To Wish Upon A Star

I had forgotten what it was like to be in the deep wilderness with no outside contact whatever. Recently I have been spending some time in the far north at a cabin by a lake. It is strange to find myself disconnected from everything and everyone. I have no phone service, no cell phone reception and of course no internet connectivity. I don't even have radio reception.
For many years now I have been living in the south and my visits to the remote wilderness have been few. Sure, like most people there have been weekends at a cottage or camping trips in parks and near lakes but I have not really experienced the really remote wilderness for some time. As a writer and a communications or media consultant I am connected to the world via phone, cell phone, the internet and I deal regularly with media and communications networks. Most of the time I am trying to find a quiet space where I can take a break from being so accessible.
My time on the land in the far remote north has reminded me that there is something really wonderful about just being completely out of reach. My days are filled with writing, reading, working on the land, paddling on the water and feeling the day slip through my fingers. This reminds me of my days as a child back on the land on Akamiski Island on the great James Bay.
My routine on the land here has me waking with the sun and getting an early start. The wisky jays, hawks, ravens, squirrels and chipmunks are up early too and nosily going about their day. I sit with my coffee in a cool breeze, under a blue sky dotted with fast travelling puffy white clouds. The air is so fresh and the lake before me is clear and sparkling in the sunlight. After a few days I can finally say that I am adjusting to living in a way my ancestors did for thousands of years.
There is a real feeling of freedom in knowing that because of this isolation visitors can not simply call me or walk up and knock on my door. I find a peace here that I have not known for years. I have no idea what is going on in the world as there is simply no news. Here on the land I am more concerned and amazed at the comings and going of the beaver family on the lake, the beautiful butterfly that comes to me every morning to perform a dance on the forest floor and the unhappy hawk that is disturbed at another intruder into his domain.
I have had no demands on me now for a week and I am getting used to it. My mind is not cluttered with a thousand images of the daily news reports and much of the time I find myself drifting off in a meditation like way as I stare into a fire or gaze at the diamond studded sky. I have seen so many falling stars this week and managed to make a wish on every one of them. I have stood alone in the deep pine forest staring up at the dark blue sky where the pale face of the moon looked back at me. Here I am in balance and full of wonder at the beauty of the world that surrounds me.
It occurs to me that only a few hours away the world spins full of news and happenings. Back in that world I feel helpless and sometimes hopeless as we all sit by and watch a very few but powerful elite group push the peoples of the world around for their benefit, profit and pleasure. Back in that world the daily news is headlined by the latest tragic results of war in Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Syria to name a few. Somehow the rich and powerful have managed to convince most of us that we should dismiss environmentalists, humanists, pacifists, artists, scientists and the union movement. It has taken a few billion dollars and a couple of decades to do it but the sad truth is that for the most part it has worked.
So, I sit here admiring the loon on the lake while typing on my laptop as the battery power begins to fade and I am happy the timing of that event has allowed me to wrap up this week's column. I am less happy and somewhat apprehensive at heading back to the real world. I wish upon a star ...www.underthenorthernsky.com