[raw]When I’m inviting someone to participate in our featured musician, photographer, artist, and poet pages, I often say: “The CVC likes to shine a light on people doing cool things in the Valley.” So it only made sense that at some point we’d have a SHINE-themed issue, and here it is.
We picked this summery theme back in the dreary, rain-soaked days of November, not knowing what the lineup would be, but trusting that the people of the Comox Valley would deliver inspiration to us over the dark winter months—just by going about their lives.
We knew that by the time we got to the lineup-planning meeting, our ROAM team members would have learned about a great new initiative, heard about a friend’s latest hobby/activity/passion, or discovered an amazing new local maker. And at least a few writers would have pitched us a novel idea for an article.
And, as always, that’s what happened.
Now, here is a bright, shiny collection of stories and images that have been shared with the CVC over the past months.
We look at hotels and beach resorts built in the 19th and 20th centuries that still stand today. We focus on groups, businesses, and events established many decades ago that continue to light up the Valley with music and experiences. Many pieces are about one person’s passion, whether it’s circus art, kayaking, or eating beautiful, healthy food. And we celebrate brilliant local artists creating metalwork, clothing, and rugs.
Our Little Valley, Youth Valley, and Elder Valley essays are often the pieces that address the theme directly. I love what ten-year-old Noah Kohen says in his essay: “The word shine means showing up with enthusiasm and doing my best.” It seems to me that every piece in this issue is about doing about life in exactly that way: with enthusiasm, yes, and also with dedication, persistence, curiosity, and joy.
Many Valley residents are working on innovative ways to make the world a better place. They’re asking—and taking steps to answer—questions like: How can we help coho salmon thrive? How can birds of prey make our airport safer? How can we build supportive housing for people with disabilities? How can we connect with the farms that provide our food? How can we all protect our watershed—just by changing our sunscreen?
The heart of the magazine is always people. While working on this issue, I learned a great new word: sonder. It’s the name of a clothing line from a young local designer named Bodhi LaPerriere, but the word itself, which can be used as either noun or verb, was coined by an American author, John Koenig, as part of his work The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. It means “the awareness that everyone has a story.” Koenig speaks of “the random passersby. Each living a life as vivid and complex as your own.”
What a way to think about being human. Each of us is far more than one story—we’re all multi-faceted. Each piece you read in these pages is just the tiniest snippet in a whole history of a person, place, or thing. Like one sparkle on the surface of the sea on a sunny day.
No wonder we never run out of stories to tell.
