A Conversation with Sarah Harmer (continued)

PM: Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?

SH: Yes.

PM: I mean, I knew the answer I think. But in any particular way, or any particular path?

SH: I don't know that much about a lot of religions. I know some basics about Buddhism, so my education isn't really there.

PM: That's good, maybe.

SH: But just my spiritual connections to everything, sure. I feel like there's so much magic in the world, and I think the natural world is so awesome. And yeah, I have a real connection, definitely, to place and to spirits.

I just read this wonderful book set in basically memoirs of a white guy, a guy actually named Tom Harmer of all people. But he lives up with these Salish natives up in Washington State, where there's so much animism and spirit of place, and old stories and old history. I think that there is so much power that we often don't really acknowledge in our western, regular lives that is there, that really connects us to all of the other elements, and all of the other species, really.

I think I get a lot of that from my mom. My mom talks to the trees at the farm.

[laughter]

PM: Beautiful.

SH: She's deep. It's her own thing. I think she's witnessed a lot of power and a lot of presence, and I think that I'm kind of that way, as well. But I think it's also one of those things that once you start to receive it, or you start to believe it, or kind of go, "Oh, what an interesting coincidence that all that happened, and this happened," then it can reveal itself to you more. But it's also what you choose to believe, as well.

PM: I think once you're open to believe, that a lot more becomes available, absolutely.

SH: Yeah, yeah.

PM: On or off the record, do you mind if I ask what you meant by your mother witnessing power and presence? I'm very interested, that's why I ask.

SH: I'm not sure, exactly. I don't know if I ever said that before. I just know that she was going to be a United Church minister before she decided to get married to a farmer and have six kids. She was going to go out to Newfoundland and do--well, not missionary work, but really remote work. So she kind of grew up in the community of the United Church, and kind of Christianity. And then she graduated from the university in her fifties, and then went on to do her masters in theology, and really about feminism. She's just learned a lot. She's been open to everything and she's a very curious person. She's seventy-four, and she continues to be youthful and very wide-eyed. And I think that her accumulation of understanding and knowledge, and just life experience, and just spending a lot of time outside, she really has a connection. For instance, we've been dealing with this whole quarry application right behind our farm.

PM: Yeah.

SH: And my mom says "I will chain myself to a tree."

[laughter]

SH: She's very feisty, too. And I think she feels that the trees have rights, and that the rock even has rights.  She really has a belief that humans are part of nature, and we have a real kinship to everything else.

PM: Yeah, we're just out of control because of our brains, otherwise we'd be more in tune with everything.

SH: Yeah. So I guess that's why. I mean, I think just from having children and witnessing the miracle of that, and just the wonder of all that stuff, I think she's probably accumulated a lot of experiences with power and presence.

PM: Well, I would gladly go on for hours, but you've been very kind with your time. And I know you've got a busy day ahead of you. So I'm going to let you go. And you need to talk to the bus driver who hit that car.

SH: I do.

[laughter]

SH: Thanks, Frank. Nice talking to you, too.

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