Monday, August 7, 2017

Advocate Harbour and Sam Shepard

 
 
 
               
Advocate Harbour , Nova Scotia, Canada
Advocate Harbour, Nova Scotia Canada, some might say, is at the end of the world where we have to come out of the woods to hunt. It does have a few claims to fame, home of the Mary Celeste, the highest tides in the world in the Bay of Fundy, with lots of sailing ship and local history, but truthfully those aren’t the most significant things it really has to offer.

Scenic world vistas are second to none and has a beauty embodying the true definition of the over used word awesome, that elevates, inspires, providing solace and comfort to the soul.

The way of life here is simple. People welcome the stranger, are very friendly and humble folk, who work hard. We know how to make our own fun, and it’s a tight knit community, that truly cares about one another.

Once a person discovers this piece of heaven, you’ll never forget it, because your spirit will be touched in ways that will change you, and somehow, in someway, you’ll connect to a power greater than yourself.
This is I believe what happened to Sam Shepard, who during the 60s and into the mid 80s lived in Advocate Harbour, where he’d purchased a home on the coast of the beautiful Bay of Fundy.

I always knew this fact, as did most people here. During the 23 years I’ve lived in the area, I know there were some who didn’t know just who Sam Shepard was, nor did most people in the larger world have a clue where Advocate Harbour, Nova Scotia was, let alone knowing Sam Shepard lived there.

Hearing recently of Sam Shepard’s death, I learned about the kind of deep thinking individual he was, though a very private man, he’d found a way to shield himself from the superficiality of Hollywood, and I’m certain this helped to keep him sane.

His plays were often about dysfunctional families and Sam Shepard grew up in an alcoholic home himself, something I understand personally, being a child of an alcoholic.
After reading more about his life I felt a spiritual affinity with him, and wasn’t surprised to find out he was very involved in the philosophical and spiritual ideas of Gurdjieff and shared this with his life long friend and ex-father-in-law Johnny Dark.

I've absolutely no doubt living in Advocate Harbour offered Sam Shepard solitude, peace of mind and the serenity he was searching for and needed in his life, as many of us do whether we know it or not.
He was very much liked by the folks in Advocate as he was fun, humble and seemed to love people and nature. It’s where I’m sure he had more than a few spiritual insights.

I’m sorry to know he’s left this mortal coil, but I’m sure he’s found an even better home and a more peaceful shore.

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