Kendra Jane Berndt
Managing Editor of Content & Archives

On May 1, 2016 the province I live in was struck with the largest disaster in my country’s history. What I have also seen come out of this tragedy is a special intimacy, and openness to help and to share with those in need. Although I do not live in Fort McMurray, where this tragedy occurred, it is a city that has supported my family for decades and is home to many of my friends. As this tragedy and the recovery efforts unfold, we are all coping in different ways, as is the case when struck with grief, sorrow, or any other very intense emotion. When I am sad or happy or anywhere inbetween I work through my feelings in the kitchen.

I have also been reading a book that has struck a chord in me. It is is both about life and cooking and I would like to share a little of it with you, our readers.

When we cook, we are expressing ourselves completely, for we always cook within the context of our lives. If we are feeling lonely, stressed, generous, too busy, happy—whatever is happening in that moment—when we step up to the stove, we cook with these circumstances as much as any ingredient or recipe. This kind of attention to the particulars of the moment won’t be found in the recipe we are using, yet it will have an enormous influence on the final product and how much enjoyment we will receive from both the doing and the consuming of it.

I want to encourage and support us to look more deeply and experience more deeply, in our everyday lives. There is a hunger for a more considered life, one where our everyday circumstances are not a series of inconveniences to get through (or around) as quickly as possible, but rather a source of awakening and pleasure. We don’t have to go looking for it, we don’t have to purchase it, because it’s right here. 1

I think I have already read the above passage a hundred times and the contents of its message makes me look more forward to our Conference than ever before. This is the one week a year I soak in every minute, every $6.00 bottle of water, every smoke filled casino, and every tired morning. There are absolutely no inconveniences, and everything is a pure source of genuine happiness and awakening.

As you read our pre-conference issue I urge you to change your mindset as you pack and prepare. In this issue you will find excellent tips from our mentor team to lessen the stress before you even leave home, setting yourself up for a successful week. If your worry is about leaving your shop while at Conference, April Thomas and Julie Taylor have put together some advice on ensuring your studio will be more than prepared for your absence.

As I wrote, edited, and compiled this issue I felt the butterflies start in my stomach, but this year I will be approaching Conference from a different perspective, one that will allow me to see my conference family in a whole new light. I urge you to do the same; open your hearts and minds, let down your guard (as hard as it may seem) and experience the week, really experience it. Amazing things can happen when you do. I look forward very much to hugging my family, my friends, and the best colleagues on the planet. So whether this is your first or your twenty-first Conference, I hope you will allow yourself to find the extraordinary in the mundane, the irreplaceable in what others dismiss as irrelevant; to have a deeper life experience.

1 Velden, Dana. Finding Yourself in the Kitchen. Rodale. New York. 2015.