Last Sunday, just days into the New Year, I made a resolution to pick up my camera, get outside, put one foot in front of the other and explore. That day I actually wound up reading instead (which happens to me a lot!). It turns out I was looking for a bit of inspiration to help me along. I found it in a weekly e-mail I receive from thoughtful journalist and curator of interesting ideas, Maria Popova. In her blog Brainpickings, Maria shared a timely post called: 16 Elevating Resolutions for 2016 Inspired by Some of Humanity’s Greatest Minds. Surely I would find a shot in the arm from this crowd! And I did.

Author Rainer Maria Rilke wrote the following in his Letters To a Young Poet:

I beg you, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”

This sounds like wise advice as I reflect back on my journey over the past few years that has brought me to beautiful British Columbia. Instead of wondering how I got to this place and what’s going to happen next, perhaps I should just enjoy the ride. I used to be so good at that!

So yesterday I stepped out of my door and decided to live my questions by adventuring. I’m SO glad I did! I had the very best day traipsing around Vancouver on a gorgeous, sun-filled Saturday. I decided to venture to the Mount Pleasant area of Vancouver, using bustling Main Street as my guide. I popped my head into one of my very favourite shops first, The Regional Assembly of Text. This ode to analogue correspondence is a treasure trove of beautiful notebooks, calligraphy pens, typewriters and exquisite letter writing materials. I walked out with a handful of botanical-inspired notebooks for work and a big smile on my face.

Without planning to have lunch, I looked in the window of a restaurant next door to The Regional Assembly of Text called Nomad. Of course the name (similar to Vagabond) drew me in, but so did the opportunity to partake in “second breakfast.” Despite growing up on a farm, my design aesthetic leans to modern minimalist and Nomad delighted my senses. The sun-filled restaurant had a high, loft-like ceiling, rough concrete walls and light wood tables decked out in succulents. Brunch was amazing and gave me the energy boost I needed to continue my adventure.

I had not planned to hike through Queen Elizabeth Park on this day, but the warm sunshine that made the earth smell like spring put a spring in my step so I ventured down Main Street to 33rd Street and walked up the long and steep path to The Bloedel Conservatory at the very top of Queen Elizabeth Park. I have seen pictures of this UFO-like structure and I was not disappointed. What a beautiful and stunning spot! The weather was just too nice to venture into the Conservatory so I walked the grounds and enjoyed the sights and sounds of a magical place. You see, Queen Elizabeth Park is known as the highest location in Vancouver, soaring some 500 feet above the city (so my aching quads reminded me). So I found a quiet bench that looked out over the city and took in the stunning view of colourful downtown Vancouver backed by rugged, snow-capped mountains. And I was stunned and deeply charmed when a tiny, black rabbit hopped out of a nearby flower garden and came to sit on my feet! What a magical spot!

Before heading back down to Main Street I decided to follow what sounded like a crowd of laughter. I’m glad I did as I found a series of statues called Photo Session, pictured above. Photo Session is a collection of four bronze statues donated by J. Seward Johnson to the park in 1984. The statues depict a photographer capturing a group of three tourists enjoying the stunning view from what is likely the most photographed spot in Vancouver. Art imitating life! It is at this spot that I also witnessed a wedding party having a blast getting their photos taken in the late afternoon sunshine. More magic!

As I walked back down to Main Street and on to my car, I couldn’t help but feel refreshed and grateful for an unexpected, awesome adventure. To top it off, I found a book on my “to-read list” in a discount bin in front of a used book store: Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean At the End of the Lane. I have never read Gaiman; this will be my first, but I have been curious ever since I watched a commencement speech he gave several years ago that struck a chord in me at the time. It is a wonderfully funny, warm and thoughtful directive to “make good art.” To find a book I was looking for in an unexpected place on the day I needed it just seemed like the cherry on top of a perfect day well-lived!

Sigh.

Live everything.