Ann Jaimi Alexander is a Tamil Canadian educator and artist living in Vancouver, B.C. She is an avid traveller who has explored 39 countries in search of cultural identity and belonging. She is passionate about food, social justice, mental health and healing through the sharing of stories.
Ann Jaimi Alexander
Corey Minor Smith
Chrissy Gruninger
JULY 5th, 2020 …
I hear people talking about “these uncertain times,” a comment that I feel begs the question … has there ever been a “certain time?”
I imagine people during all the wars of history feeling the times were quite uncertain. People who survived famines, people who faced starvation, and religious persecution, genocide, slavery, and more. Ever since white men started recording their story, the times have been uncertain. Every day we step out into the Unknown. We might as well step out bravely.
It is for this reason that we are not staying home this summer. Old wise people always say the biggest regrets are over opportunities not taken, and fear is a passenger – not the driver – of my bus. Drive on!
The summer I turned 19, I was working in my Aunt Carri’s bakery in Homer, Alaska, an adventurous life in its own right, but relatively posh compared to what I was about to experience. One day, an Icelandic fisherwoman walked into the bakery looking for a crew for a summer of salmon-fishing in Bristol Bay, Alaska.
I’ll never forget what she said to me when I asked her how much the job paid. She said, “well, you won’t lose any money.” “Good enough for me!” I answered enthusiastically, knowing the experience would be well worth the only investment I had to make – my time, energy, and trust that I would survive the great adventure. That one Yes brought me so many memories and stories to tell, and I am sure that this Yes will bring the same.
It is that attitude that has kept me agreeing over and over to “live on the edge of my comfort zone.” Being a Cancer woman, I have a cozy shell that, in truth, I much prefer. But commitment to growth keeps this crab pushing onward, and watching all my old high school mates turn 40 this year and my own 40th milestone rapidly approaching, I must waste no time ensuring that my current shell not calcify to my soft underbody. I would much rather cast it off and suffer a few burns if need be while a new larger, more radiant one grows in.
Last night as I lay in bed not sleeping as the un-tah un-tah un-tah un-tah music beat on, I thought about Independence and all that it means to us. It is everything … the right to make your own choices, learn from your own mistakes, make your own way. The right to be an individual. The right to not be controlled by others.
I celebrate all that this Independence Day and breathe deeper into the Trust that is all we have in these “uncertain times”; trusting that there is a greater purpose in all this, a plan more magical than we can possibly comprehend. Breathe & trust, and cuddle your baby, at least that’s what I’m doing tonight, and I know it’s enough.