Shawna Franklin was paddling around Iceland with two male partners. Her energy, vitality and genuine love for the world shone brightly. She looked at me and spoke of living true to myself. Tis was an epiphany. Up until


Dreamer, which says “dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing” and “risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.” Tis reiterated what I already knew but had been afraid to do for so long: to live true to my soul, which


Manitoulin lies at the northern tip of Lake Huron. I paddled the 350 kilometres in 12 days. In 2005, I took a leave of absence


from teaching during the months of May and June, giving me the whole summer to paddle. I chose to


I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy —Oriah Mountain Dreamer


then, I had always done things to please others. I had followed the “system,” getting a university degree and a good job, getting married and raising a family, taking on a hefty mortgage. Yet it was my brief forays into nature by kayak that truly made me feel joyful and alive. I was also inspired by a poem, Te Invitation by Oriah Mountain


sang of being free on the water, to follow my dreams and find peace and fulfillment. And so I found the courage to plan


bigger challenges. In 2004, I paddled with a partner around Manitoulin Island, the world’s largest freshwater island. Geographical extremes appeal to me as do islands that have their own unique identities, and


circumnavigate Prince Edward Island. Again, it was a geographical


extreme as it was the only province that I could completely circumnavigate. I was the first woman to complete the entire 600-kilometre circumnavigation, paddling it in 15 days. I then felt I could accomplish anything I put my mind to. Te following summer I again


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