From the Preface

Deep in the heart of a vernal island surrounded by a hidden cove on the waters of Northern Pond lies a place we call mishkan ha-yaar - a sacred dwelling in the woods. Mishkan is a Hebrew word translated commonly as a tabernacle, but it is rooted in the verb to dwell. It is very likely that you have encountered such ‘dwellings’ in your own journeys through life, especially those that have taken you into nature. These are places where life’s wonder and its connectedness to a larger universe are more palpable, more present, more clear. They are places where your heart and soul feel free, energized, renewed, and at peace. 

This mishkan is one where we spent many days of joyful solitude, surrounded by giant pines, colorful maples, and white barked birch. Great bald eagles nest on the high canopies across its cove. Deer, fox, wild turkeys, and porcupines play hide and seek in its dense woods. Once upon a winter we even spied bear prints criss-crossing the snows of the island, and we followed them carefully more than a mile away across the lake’s frozen cap ... 

It was in this place where we dreamt to put our hands to the task of building a cabin of our own. We dreamt of a small home where we could live simply, where we would have moments of solitude as well as moments shared with special friends and dearest family. We dreamt of a place to be with nature, to watch the sun go down over the western shores, to track the silver streak of moonlight rise and fall over black waters, and to gaze at the kaleidoscope of bright starry nights in the dark and clear winter skies. 

In reality, what we wanted to accomplish was logistically impractical. I knew nothing of carpentry or construction. I had no inkling about how I would get my materials to this remote location, or whether any of my nearby neighbors would help us (a couple of new transplants from ‘away’). And yet, without knowing what would lie ahead, we were fueled with the inspiration of a dream and the possibility that sometimes arises from a place of knowing too little, of dwelling in naivete. So we embarked on the journey with a guiding vision of our ‘dream building’ materializing into reality. 

Now four years into the journey, I have started to look back with a growing appreciation for what we learned along the way. The process has been at once the most rewarding and most challenging undertaking of our lives. It has been a journey of transformation and of personal growth. The creative process of bringing a dream into reality has in effect been a journey of building community and friendships, of learning new skills, of developing habits, of overcoming fears, and of living with uncertainty. It has been a journey of commuting deeply with nature, of finding peace in solitude, and of renewing vigor and joy by learning to adapt in harmony with the rhythm of the seasons. It has been a journey of learning to ask for help, of relinquishing control, and of developing teamwork and cooperation. 

From all this learning, a new dream has been born: to capture it all in this book, to share the experience with kindred spirits, and to explore the habits and life lessons that made the pursuit of a dream rewarding to our life as a whole. As with all meaningful pursuits, the journey matters more than the actual destination. And within the journey, it is the people that we meet along the way that make it all worthwhile. Many of the stories I wish to share relate the tales born from meeting some truly amazing people in our community. In many ways, these stories are our own words of gratitude and love sent back to each of them. 

Amongst all those we meet on our paths, we are particularly blessed to encounter and get to know our true selves just a little better. I hope to tell these tales with candor and honesty, even as they reveal many of my own difficulties, follies, and shortcomings. Some of these may be quite personal, yet one of my great teachers taught me recently that ‘in the most personal also lies the most universal’. 

If you find some aspects of your own life’s challenges, dreams, or aspirations reflected in these tales, then I hope that you may find in them inspirations for your own journeys.  In any case, we are delighted to welcome you into the wondrous world of our Northern Pond. It is a great place to journey through and to visit. Stay with us for a while. We are delighted to have you here with us in these pages as our guest.