Cyclical Beings in a Linear World

2024 was a year of considerable change for me.

Between exiting from my 30 year journey with Lunapads/Aisle, starting new career roles, my daughter heading off to university and my ongoing menopausal transition, it was a lot.

I capped it off in a wonderful way that I’m very excited to share with you.

I have long advocated for the simple act of speaking our ideas out loud, whether it be to one person or a roomful. Memorably, G Day (a national event series that ran from 2014 to 2020) was born of a Pecha Kucha Night presentation that I gave in 2013, as one example among dozens.

I am a longtime fan of CreativeMornings (CM), a worldwide speaking event created by the incredible entrepreneur Tina Roth Eisenberg (@swissmiss) and hosted here in Vancouver by polymath social convenor sans pareil Mark Busse. One of CM’s defining features is that its monthly gatherings feature local speakers who address a global theme through the lens of creativity.

When Mark approached me about being the December 2023 speaker and I learned that the theme was ‘Cycle’, it was an instant, glowing yes. I have not spoken in person in front of that many people (100+) since before Covid. Being among so many supportive friends, family members and peers was simply wonderful, and I feel like it marked a transition to the next stage of, well, me.

With that context in mind, I invite you to enjoy the video, and I’ll cycle back (see what I did there?) with some further gratitude and links later in the post. Enjoy!

Was that fun or what?

A few love notes and additional comments:

• Big ups to the CMVan December Community Partners, Aisle, joni and Sidesaddle bicycles.

• Thank you Inder Nirwan of Kahani Pictures for the warmest introduction I can imagine. You can learn more about ‘Flow of Change’, the documentary film about menstrual equity activism in Canada, here.

• The painting that opens and closes the presentation is Spirit Swallows by Lee Robinsong.

• Biggest love and gratitude to Judy Blume and Margaret from Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. Here’s an exerpt from an advance interview about the impact that the book had on me.
  I read “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret” by Judy Blume when I was around 10 years old and it was so wonderfully validating. I felt so absolutely seen and affirmed as an adolescent girl who was at once fascinated and terrified by the changes that were upon me. As a writer today, I would say that it influenced me to tell my own story very vulnerably in order to give readers a similar feeling, especially around traditionally shame-laden topics like addiction and recovery.

• Dr. Leigh Joseph is the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Ethnobotanist whose teachings I reference.

• My book The Greater Good, and personal essays on Medium, mostly about gray area drinking, addiction, sobriety and recovery.

• My mentee Chloe Goodison and her impact venture NaloxHome.

Oh, and. I was blessed with the most incredible opening musical performance by the extraordinary Jill Barber. Her first song is a wry, hilarious, all-too-true take on the realities of being a modern woman and mom who “has it all.”

Enjoy, darlings!