EDITOR’S FIX

By Krista Turcasso, Editor

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” ~ Albert Einstein

I never considered the importance of curiosity until becoming a parent. I think we are all born with a natural curiosity but it’s those who have the courage and confidence to continue to use it that innately learn the most and carry this ‘superpower’ through life.

As a parent, caregiver or teacher, the wonderment of young people is quite obvious… as they ask questions… a lot of questions… all of the time. Just the other day, my youngest asked me how the people who are on the bottom of the world don’t know they’re upside down and we ended up having a conversation about the vastness of the universe and her eyes were so big I just wanted to jump into her body to her thoughts and feel her amazement! It’s moments like these that make us wish we still had that starry-eyed outlook, that thirst for knowing, that natural curiosity of childhood.

As adults we tend to get bogged down with all of the ‘to do’s’ we need to accomplish to keep us afloat, but we still can create space for wonderment, and we should! As Neil deGrasse Tyson says, participating in wonder, even when we are struggling, helps with our resilience and can help us to find meaning even during dark times.

So, how can we foster curiosity? All I know is that creating space for it is key. Is there something you love to do that helps you to feel in the moment? For me, it’s biking and it’s during this time that my brain wonders and time slows and everything seems fresh and new and my heart is open. Of course, even though I would like to bike for hours each day, I cannot… so how else can foster curiosity?

We can read, listen to podcasts, expose ourselves to ideas, topics and material that doesn’t fit within our current wheelhouse, we can acknowledge that what we know is but a small fraction of what you could know. Wow! Imagine the possibilities.

As the school year commences, let’s take a moment to acknowledge and be grateful for all we have learned and all we have yet to learn. That sure encourages me to work harder on being passionately curious!

Contributors

ANDREW VALLANCE is a cinephile nerd who currently lives on the west coast. Girlfriendless, he spends his time going to movies, buying DVDs and flirting. ASHLEY KRISTINA has studied astrology for over twenty years and has been reading/ teaching for five. For an in depth natal chart reading, email mountainashastrology@gmail. com.

ASHLEY LORTSCHER of Valley Vitals is a market gardener and local food advocate, here to share her knowledge on growing food in the Elk Valley. BRAD PARSELL is the manager of the Fernie Chamber and loves working with our local vibrant business community. He is also a music nerd with an ever-growing collection of records in his basement.

CLAIRE SMALLWOOD is an avid skier, mediocre snowboarder, former personal chef, and newly-minted hockey fan. When Claire’s not on the slopes or whipping up red chile sauce, you can find her at the helm of SheJumps, the non-profit she co-founded in 2007 with a mission to transform the lives of women and girls through outdoor experiences. EV EIJSERMANS is passionate about spreading the message that it’s okay to not be okay, and is one of the founding members of the Elk Valley Suicide Task Force, which promotes awareness, prevention and support for those impacted by suicide in the Elk Valley. KEVIN MCISAAC haunts the coffee shops and streets of Fernie to find his column source material.

MICHAEL HEPHER is a painter, printmaker, sculptor and musician living and working in Fernie. His work is collected internationally and can be seen at Clawhammer Press and a variety of galleries in Western Canada. PATRICK ROBERTSON is a travel writer and long-time resident of Fernie. He is an expert in planning independent travel and finding budget travel deals. Visit his website at budgetslowtravel.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/budgetslowtravel. Every month SADIE ROSGEN teams up with some of Fernie’s brightest young writers collaborating on a given theme. If you are reading this and think that you are that person, drop her a line at sadiepumps@gmail.com. SARAH PULLEN, a recent high school graduate, has a passion for all things creative. She looks forward to heading east and pursuing Fine Arts at University this fall. SYLVIA AYERS is a tenacious naturalist and believes each one of us can have a big impact on making things better if we just know how.

TYLA CHARBONNEAU is a Registered Psychologist (CPBC2385), dog momma, and nature lover. She loves talking with others about mindfulness, selfcompassion, and human nature. VALERIE BARRY is the longtime owner and head trainer of Dog Partners (dogpartners.ca). She is a multi-credentialed and highly educated professional dog trainer who specializes in behaviour modification and helping families raise friendly puppies.

FERNIE FIX | FERNIEFIX.COM

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Editor | Krista Turcasso Creative Director | Vanessa Croome

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