Musings on Taking Great Leaps of Faith
Posted on 14. Jul, 2008 by Laura-Jane - Whimfield in Inspirations, Life Dream, Personal
Oh sure, I liked the idea of selling everything we owned, driving across the country in the middle of winter, and starting a new life on a new coast. However, I would surely never have acted on this idea had it not been for the person in the other room .
You see, I seem to be afraid of new experiences, and I am certainly afraid of letting go of the old ones; I get distracted by buts and what-ifs, and I worry about regrets.
Even so, I have somehow managed to merge my life with this amazing human being who is fearless and has a ridiculous zest for life. When he looks forward all he sees is good, and he never looks back.
Over the past few years, every few months we would look at houses for sale on the internet, and ponder what it would be like to move here or there–”here” or “there” usually being Canadian cities with the most affordable real estate markets. I loved picturing our life transported into a new city and a new home, but for me it was just idle entertainment–a pleasant fantasy with which to while away an afternoon. Meanwhile, he would look over at me earnestly and say, “We could do it, you know”, and I would smile and say, “Sure we could”; not really believing it, but playing along.
I remember when we first saw our little house for sale. It was on Prince Edward Island, and it was just another picture on the computer screen, a cute house in a quaint town that was thousands of miles further East than I had ever been. “Sure we could”, I said with a smile. Of course, it would be nice, but…impossible! We’ve never been there! But what about our families? What if we hated it? What if the people hated us?
After many buts and what ifs and worries galore, I distinctly recall going out to lunch with a set of our parents, and sharing with them the early news that we were considering moving thousands of miles away and, no, we weren’t planning on visiting first, and, no, we didn’t know what we would do once we got there, and, yes, we know it sounds absurd.
Even then, I remember feeling unsure about whether we were actually going to embark on this adventure. I wanted to do it and I could hear myself saying the words, but the whole thing was so inconceivable to me that I could barely wrap my cerebellum around it.
And now, we are here, and sometimes I just have to remind myself how far we’ve come, and that we are sitting inside the house that was just a tiny picture on a computer screen, thousands of miles further East than I had ever been.
Bonnie
Jul 14th, 2008
Hi Laura Jane,
My name is Bonnie and my husband, Sylvain, and I live in Quebec learning how to live sustainable in this north country. I found you because we are considering moving to PEI for more land and a longer growing season. We came to Quebec from Maui, Hawaii, USA where we lived for almost ten years off the grid, growing 90% of our food and making a living with agri-tourism and arts and crafts.
There are some books by Helen and Scott Nearing that deal with homesteading that I think would really give you some inspiration and pratical advice -if you haven’t read them already. The books are called “The Good Life” and “Continuing the Good Life”. These books have been very important to us.
Do you have a greenhouse or a root cellar?
Keep posting,
Bonnie
Naomi
Jul 15th, 2008
You have definitely come a long way….in more ways than one!
Laura-Jane
Jul 15th, 2008
Hi Bonnie,
Thank you for your note and recommendations! To answer your questions, I haven’t read any relevant books (except some of the Foxfire Books), so I appreciate knowing which ones are thought to be the good ones. We do not have a greenhouse or a root cellar. I have been reading online lately about root cellars, actually, and find them to be very interesting and something I would like to try.
This year, we are focusing mainly on getting our house to withstand the PEI winters, so we barely even have a garden (although my mom helped us plant a small veggie patch when she was here on a visit), haven’t done much with alternative energy, etc. It can be frustrating at times because there are so many projects that we would like to begin, but we know that come Winter we’ll be glad we focused solely on the house this year. We are also considering small-scale agriculture on some of our fields, but again, that will be for another season.
I can confirm that there are large (beautiful) properties for sale suitable for agriculture. The word on the street is that cut over woodland is $1000 an acre, cleared land being worth slightly more.
I’m sure you two are far more knowledgeable on matters of sustainability than we, so I have no words of wisdom there. :) If you’re interested in PEI from the local perspective, you might find the “PEI Talk” forum to be of interest: . It is quite active and any posted questions get a lot of response: http://www.peiinfo.com/forums/index.php
The only people that I know of to be off-grid here on PEI (although I am sure there are MANY but I am just not aware of them) are here: http://www.pinegrovemusic.com/house.html.
Thank you for saying hello. Please keep in touch especially if you do plan to move to the Island.
Best,
Laura-Jane
Laura-Jane
Jul 15th, 2008
Hello darling sister Naomi! Thank you for your positivity… You’re the best!
nadine
Jul 15th, 2008
I love this entry sweet baby jane!
Laura-Jane
Jul 15th, 2008
And to my other sister Nadinee, you’re the best TOO!
Vicki
Jul 16th, 2008
I have to say Laura -Jane you are great , but Cam I love you & this is such a great picture!! You truly are where you need to be. Doing what makes you happy. Finally I think you have found your place. I love you & you too LJ of course Love Mom
Sarah
Jan 24th, 2009
I found your blog in a search to see just what life on PEI is like, and it looks like I’m doing research that you were doing yourself not long ago! My husband and I are looking at a little picture on the internet of a home on 46-acres and are seriously considering on embarking on the same adventure you and your husband have.
I will continue reading your adventures and hope that it gives me information, courage and insight! I have gone from the excited, daydreaming phase to the scared, nervous phase–but I’m hoping that as I gain more information I will get past that.
Did you come from a larger city/suburb before you moved to the Island? I’d actually be coming from the States–with a husband and two kids in tow!
Anyway, I’m rambling. Off to read more!
Elizabeth
Feb 18th, 2011
Last month I decided I wanted to quit my job and move away somewhere. Not just anywhere, somewhere far and mysterious to me. I had found myself in a bit of a crisis of identity. I have always professed myself to be a true free sprit, passionate and spontaneous. Much to my shegrin though, I woke up one day in my secure job as a boring computer programmer and though to myself, “Is this it for me?”
Currently, I live in Ontario, and having the limited capacity for imagination that I do, I looked at a map, and for all-intensive purposes, British Columbia seemed to fit the bill.
Mountains, and oceans and miles of great outdoors – fish and streams and fantastic Canadian history. What more could I ask for?
So I did what most people do when embarking on any new undertaking. I googled. To be more precise, I googled, “Driving across Canada,” and after perusing a few informational articles on the subject, I stumbled across this blog.
I can see that this post is quite old, and I am anxious to continue reading on about your incredibly bold journey. However, I simply couldn’t wait until the end to tell you how incredibly inspiring your story is.
Against all odds, you and your husband have done something that everyone dreams about, but never has the balls (yes, I said it, balls!)to do.
Myself, I am absolutely terrified. I am driving alone, well, not entirely, I have a small entourage of my faithful canine companion, and a strange collection of hermit crabs that I can’t seem to part with.
Everytime I get a chance to sit down and read some more of your life story, I am filled with so much passion to explore and challenge myself. And I feel as though the terror about everything that could go wrong, doesn’t seem so terrible, it seems like life, an adventure.
So, with all my heart, I thank you two for sharing your story. And you especially, Laura-Jane, for your remarkable ability to translate into words the forgotten human experience of life in Canada. I feel that you two have captured the essence of a time and a way of life that too many people take for granted in this day and age.
You are true pioneers. And I am happy to know that there are still people like you two left out there in this world.