle and kind in my storytelling. I will bumble along since I don’t know it all. And I will continue to work through my discomfort of feeling worthy enough to take up your time and space to share stories into the unknown of the internet. From this place of love, I am driven by an ethical desire to speak from a deeper place of listening to so as to facilitate authentically – Let’s Taste Canada – OUR food adventure. Perhaps there may be something that speaks to you.

My hope is in taking up your time today, this community inspires you to trust yourself. To take the time to be inspired by ourselves from that uncomfortable place and listen to that deep knowing. And perhaps – find the silver lining on a cloudy day,

So how was your day? I really want to know if you’d like to share.

Sending you love

Irena

Ps. Please vote for my next blog post topic

1) Thoughts on vulnerability and the relationship to food
2) The people I’ve interviewed so you can anticipate the podcasts!
3) My commitments in being seen in this blog.
4) Funny challenges and learnings about podcast editing
5) Clumsy cooking
6) One of my realizations on the trip