by Liz Jansen I didn’t expect to start the first days of the year spending the last days with a dear friend. Deb and I met in fifth grade and became instant best friends. We’ve cherished that closeness our whole lives.…
Category: Liz’s Stories
Changing the Story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
by Liz Jansen Imagine my surprise when I walked into the back yard recently and discovered new denizens had taken positions around the gardens. Snow White and five of the seven dwarfs must have entered through the opening in the…
Understanding the Matter of Perspective
by Liz Jansen The young couple disembarked from the train, squinting in the bright prairie sunlight. Their clothes, tattered and threadbare, were creased and wrinkled after nearly a month of travel from the other side of the world. They too…
Encore—Following Last Year’s Ancestor Trail
by Liz Jansen Following up a life-changing motorcycle trip with an encore, especially one that doesn’t involve motorcycles, isn’t typical. But I expect it to be at least as meaningful. Next Saturday, August 5th, I’ll fly out to Alberta with…
Breathing, Packing, Purging, and Moving
by Liz Jansen It’s been a monumental week. I’ve completed the first draft of Crash Landing. Two-and-a-half years in the works, with a focused and intense three months of writing since March and it’s done. There’s still much to do but…
Wisdom from the Child in the Woods
by Liz Jansen Motorcycles aren’t the only means of transport for inner journeys. Now that spring is here, I follow a loosely defined path when I walk to nearby plazas for errands. My place backs onto a greenbelt of mostly cedars…
Mother’s Day Motorcycle Traditions Go On Forever
by Liz Jansen Mom and I went on our first motorcycle ride together on May 9, 2004. It was Mother’s Day and my 50th birthday. She was about to turn 78. So began an annual tradition that lasted for six…
Tagged with: family
Hybrid Easter Celebrations
by Liz Jansen Growing up in a Mennonite tradition, Easter was one of the holiest celebrations of the year. We’d be at church on Good Friday to honor the crucifixion, and back on Easter Sunday, often for a sunrise service…
How to Maneuver Around the What If Obstacles
by Liz Jansen Recently I wrote an article about ‘meeting’ my paternal grandfather for the first time during last year’s motorcycle trip to northern Alberta. “Isn’t that the trip you crashed on,” asked my editor? “You didn’t mention it.” He…
Finding Happiness in the Dark
by Liz Jansen Finding happiness and peace of mind is easy when things are going well. Or when we’re riding our motorcycles. We feel joy, freedom, and even euphoria. A spiritual connection. Riding makes you feel better physically. Paul Pelland,…
Top