You never know who you'll meet ...

This past weekend I set three goals for myself ... one of them was to start being intentional about my writing, and within that intentionality, to actually do the writing.

Today I went for a bike ride to consider the three goals and how, in the face of one of the dominant traits of ADD (that of not being good at completing projects) I could begin to work towards the achieving of those goals ... my mind was mulling over the writing component when I passed a gentleman walking across the dam ... I glanced back and thought to myself ... "he looks familiar !!??"

Now, to digress slightly - I am a big fan of three First Nations writers who are active in Canada right now. They are Ian Ross (of Joe from Winnipeg fame), Thomas King (a novelist and creator and star of CBC's Dead Dog Cafe) and Thomson Highway (playwright and author).

The man on the dam was Thomson Highway who is currently working at Brandon University, while calling Minnedosa home ... I stopped my bike and introduced myself with the question - "excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but are you Thomson Highway?"

The reply was a shocked, "Um yes I am ... and you are?"

This chance encounter lead to a remarkable conversation wherein Thomson and I talked about many subjects from religion, to work, to his latest book, to the very task of writing ... I will share some of his observations later ... but tonight I will share his affirmation of writing as a profession ... He said - "the best writers come into their art in their 40's and reach their prime in their 50's ... they have to have life experience to reflect on ..."

He then suggested just taking the time every day to write ... and eventually the project will be completed ... As our conversations ended and I headed back to my bike ride, Thomson reiterated the importance of writing and encouraged me to do it ...

I don't believe things happen by chance ... Today in answer to a question within my soul the Cosmos responded and put in my path one of those who could supply an answer ... The rest is up to me ... but tonight I feel good about the possibilities, and tomorrow I'll take some time to start writing ...

So thanks Thomson Highway for your openess, your frankness and your warm hospitality. Today went from being a good day to being an amazing day !!

In the meantime, to learn more about Thomson Highway and his back ground click here and here. He IS a remarkable and talented man and I feel privileged to have met him today.