It's a wrap ladies and gentlemen!!

WHAT A WEEK

Usually each week on the road is somewhat similar, lots of fun and lots of connections and friendships made. I'm invited to a community with very specific expectations, as I mentioned in the past, some of which are filled with pressure. To be asked to be the energy guy, it can be somewhat stressful. Again, it's the pressure I come to embrace.

The important thing for me to always consider is, how can I make this fun but also meaningful at the same time? It's great to have laughs, but if I can't create a safe environment so people can reflect, share and feel, I have failed.

In my field of work, I can never have excuses. What really matters to the community is that I do the best quality of work possible for the sake of their people. If I do that, I have succeeded. Quite often I not only meet their expectations I exceed them. After years and years of doing my work, I like to think I have gained enough knowledge and experience to be the best at what I do.

Here's my point. It's all about expectations of course. Not about the expectations they put on me or about the incredibly high expectations I put on myself, but about the expectations I put on the community. Usually I expect a quite space to sleep, decent food, and fairly good organization, that's it. If they do this for me, I'm happy. I have never been blown away as I was this week; this community has touched in a way that I have never been touched before.

I have made more friends in one week then I ever made, I experienced community spirit that I have never have experienced, and that's just to name a few. To have children and adults alike, come up to me and say "why do you have to go?" or "you should get a band number," or "I'm driving to Nemaska tomorrow and I hope to make it back to come to the airport to see you. But if I don't make it back, I want to give you a hug. You're such a positive guy." This last one came from a 24 year old young man, who has struggled in the past, but is beginning to live a better way thanks to his ability to take a risk and participate in this gathering.

What really moved me was last night, when they presented me with a photograph of those 100 year old trails that I walked on earlier on this week. But the gift that really moved me was the amount of people that wanted to come out to say Wachiya in the rain. It's such a beautiful thing to get embraced by people.

Thank you for the claps, screams, cheers, laughs, smiles and the countless number of hugs I received. As I stood wet in the rain, I felt like I could have stood there for hours, because of the love I felt from my new friends and family of Wakaganish was like an umbrella that was keeping my spirit warm, dry and safe.


Stay tuned for more great pictures from my amazing week in Waskaganish. I'll be posting more on Monday.