Walking along the hidden trail

The hidden trail is accessed under the Westminster Bridge, not far from here. Despite loving nature, or what is left of nature in the city, I rarely walk on this trail. An article published on 19 September 2022, "A natural path to dealing with depression", states that getting out for a walk and being in nature is beneficial for one's emotional and physical health. Those getting out of the house and walking in nature will be more physically and healthy-minded for it; any walking is better than not walking at all. The curious thing about this trail is that you meet so few people on it, I think today's walk was exceptional, I passed three people and two dogs. You know, if you can get out and walk an hour a week, or a little more than that, and you can lose five pounds, which is almost impossible for most people, you can actually lower both your blood sugar level and your cholesterol level. Doing anything is better than doing nothing at all...

On the bravery of Luci Maud Montgomery

Walk in 2010

On International Women's Day both the CBC and CTV news mentioned this video of Luci Maud Montgomery who, they say, battled rejection, depression, and sexism and was "mentally ill". Negative emotions are now confused and conflated with mental illness, but they are emotions, not mental illness. Montgomery's husband, Ewan was mentally ill and Montgomery had to keep what was considered a stigma secret. She lived in an age of sexism but she also published twenty novels and was the most successful Canadian author of her generation; sexism affected the lives of all women but she seems to have survived and thrived as a writer. She also had to contend with her son acting up, he was a real bounder, and this was a concern for her. Earlier in her life she was conflicted about her choice of husband and she made what turned out to be a bad choice. Was she addicted to barbiturates? I've known people who were addicted to different legal and illegal drugs and they weren't mentally ill. Montgomery faced rejection in her writing but what writer hasn't received multiple rejection letters that make one question one's life work, continuing writing and publishing and also feel depressed? Montgomery committed suicide and if it weren't for legal doctor assisted suicide I would say that this is a mental illness, it is now a decision, an escape route from being kept alive in a reduced state. I see Luci Maud Montgomery as life affirming, she struggled to write her books and she succeeded. She was depressed over her husband's genuine mental illness, he ended up in a sanatorium, but anyone who has someone close to them that is seriously ill knows that worrying and extreme unhappiness, grief and sadness, are not mental illness, they are natural feelings and a by-product of being caught in an existential state that is possibly resolved only by the death of one's loved one. That's depressing but it's not mental illness, it is strength of character. I prefer to see Luci Maud Montgomery as a healthy-minded and brave woman. Hard times can be overcome, life can be affirmed, healthy-mindedness is more common than mental illness.



This is a one minute Heritage Minute on Canadian TV.