Above: the view from my mailbox. Breathtaking!
It has been many days of wet, chilly weather here, while my homies broil in the customary July Toronto heat wave. While I'd like to be making better use of the lounge chair I bought to induce some hardcore relaxation, the beauty of my surroundings and the inner stillness I am feeling make up for the dismal weather.
I stopped today at our mailboxes that stand at the crossing of Snake and Telkwa High Road. Turning back to the car from checking my mailbox for the first time I was stopped in my tracks by the view. Several snow-mottled mountain peaks rose up to cast their magnificence upon my humbled self. Then I had to chuckle to myself when I pictured the view in the dark hall of my apartment building where I collect my mail in Toronto. So many drastic differences. So many trade-offs.
I have been made intensely aware of the trade-offs between these two environments. When you live an urban life, you give up clean air, natural open spaces, abundant natural beauty and easier access to sanctuary in stillness. Live rurally, you give up traffic, parking problems and greater choice in goods, services and culture. Employment options are limited (especially for artists) and your grocery bills are high.
I have so much more ability to eke out at least a good chunk of my living via music when I'm in an international hub for the arts. In Toronto I get paid for sound design, DJing, making music for dance, video and theatre. But I crave a more visceral connection to living, breathing earth that is much less beholden to the designs of humans.
Garbage management poses other interesting contrasts. I am appreciating becoming more acutely aware of exactly how much waste I produce. I can't just move it from my apartment to the appropriate of three different bins outside. Garbage gets DRIVEN to the dump, paper gets DRIVEN to one place, glass to another, only plastic #2 is recyclable – it's quite an undertaking to get it all straight and accomplished.
But I could go on and on about the trade-offs and the scale would weigh out pretty evenly. Perhaps I will always be that urban-rural halfbreed. The point right now is to suck in this experience and relish in its unique gifts, to broaden and continually enrich my life experience with them.
Off to play (in both senses of the word) at the Kispiox Festival tomorrow. What fun to meet some cool new folks by suddenly playing with them at a much-loved gathering! Nice to ease into that familiar territory of playing bass with a band. Always love when the alchemy glistens. Then it's back to the cabin to surmount any further obstacles to playing and recording in my own musical garden.
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