Since writing to you last August, I’ve been on a hiatus, not from purpose, but a cosmic reset. There comes a time in everyone’s life I believe, when we recognize that we can’t keep up the pace without consequence. So, for the past 6 months I have unplugged. I’ve danced with the pause, a respite from routine, and have been reimagining life.

I traveled to the UK to meet up with my film colleagues. It was our first face-to-face encounter since we gathered for weekly meet-ups over Zoom four years ago. Our relationships have morphed over time, transforming from professional discourse to heart-felt dialogue with fast friends. We have been in each other’s lives through thick and thin and I can’t imagine a week without their company.

I visited family in Ireland, traveling to Youghal, a small seaside village where my Mom was born and walked the narrow roads in Cork where she grew up. I spent hours in the graveyard with my cousin until we found where my grandmother rested.

I also embarked upon a solo journey on the Camino Portuguese without an agenda, reservations, or schedule. A pilgrimage of self, sacred footsteps of ancient tales I strolled. Whispers of the wind carried my dreams, as I sought to rekindle life’s vibrant streams. It was a symphony of solitude, a great emptying, and reawakened my creative heart.

On this long and winding path through ancient villages, seaside towns, and deep forests, there were no thoughts of past, nor future. A walking meditation, in tuned with each breath, each footstep.

I returned home unwilling to step into busy-making and have continued my soft pace while reflecting on how to move forward with grace and purpose while honouring the wisdom I gleaned from my journey. I found not just answers, but a melody lifelong.

Blessings for your journey.

Kim

In honour of Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, I offer this short film that I created several years ago during a workshop with the Story Centre.

Dementia:  Blessing or Betrayal