I used to spend up to three hours per day commuting to my job in a downtown office, dreaming of the day I could move away, get off the hamster wheel, build a home in a forest and live off the land. Little did I know, that day was just around the corner.

The day that changed everything
June 15th, 2016 was the day that changed my life and propelled me onto the path that I was supposed to be on. This was the day when, after 7+ years of my work routine, I was unexpectedly laid off. The timing was not good, to say the least. I had a baby, a young toddler and a husband with epilepsy who could no longer work. It was time for a change whether we wanted to make it or not. Despite the stress and uncertainty, I somehow felt finally free. When I got to my car, instead of crying, I let out a scream of pure joy. I had never experienced this feeling before, but it was exhilarating. I can remember the feeling and the day as clear or clearer than yesterday.

I needed a new direction
While I had gone to school to become a financial planner and worked for a great firm, I found my job stagnant and unfulfilling and I struggled to reach my full potential. To me, that feeling of restlessness was utterly frustrating. I felt very overlooked and undervalued. I knew that it wasn’t the career for me, though, I am very thankful for the life lessons I learned. The good thing about being laid off was that it gave me more time to take the courses I needed to further redirect my career.

Setting things in motion
The weekend after I was laid off, Jay and I were scheduled to go to Sechelt on a field trip for our ‘Growing Food in the City’ course through Gaia College. My dad came with us so he could babysit the kids while we were in class. Throughout that weekend we discussed our next steps at length. Now that we were free to move anywhere and start our dreams, what would we do? We talked about our vision with one of our classmates Terry, who was an experienced life coach, and our teacher Michelle, who runs an Ruby’s Run Urban Farms, and they helped convince our hearts to just go for it.

(At Michelle’s urban farm, preparing the harvest and having lovely conversation)

From dream to reality
Our vision has always been to create an eco-wellness retreat where we can farm, grow food, teach and help people heal. In early July of 2016, the weekend after getting back from Sechelt with a newfound confidence, we started our search for the perfect acreage and in less than a month Jay and I stumbled across our dream property and we bought it! By October 2016 we were handed the keys, so in four short months after the layoff we officially took the plunge and had our new home: a 5-acre forest in Columbia Valley. Our dream was beginning.

Learning everything for this new path
The good thing about being laid off was that it gave me more time to take courses that will benefit our eco-retreat. I was finally able to become a Registered Holistic Nutritionist through the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition I started back in 2012, before we were married and had kids! Jay and I continued to take gardening courses, and consumed hours and hours of YouTube videos on sustainable technologies. 

I also gravitated towards horticulture, since we now owned an overgrown forest that needed a ton of work…and were the ones who needed to work it. In February of 2017, I enrolled in level 1 horticulture at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. I learned so much and loved it, so I enrolled in levels 2 to 4 back to back and finished the 4-year program in 14 months! I am not going to lie, it was really hard. It was 40 hours of school per week and probably as many hours of study and homework. Then, we had a 4-hour board exam that I finished with only 30 seconds to spare. But, being me, I made a silly assumption that I could also take a weekend course throughout the year at the same time…

In September of 2017, I signed up with Coastal Academy of Arts and Science to become a Clinical Hypnotherapist. I only just graduated this month. I am super stoked about being a Hypnotherapist. Hypnotherapy is truly a passion of mine and I am so excited to help transform lives.

Reflecting on the past two years
Honestly, I am not one to bloat or blow my own horn, but I want to say: when something major happens in your life, take those feelings, run with them, and follow your dreams! Sometimes we look at the property and feel discouraged about how slowly we are developing it, but then, look at all we’ve accomplished in the past two years:

• Laid off
• Bought acreage
• Worked on the acreage: planning, preparing
• Launched The Forest Guild online
• R.H.N- Registered Holistic Nutritionist
• ‘Growing Food in the City’ course
• Jay wrote a book! (coming soon)
• Red Seal Landscape Horticulturist Apprentice (I still have a few hours of practicum left before I get the seal)
• Won the George Hardy Award for horticulture
• Won the Dogwood Garden Club Award for horticulture
• CHt- Clinical Hypnotherapist

Of course, we didn’t accomplish all of this alone. Jay had to hold down the fort, and for that I am forever grateful, I barely had time to make toast let alone do dishes or laundry. A lot of our family had to step in to help babysit, especially since Jay has had many bad spells of seizures. While sometimes I feel guilty that my nose was always in a book studying instead of focused on the kids, I know that the work will pay off in the long run. I hope that they one day understand that we were doing it to make a better, more fulfilling life for all of us.

(Brooke eating apples at the property August 2016 – we were viewing the property)

(Brooke & Connor enjoying the swing August 2017)

(All of us at the property March 2018)

Grateful for change
Isn’t it crazy to think that if I had not been laid off, I would most likely be doing the exact same thing: praying for life to change, commuting hours a day to a career that was just never going to go anywhere?

What are you waiting for? If something threw your life onto a new path- where would it go? If you had to make a drastic change today- what would it be?

Becky

Becky is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Landscape & Production Horticulturist, Arborist and budding Herbalist, who recognizes and specializes in the link between healthy soil, the gut and the brain. She also loves being the mom to her two wild and crazy kids Brooke & Connor whom keep her and her ever loving, creative husband Jay on their toes.