Did You Get Your Winter Freak On?

Well, I’m going to chalk that winter up to experience. Who knew that it would last for six months? I thought that was just a joke that we Red Lakers used to say, not our actual reality. Lesson learned, Mother Nature. Lesson learned.  Fortunately, it is part of our Canadian temperament to deal with the wrath that nature has thrown at us; teaching us to be strong spirited, tough, and a bit on the freaky, arty side. And I remember sitting in a sweaty summer Can-Lit university course that went on and on about the power of Canadian elements such as the weather and isolation; how these Canadian characteristics helped mold our psyche into producing a plethora of creative works.

There are over 35 million people in Canada now, spread out over almost ten million kilometers squared. That ends up being about 4 people living on each square kilometer of land in our amazing country. Ok, ok, so we have these places called metropolises where most Canadians congregate and share ideas and such, but for the most part we’re isolated, ok? Just work with me on this one. I’m going somewhere with this.

So here we are, hanging out with three of our (hopefully) favourite people on a kilometer of land, in a six month snow storm with nothing to do but get weird. Here are some suggestions on how to get weird in an imaginative way so that time and misery goes by quicker and you’ll walk out into the spring sunshine with some remarkable creations.

First of all, if you MUST, go into the internet quickly and get out fast. There are so many sites available now for idea development that it is easy to get caught up in the “I can TOTALLY do that!” mentality without actually following through on anything. Pinterest will suck your soul and leave you wondering what you actually did during the six month snow storm from hell. You probably did nothing but think about what you can do (…and snow. You’ll always be thinking about snow.)

Clear a space for yourself that is just YOUR space. Maybe it means the dining room table is off limits and everyone can eat in front of the TV for the whole winter. (Bad parenting move.  Awesome creativity move.) Maybe it means working on the floor of your laundry room. Just make it happen. Fill that room up with a collection of stuff that doesn’t make any sense to you. It will….eventually. One day you’ll wake up and know exactly why you have sparkly pink fun-fur and rusty hinges. It’ll work.

Scavenge. Go onto Facebook’s “Red Lake Area’s Looking For” page and tell them what you’re looking for to make your project a go-ahead. Check out the reclaim station at the dump. There is always something there that can be re-vamped into a gift for some unknowing victim, er, I mean, friend.

Even if it’s miserably cold, take the time to get outside every day to stimulate your senses. Sitting in front of a glowing box such as your smartphone or tv, especially at night, lowers your production of melatonin which makes it very difficult to fall asleep. I don’t know if that is 100% true and I’m not a doctor, but if you Google sleep deprivation and smartphones, there will most likely be some form of correlation between the two that isn’t healthy or conducive of creativity. So, you’ll be cold, tired and unproductive. Wouldn’t that be a ball of fun to hang out with over the winter…..

Finally, set aside some time for yourself in silence. Make a deal with your family so that you get at least an hour to yourself every day to just think, without distraction. Your thoughts might scare yourself, but that’s ok….maybe you just haven’t listened to them in a while. Just trust that you have your own ideas and that they’re worth following through on.

Keep in mind that even though the snow is gone, we are still Canadian and will be dealing with tumultuous downpours, summer hail storms, and days that prove that Hell exists. Tap into that Canadian tenacity and get your mojo working on those fantastic ideas any time of year!

(This article was originally written and published in the Northern Sun News on April 30th, 2014.)