When We Remember Who We Are
To remember who we are taps us into our strengths. My gaze has often been drawn to this Klassen family photo taken in September 1925 since I became aware of it several years ago. My focus is captivated by my …
Can’t See the Forest for the Trees?
Look around! Wherever our gaze lands in our natural world, the beings with whom we share this planet teach us about adaptation, resilience, and flexibility. But often we can’t see the forest for the trees. It turns out ants have …
Cultivating Intergenerational, Intercultural and Ecological Relationships
Take three disparate cultures, each with their own history, languages, perspectives, and beliefs, bring them together in southern Alberta in the 1920s and 30s, and what do you get? Wisdom from intercultural and ecological relationships that remains relevant a century …
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Stories Across Time and Space: Ancestral Journeys
Connecting with Kin Connecting with a woman I’ve never met, but with whom I share great-grandparents feels ethereal. Our Klassen grandfathers were brothers. Both of our fathers carried the same names. Our life journeys have been quantum leaps apart, but …
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Unearthing the Stories of the Land
My search to understand stories of the land has so far raised more questions than revealed answers. My interest lies in the farmland of Namaka, southern Alberta, which became home to a young Mennonite boy between 1930 to 1937. two …
The Universal Law of Success: Eyes Up! Throttle On!
2022 was a landmark year. After fifty-two years of riding, the time came to call it quits and free up space to explore untapped interests and aptitudes. Graduate studies have more than filled that. They have also exemplified what I’ve …
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The Grace of the Land
Five years ago today, my father passed away. It was fitting that he, a farmer, a man of the land his entire life, should pass on the Harvest Moon. My studies into how my ancestors related to the lands they …
Back to the Books: Ukrainian Steppe to Alberta Prairies
Last month I described the sensation of timelessness as I walked on rocks formed hundreds of millions of years ago. This month, it’s back to the books! (Read Newfoundland: Keeper of Stories in Stone) This time, I’ve landed in an …
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Newfoundland: Keeper of Stories in Stone
Known as “the Rock”, Newfoundland is world-renowned for its ancient stories in stone. To pass it off as a single lump sitting in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Canada’s Maritime Provinces is at best short-sighted. Its geology, illustrates …
The Stories We Carry Live On
Life transitions often illustrate how the stories we carry live on in us through changes in external circumstances. It didn’t take long and Trudy had a new home with my friend, mentor, and owner of SMART Adventures Off-road Training School, …