la nuit blanche à monteàl

The entire city of Montreal celebrated well into the wee hours of the morning last week at the 7th annual Nuit Blanche à monteàl

What an exciting night! From 6pm to 6am there were so many events to choose from all across the city – art exhibitions, dance shows, fireworks, live music, design installations, and general mayhem…

My night was full of completely random events. I think I saw more of Montreal in this one night than I have in the last 6 months!

Alongside some Karaoke Opera in a nearby Metro station, a plethora of art galleries including the Musem of Contemporary Art, here’s a snapshot of other things I experienced:

A sound and light installation on a church…

…plus Maple Syrup goodness…

….Country Dancing!

then there were the fireworks…

a random trip to the Science Museum…

Giant light installations…

and Random Street Adventures…

All this in just one night!!!

an offering from winter

The last full moon of winter has passed; the spring equionx is approaching. I survived the winter! Flowing with the ice coldness proved a much better tactic than than viewing winter as an insufferable prison.

For a while there, I was hating everything about canada. I’d spend hours everyday wishing myself back in the harsh desert of Australia’s outback, the cool breeze of Australia’s south coast beaches. I even smiled excitedly about the thought of sweltering in the sweaty pubs of Sydney’s inner west. I wanted desperately to just go ‘home’, where ever that is now…

But eventually I just let go… just to see what would happen. By allowing myself to embrace the offerings of this intriguing chilly season, I was in for an amazing surprise. I’m so excited to have experienced winter in its fullest. The seasons are so subtle in the southern hemisphere. Here it is different. I’ve now got much more of an understand of the flowing cycles of the seasons…

So what did the winter months offer me?

• A delightful opportunity to adopt a subdued pace. Focusing on (and enjoying) the simple things in life: eating good food, drinking cups of tea, sleeping and friendship.

• Time for introspection. I’ve allowed myself so much ‘ladydan time’. And it’s been so delicious! By slowing down completely, I’ve learnt more about myself than ever before. It’s been crazy and difficult at times, but I’ve come through more solid and comfortable in my skin

• Being indoors so much was new to me. Yet it allowed me to delve far deeper into my passions that I don’t always allow so much time for. yoga, for example. I’ve been going to yoga at least 4 times a week. And then there’s dinner parties, film showings, art galleries, museums, etc etc…

• Loads of time to focus on building intimate relationships with friends. Not always easy. Often challenging. But sooooo rewarding when you open your heart to those around you!

• Quiet time spent snuggled up on the couch with friends over cups of tea listening to the whispers of the weather outside

• Learning to really appreciate the rhythms and cycles of life. Understanding that darkness, cold and quietness can nourish, rejuvenate and revitalize in a new and revealing way.

And now, with the seasons so visibly shifting, I can feel the momentum of warm energy building inside me. I’m emerging from this quieter side of the season cycle truly feeling nourished, relaxed and revitalised! I’m excited about what is ahead despite having no idea where I’m going or what I’ll be doing…

All I know is that I’m living life in a way that is true to me…

rain, yoga and the winter blues

It rained yesterday. This doesn’t seem to be a particularly interesting event, however, it struck me that I’m used to equating rain with a decrease in temperature. In Montreal it’s not so. The rain yesterday saw me wander the streets on my way to run errands without my beanie, gloves and down-jacket! And didn’t I feel naked. It feels like years since I’ve felt fresh air against my fingers…

As you might have guessed, I’m struggling a bit with the cold weather. It was all well and exciting to start with, but – my god – I’m over it now. I’m yearning to run naked across green grass and feel the warmth of the sun against my breasts. I miss the slimy feeling of warm mud squishing between my bare toes. I want to be able to walk down the street without feeling like half my face is going to fall off from freezing.

Despite getting out as much as possible to go ice skating, skiing, hanging out with friends, volunteering with various projects (go, go, go!) and despite thoroughly enjoying all these activities, I’m rapidly becoming a miserable heap… I’m probably not very fun to be around at the moment. Along with whinging and whining about the cold, I taken to constantly reminding anyone within earshot how in my country we rarely even use heating…

But I had an interesting conversation with my yoga teacher about the winter this morning. (Yup, I’ve started my free yoga classes. One last night and the other this morning… oh yes, I’m making the most of it!)… She mentioned how winter can be such a good time to withdraw a little and rest. To snuggle in close to yourself and find time for introspection…

Now, I’ve heard all this before… but I often struggle to allow myself to succumb to the inner voice that invites me to sit still and do nothing. Isn’t that just lazy? Shouldn’t I be proactive in finding happiness ‘out there’?

And yet, despite proactive good intentions to be happy, I’m realising that I’ve actually been taking a pretty negative approach to living in this crazy cold climate. Is this why I’m feeling so down and out? I’ve been battling against winter, rather than flowing with it. I’ve been determined not to let winter get the better of me and have tried to stay as active as possible. I’ve been ignoring my inner compass that is telling me to slow down and rest. What would happen if I did slow down? If I listened to the voice that yearns for peace, quiet and a warm spot by the fire to just sit, think, write or draw?

So that’s what I’m going to explore this week. Can I get in touch with the tranquility of winter and do some quiet introspection? Can I embrace the opportunity to rest more and go with the  flow that winter brings. I suspect my yoga classes will help with this immeasurably!

I’ll let you know how I go!

snow flakes are falling on my head…

Two weeks ago, a snow storm raced through the streets of Montreal leaving behind a thick blanket of snow on every conceivable object lying around. Being my first northern hemisphere winter, I wrongly assumed that the snow would build up gradually over a few weeks. Instead, we ended up with 30cm of snow overnight! And with the immediate snow shoveling and tractoring that occured this meant we had giant piles of snow  as tall as buses lying around the city . A surreal experience to say the least!

Living though such short days isn’t something I think I want to do forever… When I leave work at 3:30pm it’s already getting dark. On average, I  see the sun for a total of 5 minutes per day on my rush to the metro station to commute to work. I’m yearning for the warmth and comfort of sunshine on a daily basis. Thankfully, we’ve passed the winter solstice already. The day’s are now officially getting longer.

Of course, now that I’ve got my grumbles and complaints out of the way, there are plenty of things about this season that I’m enjoying.

Surviving the lack of sunshine and coldness necessitates a passionate embracement of winter.

…Being out in the snow, rather than tucked away in an overheated appartment… Iceskating on the city lakes or outdoor skating rinks; a day out cross country skiing; a spontaneous snowball fight with friends; a stroll along the snow-filled streets to hunt down the perfect hot chocolate; catching snow flakes on your tongue as you walk to the metro station; admiring the beauty of the snow balanced delicately on the branches of trees and window sills of houses…

making plans to go snow camping…

…midnight adventures to the iceskating rink…

slipping and sliding down the back streets on your bike hoping your frozen brakes will unfreeze in time to stop at the lights ahead…

making snow angels in the snow!

Despite the cold, Winter IS fun…

I’m off on an adventures to the mountains to celebrate christmas and find some fun slopes to ski down… see you in the new year!!