Lam Unfiltered

"Look closely at the present you are constructing. It should look like the future you are dreaming." ~Alice Walker I wrote this in my journal a while back. I keep the first page blank, and that is where I write inspiring quotes - the bits that catch my eye on Instagram, or in books that I am reading. Creation needs inspiration. Another one I wrote down recently is : "Love your fucking life. Take pictures of everything.Tell people you love them. Talk to random strangers. Do things that you're scared to do. Fuck it, because so many of us die and no one remembers a thing we did. Take your life and make it the best story in the world. Don't waste that shit." ~Drew Drucifer Reiber I keep my journals for 6 months, then let them go. I trash them, let all the angst and ideas compress in the garbage truck. Before I toss them I look at the quotes and am always amazed at how the theme changes from month to month, with yearnings I don't always know I have...

We have made it to August - and it has been a hot summer. Forests are burning in Northern Ontario, communities are on alert for evacuation. It is difficult to imagine down here, where we dwell in the smog and humidity. My mind feels smoggy this week. The aftermath of the gathering for my sister, the intense activity of painting the majority of our house in four weeks. The sadness that comes when things end. The year to date has been a flurry of big tasks. Now the activity has stopped, and I find myself  annoyed and impatient. I am suddenly irritable and very terse. I have had to walk a lot this week. Physically, I am doing pretty well. I am maintaining my core strength I earned carrying 18 lbs across Portugal and Spain. I am walking at least 20 km a week, and have introduced Yoga to help regain some of the flexibility I know I have lost. Desk jobs are the worst for your body. Many workplaces take into consideration that sitting for 8 hours a day is terrible for your core, f...

The first time I was in Porto, it was early April and Porto was still chilly and  very wet. Three weeks later I loaded myself onto a bus in Santiago and traveled in three hours what had taken me two full weeks to walk. It was a little mind-bending, and I watched out the window for signs of the path beside the highway. I emerged from the bus station like a mole from the ground, with a tourist map in hand. I scanned around for a landmark - and then began to weave my way towards the city centre. I don't know why I was so hesitant to take the Metro, it was right beside the bus station, but I think you miss so much when you are underground. You learn so much about a city by walking the streets. Once I saw Sao Bento train station, I breathed a huge sigh of relief, I was back in somewhat familiar territory. You have to picture me at a street corner waiting for the light to change. Mid 50s, massive backpack, travel weary and dusty from my walk across town - clunky blue hiking boots a...

Testing. In April I flew to Portugal and walked the Camino from Porto to Santiago Spain. While I walked I thought of all the changes I needed to make in my life - because we all eventually run out of time. Changes in my home, changes in my habits, changes in my focus. Now I hike after work at least 3 times a week. I walk to the trails near my home - and do a fast 6km up and down hills and steps, through the forest and then the park. All the while I am planning, thinking, pondering. Today is my first day here at Lam Unfiltered. This is my beginning.