#14 Gratitude

Oh guys, I experienced something that you don't experience a second time (in my case somehow yes). On Saturday we were in town to buy various things for dinner (hot dogs by the fire). After we arrived back at the farm, it was announced that we would meet at the fire in an hour. So I went to my yurt to start my fire and after half an hour I suddenly heard wolf howling from people. I just thought that I didn't feel like being around "hyper-energized" people and that I just wanted to spend my Saturday by the fire in a relaxed way. Anyway, I headed towards the fire and it was huge, and as I joined the group and was about to walk towards a young man who looked like a Wwoofer here, suddenly I saw... no, that's not the person I thought they were and the others also looked a bit different and then I realized that it wasn't my group at all. Just as I was about to go back, a woman came up to me and told me that I was in the way. I told her that I knew it was the wrong group and I was leaving, and then she told me that I couldn't go back that way because the ENERGY flows there. This energy flow leads directly to my yurt. At first, I thought: HUH?! But okay, so I walked along an unknown path in the dark and after what felt like ten minutes, I arrived at my group, who had a much smaller fire. I was then told that this was a damn high funeral ceremony of a very high leader. They were not indigenous people, but rather people who have adopted the traditions of indigenous peoples. Such a funeral (they didn't burn the body, they just held a ceremony) can last up to nine (!) hours. And I was right in the middle of this sacred ceremony. What a... It was quite cool at our fire, so I went back to my yurt to put on more layers. This time I took a different path and could already see the small fire. 15-20 meters before the fire, I wondered why no one in the group was talking and why the music was off... and what can I say, I actually managed to interrupt this sacred ceremony a second time. Sometimes I wonder, hey! This time the problem was that the fire was the same size as ours and the number of people matched our group. Who can claim to interrupt such a ceremony twice. (It was only a little embarrassing for me, to be honest) The fire was still pleasant and we ate a North American candy. Take two cookies, a marshmallow, and chocolate, and you have a delicious dessert, a sugar rush, diabetes, and tooth decay! But it's really delicious! I think I already ate this at my second farm.

Sunday was all about relaxing and then going to see the sunset. Oh, and guys, it was my ninth post with "Never stop listening", where I wrote that I hope I never get enough of the beauty here. Due to various circumstances, I thought I was late and ran up the mountain very quickly, and then I already saw that I would be above the clouds and I wanted to film that for my family. Under the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KHvU09qqaGs

I give you a brief insight into the video and my reaction when I arrived at the top. Then a little later, my phone fell victim to the cold and I had nothing to distract me, so I stood there and enjoyed this beautiful sunset. In moments like this, I am always grateful and have to remind myself that I am in Canada right now and how awesome it is that I have this opportunity!

The sunset was so beautiful that I decided to go for the sunrise on Tuesday. I've never walked up a mountain for a sunrise. Tuesday had the advantage that I only work there in the morning and therefore have the afternoon off and can catch up on sleep. The sunrise was also beautiful. The sight over the clouds, the colors, and how the clouds build up against the small islands and it looks like they are waves crashing onto the land. Very nice to see. But almost everything you can see up there is not Canada, but the USA. We are very close to the border here. I uploaded the same photo twice for you. Once with and once without markings. The green line includes Vancouver Island and thus Canada. The distance between the two islands is really minimal. Not something you're used to in Canada. The red line is already the USA. On the mountain top, you can really see more of the USA than Canada. Tuesday was then continued with a proper workout chopping wood until I went to the sauna and since everyone had canceled, I had it all to myself this time.

So what else happened?! The days usually start the same. At 9 am, there is a short meeting that starts with a gratitude round. Everyone says what they are grateful for. If you live on such a resource-scarce farm, you learn to appreciate the little things more. For example, I have often been grateful for firewood and blankets. Many people don't have that and have to freeze, while I can snuggle up in front of my crackling fireplace.

Otherwise, it was garlic peeling and planting again. Man, planting is super exhausting and I hated it. The field was a cabbage field two weeks ago, and after the farmer drove over it once with the excavator, they started using it as a productive area again. You have everything there: soil, huge grass carpets, roots, and stones - and in between, about 1000 garlic cloves had to be planted. Fortunately, the field is now full and to prevent the good garlic cloves from getting too cold, they have now all been covered with leaves. For that, we were raking leaves somewhere on the island yesterday and today.

Furthermore, I really enjoy the stars here. I can't say it often enough, incredibly beautiful. Thanks to me, there is now a WhatsApp group, and I can spam them all with my photos - hello! But the farmer also uses them for his website, so they must be well received. Sometimes I take a big piece of wood, which I use as a stool, and sit somewhere to watch the stars until the cold forces me back into my warm yurt.

But what am I currently struggling with? My legs! I've had sore muscles for over a week. I have to walk over rocks and stones for at least fifteen minutes four times a day, and my legs don't really get any rest. It's insane. Unfortunately, the idyllic stretching in front of the fireplace doesn't really help. Besides, I'm still not a fan of it. I hope it resolves itself at some point. But at least I'm getting toned legs and glutes maximus - hehe.

And despite all the pain in my legs, I just came back from the next sunset, which wasn't as beautiful today. Tomorrow (or maybe today, due to the current internet problems, I don't know when the blog will be online) I will go again at 6:45 am for the next, and probably for me, the last sunrise. I'm excited! But since there is usually still mist in the city in the morning, I hope for a clear view.

And if this should be the case, I will definitely feel deep gratitude again.

What are you grateful for?

Samuel

P.S. Internet is still not functional. The sunrise was very beautiful again. Not as beautiful as the last one, but still quite nice... although bitterly cold.