Everything will work out | 4 minute read

It was the summer of 2013. June or July, the details are a bit hazy.

My first contract as a journalist and a long-term relationship had ended almost all at once. The path I was on suddenly no longer existed and I needed a new direction. I moved out of my first apartment and back home with my parents.

The responsible thing would have been to start looking for a job. What I decided to do was go on some adventures.

It was summer, after all; I was at the beginning of my career, I had a little money saved, and a few decades of work to look forward to in the future.

”Everything will work out the way it should,” I told myself. Or maybe it was my Mom who told me that. It was probably my Mom.

Nature was calling, so I packed up my parents’ minivan with a camping hammock, freeze-dried camping meals, some beer, my dog Isla, and I set off for Algonquin park.

I remember the songs I listened to on the way, the chill of the night as I slept among the trees, the feeling of being alone except for my stubborn shar pei beagle.

On the final day, we went for a hike. I had no cell service, which was nice, until I reached a peak that overlooked forests and lakes as far as the eye could see — I’d never seen anything like it before.

Then, my phone rang.

It was the editor of the paper I had just left.

”Justin, we have a new position we think you’d be great for. When can you come in and interview?”

”Give me a week,” I said. I still had some adventuring to do.

Isla and I headed home (she, to this day, doesn’t love camping) and a few days later I rode my motorcycle to Queen’s University to hang out with my sister, who was in grad school at the time.

Before heading out for drinks the first night, my phone rang.

”Justin, it’s Dane,” the person on the other end said. Dane was a colleague from the newspaper. “I just started at a magazine and they need a journalist. Can you come interview tomorrow?”

”Sure can.”

That night I remember feeling so light. It wasn’t the beer because I took it easy, knowing I had to hop back on my bike at the crack of dawn and ride into the city. It was because I knew things were about to get a whole lot better for me.

I ended up getting two offers (I took the magazine job and worked with Dane). I like to believe every twist and turn in my career — and my life, I suppose — was the result of that week or so of adventure.

This is an abridged version of a story I used to tell my students at York University when I taught there, some moons ago. The point of telling it is that, even when the life you know seems to come to an end, another is about to start.

Life tends to work out the way it should. Especially when you spend your time doing a little living.

The pebble

The challenge

Next time you’re facing uncertainty in life, tell yourself: “Everything will work out the way it should.”

Thanks for reading. We’re honoured you’ve spent a bit of your day with us. If you’re feeling generous, why not forward this email to a friend?