Pathlight by Annie Wenger-Nabigon, Ph.D., R.S.W.

Written by Annie Wenger-Nabigon Ph.D., RSW on 01 February 2016

Originally submitted January 3, 2016 – Apologies from the Editor for the delay.

“…all the patterns we build…”

Annie Wenger-Nabigon, Ph.D., R.S.W.

It is now three days past the midnight when the year of 2015 morphed into the year 2016, and here we are as if on the wheel of time again, slowly turning deeper into winter and then again toward spring and warmth of summer, while we wait for autumn’s colors to announce another winter season. I see the next winter looming in the far distance while I am yet barely into this winter, as of yet so mild that I hardly recognize it. I see in this season that I am not yet ready for winter – I long for summer.

So off I go to a sunny climate, flying south where sun and sand, waves and wind, create a respite while I ponder what lies ahead, where I seek some small distractions to keep me from being sucked down into the bone chilling cold which I know will come. When we fly back home again at the end of the month my husband and I will have many fond memories to recount to each other of times with southern friends, old and new, of times relaxing in comfort and warmth. Soon, then, there will be Valentine’s Day, and then Easter season, and then on with the patterns of the year. We pray for no wolves to be howling at our door. We pray for a generous season of life ahead.

Thinking about patterns of seasons brings to mind a book I have been reading over my Christmas holidays – Stand the Sacred Tree: Journeys in Place & Memory (2004), by John Weier. He is a traveler who loves birds, who struggles with his Mennonite heritage, and who grapples with the season of old age, loss of friends and loved ones, but mostly with the loss of the natural world brought about by climate change. When I reflect that he wrote this book only a decade or more ago, and contrast that with the knowledge we now have of catastrophic climate change on our doorsteps, I feel the chill of a howling loss lurking just barely out of sight. The glimpse of that loss is brought to our doorsteps by the relative warmth of this winter so far, blown in by the deep El Nino winds far over the Pacific Ocean, now warmer than at any time in my lifetime of 64 years. I begin to wonder if the earth is dying even as I am heading into the patterns of my last season of life, be it several decades, more or less.

John Weier wrote (page 186) of patterns:

“We talk about shelterbelt, psychological as well as physical construct; all the patterns we humans build around ourselves. The way we define our jobs and our families, our partners to protect ourselves, the way we mark our inner spaces. I think about all the holes…illness has torn in my windbreak.”

The patterns of my life have been fairly predictable up until now – the “shelterbelt” of childhood, education, jobs, family and children, planning for how to meaningfully focus my life energies as I move toward retirement in the years ahead. But what if those patterns were to begin to fail me in a major way? How would I live my life?

Changing patterns can bring disruption as well as hope, challenge as well as fear. The patterns of life for those people in this world caught up in fear and war can disrupt our little lives even here in northern Ontario. I think of my friend whose son died with Canadian forces in Afghanistan, a young medic wanting only to provide medical care whose dream was cut short by an IED. I think of my friends who live in Yemen and daily face the tragedies of the conflict there. I think of the millions of refugees in the world whose brutally disrupted lives have thrust them into a world of displacement offering little care or comfort in their deepest losses of homes and loved ones.

Early in 2016 a two-year old child drowned when the small boat he was in left the stormy waves of Turkey only to crash on the rocks of a safer shore so dreamed by the parents. A small family on the other side of the world from me is grieving for their child and grasping for a safer place to live. And here I am in the comfortable patterns of my life, affected by that loss, that grief and fear, wondering what response is possible from me, the holder of that knowledge? It can easily be overwhelming to know about millions of people losing their lives as they knew them, forced to live in refugee camps facing hunger, fear, and illness in the cold of winter. What is required of us when we know about that from the safety of our warm homes here?

When life’s patterns stretch us beyond our borders of comfort we must take action. It does not matter if the action is great or small. We do not need to know a predictable outcome to take a responsible action in the here-and-now. What matters is that we become active participants in re-weaving the disrupted patterns and do our small part in shaping a new balance. We must re-create the “shelterbelts.” Whether we are talking about patterns of climate change, occupational change, conflict, or population movement we must take individual and collective action to be a creative force of healing. We need to create new patterns to support the precious gift of life in all its magnificent forms on this earth at this time.

How do we know what specific actions to take as we face the shifting patterns in our lives? We can turn to the wisdom of what we have learned so far in our life’s journey. We can remember what has worked and what has not worked in the past. We can take to time to talk, to ponder and reflect on what is required, to listen and learn from each other, to seek more knowledge and make wise choices. If we only act out of our emotional responses we can easily fall into dysfunction. If we only act from rational weighing of one-dimensional pieces of information and ideas, we can miss the deeper wisdom of the heart. We need to consider what our actions may mean to the future generations, for better or for worse. We need to offer support and connection to one another.

People can bring together the rational and the emotional, the mind and the heart, and make wise choices to create new, healthy patterns. This is the task ahead of us all. There will always be new governments, new economies, new challenges, and new faces in the neighborhood. There will always be new opportunities to react to changing patterns out of fear, or to respond with compassion.

Let our resolution for 2016 be that we will act with compassion in all the spheres of our lives. Let us all resolve to act with love and respect toward all the people we encounter in our journeys. We need to have patience with ourselves and the people around us, near and far. May the memories we build be strong with patterns of hope and health so that we and our neighbors will be able to live the good life. The distant shores where toddlers die is as near as the imagination. My neighbors live just next door and on the other side of the world. In this new year, may we not allow selfishness to dominate our minds and hearts, but instead learn to “stay calm and carry on”, working to construct patterns of our finest and best “shelterbelts.”

Happy New Year!

Annie Wenger-Nabigon, Ph.D., RSW
Pathlight@OntarioNewsNorth.com

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ANNIE RECOMMENDS:

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Author of Pathlight; Annie Wenger-Nabigon, Ph.D., RSW is originally from the U.S., earning her Canadian Citizenship in 2013. June 16, 2015, following more than 8yrs of studies, Annie was awarded her Doctor of Philosophy in Human Studies degree by Laurentina University. Annie & her Husband live in Pic River First Nation. Annie Wenger-Nabigon, MSW, RSW has been a cinical social worker since 1979 working in mental health, family therapy, and addictions services. She works full-time as an Adult Mental Health and Addictions Therapist at the Marathon office of North of Superior Counseling Programs. Annie also works part-time as a consultant for LYNX, owned by her husband Herb Nabigon, MSW. Herb provides traditional Anishnabek teachings and healing workshops for both Native and non-Native organizations. Together he and Annie provide training and education to professionals on a wide range of topics blending mainstream and traditional approaches in healing. They also provide cultural safety and anti-racism training.

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