Creating Connection

The Journey has begun. I am crossing Canada first to the west, then to the east this summer. By the end of August I will have travelled more than 12,000 km, seen this beautiful land with all her lakes and rivers, forests, plains and mountains, and two of her three oceans.

My reason for doing this is wanting to meetas many women as I can who want to know about World Pulse, who want to talk about what is going on in their home areas, who want to talk about how we can work together globally now to end violence and the suppression of women and girls, to take care of the earth, to bring women’s leadership forward to change the direction we are in, on this planet.

My reason for doing this is that so few women in Canada know yet about World Pulse, about how much is already being done. I want everyone to know about how our conversations travel between us at lightning speed, how we are already getting the real news from each other, how we are deep in discussion, how the hope is building, the gratitude to be able to meet online writing, Skyping, Zooming, and on beautiful rare occasion, meeting in person. How the love is flowing. And about how we are creating change.

My reason for doing this is to personally feel a stronger connection with as many sisters as possible, with each other and into this amazing global network, World Pulse.

My first stop was the Ontario Women’s Drum Camp where this year a workshop on World Pulse was part of the agenda. So many good conversations over the weekend, and personally always an energizing, healing time, taking in the vibrations of the drums, reconnecting with women so important to me.

From the first time I experienced Lake Superior I have loved that Lake and this time I had the chance to get to know women who live along her western shore and on the north in Thunder Bay. Living deep in the embrace of the beautiful woods on the edge of her water, women along the way welcomed me with such love and good discussion about positive change, shelter work, women coming together in empowerment. I was able to catch up with Diane Whelan crossing Canada by bike, on foot, canoeing Lake superior these days (take a look at 500 Days in the Wild). When I learned that a long anticipated meeting in Thunder Bay had to be cancelled I doubled back to a very special meeting of the Michipicoten women that the women at the Shelter had mentioned. I also had the good fortune to be in Thunder Bay when Ma Nee Chacaby, First Nation artist and writer of “A Two Spirited Journey” had just arrived home, a meeting I had hoped might happen one day. Being able to meet women working in Shelters and other grassroots women in community work, has been a great beginning. Through the northern Ontario woods and way up to The Pas in Manitoba there is heart filled work being done. Such good solid welcoming Shelters, all with the question of why we still need them. Yesterday I was able to visit the women working in Manitoba Moon Voices, a meeting I have also looked forward to for some time now.

These meetings deepen our connections, just as the messages we send to each other within World Pulse create bonds that are unbreakable.