NOW LUNENBURG COUNTY_MAGAZINE_56PGS_JUNE2018

firmly planted
BY TIM MERRY
FINDING MEANING IN
LUNENBURG COUNTY
I recently found this in my diaries from 13 years ago. The year
I moved to Nova Scotia. “The world is not going to get better.
The current global chaos is going to increase. The madness we
see now will only continue to escalate, I suspect, until we hit a
massive ecological crisis. I believe human intervention has gone
too far globally to be remedied - the battle is lost. The opposite
of despair is not hope for me; the opposite of despair is action.
Nova Scotia works for me as a place to begin this new action in
my life. It is on the fringes of the madness; what has infected so
much of the world has not really hit Nova Scotia yet. It still has
slowness and simplicity in its nature. When a pond unfreezes, it
is the edges that melt first. I believe that as the world descends
further into chaos, that we will need places which hold good
human wisdom and practice.”
It felt a bit strange to read it to be honest. It does feel to me like
the chaos has only increased over the last 13 years: the number
of ecological disasters, increased economic uncertainty, massive
social unrest, the breakdown of trust between citizens and
governments, corporate greed running rampant … you don’t
need me to continue the list!
That got me to thinking about why Lunenburg County is such a
great place to be. In the midst of all this madness we can watch
from the edges and make our own decisions. It is like we are part
of it but not fully in it all. We are safe. Thank goodness. More
from my diary:
” ... a place where people can get out of the craziness of the
rat race and see the bigger picture, connect to meaning and
purpose in life, break the illusion we are being sold daily and
re-enter life with a clear insight and compassion.”
For me, that then begs the question: what are we going to do
with the relatively privileged position of safety in a globally
tumultuous time? What opportunity do we have here in
Lunenburg County to forge a way of life that is informed by the
craziness around us but not driven by it?
22 NOWLUNENBURGCOUNTY.COM
There are already some great examples of citizens rising to
the occasion right here in Lunenburg County. The tech startup,
Woodscamp, for example. They are disrupting the Forestry
Sector across Nova Scotia with a model that could have impact
in Forestry across North America and Europe. NOW Lunenburg
County has launched a strategy to create population growth
across our region. What we learn here could have implications
for how rural communities everywhere deal with population
decline and stalling local economies. The Lunenburg Academy of
Music Performance is bringing some of the world’s top classical
and jazz artists to us and training performers who will travel the
world with the DNA of Lunenburg county in their art. I recently
heard of an initiative to bring some of the world’s top executives
to Lunenburg County for pivotal strategic retreats. The idea is
that the culture of this place and its natural beauty will influence
these executives’ ability to be more genuine with each other and
make better big picture decisions.
These are just some of the things I am aware of—there is so
much more. Individuals, neighbours, who are stepping up to get
something done at all levels of scale. All it takes is a simple step,
as Mother Teresa said, “do small things with great love”, and
“I want my kids to grow up in A place as unpolluted
as possible by all the bullshit in the world”
— Tim Merry