I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, Nova Scotia. I moved here about eight years ago and it has been a place that has sheltered me and has given me great inspiration.
It is a place that many would say contains great magic and mystery, the tempestuous weather, the sudden mists that embrace the shoreline and the colorful fishing boats, the genuineness of the people. I can be myself here and this is not something that I could have said in any other place that I have lived.
I feel a sort of benediction in living here, but it is not a place easily embraced by all. I think that Nova Scotia has a definite "spirit" and it is fanciful to think that you will either love her or hate her, and rush to leave if you feel the latter. I think that if Nova Scotia doesn't like you, this "spirit" will eject you and hasten your departure, gladly.
In the time that I have been here I have noticed an increase in diversity which is wonderful as a stroll down any street in Halifax when I arrived would have shown you a population that was alarmingly white, except for the African Canadians and the Mikmaw, some of our original citizens who in history were treated very badly.
Along with the Acadians who faced expulsion at the hands of the British and forced to leave their homes and their land, and whose return is a celebration.
This province has not, in history, been welcoming to outsiders. The designation of being a "come from away" (in Massachusetts I believe the term is "wash ashore") is one that the province is only now starting to relinquish as it realizes that it needs the expertise, wisdom, insight and unique perspective that all of us from "away", whether it be from New York or Louisiana, Gambia, Iran or Pakistan contribute. This infusion moves us from being insular to global, and threatens no one.
I can only hope that this new found tendency to open its arms to those who are "washed onto her shores" in their own nascent beginnings will be an enduring one, as the brilliant mix of cultures and beliefs that we now see here blend beautifully under the mystery of "place".
It is a place that many would say contains great magic and mystery, the tempestuous weather, the sudden mists that embrace the shoreline and the colorful fishing boats, the genuineness of the people. I can be myself here and this is not something that I could have said in any other place that I have lived.
I feel a sort of benediction in living here, but it is not a place easily embraced by all. I think that Nova Scotia has a definite "spirit" and it is fanciful to think that you will either love her or hate her, and rush to leave if you feel the latter. I think that if Nova Scotia doesn't like you, this "spirit" will eject you and hasten your departure, gladly.
In the time that I have been here I have noticed an increase in diversity which is wonderful as a stroll down any street in Halifax when I arrived would have shown you a population that was alarmingly white, except for the African Canadians and the Mikmaw, some of our original citizens who in history were treated very badly.
Along with the Acadians who faced expulsion at the hands of the British and forced to leave their homes and their land, and whose return is a celebration.
This province has not, in history, been welcoming to outsiders. The designation of being a "come from away" (in Massachusetts I believe the term is "wash ashore") is one that the province is only now starting to relinquish as it realizes that it needs the expertise, wisdom, insight and unique perspective that all of us from "away", whether it be from New York or Louisiana, Gambia, Iran or Pakistan contribute. This infusion moves us from being insular to global, and threatens no one.
I can only hope that this new found tendency to open its arms to those who are "washed onto her shores" in their own nascent beginnings will be an enduring one, as the brilliant mix of cultures and beliefs that we now see here blend beautifully under the mystery of "place".