Back in the Blogosphere!
Hello again! I’m back to blogging! Over the past two weeks, I’ve come up with a number of ideas for posts, but because some of you have been asking, today I’ll let you know about Humber!
From the 10th to the 16th I attended the Humber Summer Writers Workshop. It was seven very long and intense days, but it was a wonderful experience. I learned a lot about publishing, editing and writing, and met some wonderful people. Some highlights of the week: a reading by Canadian literary legend Alistair MacLeod (he brought the entire room to tears), laughing with Miriam Toews, getting some one on one advice from the kind and intelligent Annabelle Lyon, and the list goes on and on.
One of the most moving moments of the week for me was when Canadian author and memoirist Wayson Choy gave a talk. One of the parts I remember most clearly was when he said that he was always disgusted by people who “tolerate” others, as it implies that they are somehow superior. He reminded us of the importance of seeing and appreciating people for who they are. As his second memoir Not Yet, focuses on his two near death experiences, Wayson had some interesting insights on living with illness. His talk was right before Alistair MacLeod’s – I was crying that whole afternoon.
While the experience was amazing, it was also very physically demanding. By the end of the week everyone was walking with a bit of a zombie-lilt, and most of them were not even dealing with fibromyalgia! I’m proud to say that I help up remarkably well. In part, it was because I went to bed really early every night, and made sure to drink lots of water and eat healthy snacks. Mostly though, I think I can credit the healthy changes that I have been making; such a committed and consistent yoga practice has helped make my body stronger.
In the end, I only had to miss out on one event. It was an evening student reading, and I was very eager to go. Unfortunately, when I came home for dinner, I was nearly falling asleep on the table. I debated for awhile, but in the end, realized that I was too tired and was going to have to miss something. The reading would have kept me up until about 11:00pm. I was in bed and asleep by 7:00pm!!
While physically I got to all of the events and managed to stay focused and learn from them, I was pretty grouchy and unpleasant by the end of the week. I normally don’t push myself that hard, and the exhaustion eventually got to me.
The next week, instead of relaxing fully, I had to prepare for my final driving licence test! I’m proud to say not only that I passed (hurray!) but that I managed to manage my stress level during the week and before the test. I know that a few weeks ago, I did not have the resources to control my stress level as successfully as I did. It is nice to see that yoga and meditation have provided me with such useful and tangible results.
I basically pushed through two weeks, and now I’m feeling it a bit! But all things considered, I’m in pretty fantastic shape, and I think with a few days of rest, I will be doing much better. Thanks to everyone for all their kind wishes over the past two weeks. I wanted to provide support for others, but really was not expecting to receive so much support back!
Hope you’ll keep reading :)
