Hi friend,
What is your life’s story thus far?
What is your family’s history?
What is your city’s history?
How are these three stories woven together?
Most of us move quickly through our days.
Work, responsibilities, commitments, deadlines.
We rarely stop to reflect on where we came from or how we arrived where we are.
That pause for reflection is what led me to start #ExperienceTO.
Since July 2022, I have been hosting free, in person historical tours across Toronto.
Not as academic lectures.
But as shared experiences that help people slow down to better understand the city they live in and connet with each other.
When you understand how a place was built and who built it, you make better decisions about how to live in it today.
History gives context, and knowing the context allows you to have greater impact.
At the beginning of every #ExperienceTO event, I invite people to introduce themselves to someone they do not know.
At the end of every event, we walk together to a local coffee shop.
That is intentional.
Community does not form by accident.
It forms when we choose to engage rather than pass by.
To listen rather than rush.
To treat one another as neighbours rather than strangers.
Two of our highest attendance events were the tour of the R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant and the Bridle Path historical tours.
Different settings.
Different histories.
The same desire to understand how past decisions still shape present realities.
This free historical tours have only been possible because of generous collaborators who shared their time and expertise.
I am deeply grateful to architect David Hollands, Professor Emeritus Sandford Borins, author Jim Adams, Lily Leung, Sean Cooper, Doug Porteous, and many others.
Their willingness to teach and explain has made these events far richer than I could have made them alone.
Over these past few days, I've been reflecting on this: if we take the time to understand our life's story, our family’s story, and our city’s story, what lessons can we learn and pass onto others?
If you have published an article, a research paper, a book, or a video, if you have created a piece of physical or digital art, or if you have written a poem, released a song, or found another way to express your life’s story... I would genuinely appreciate hearing from you.
Please reply to this email and tell me about it.
I am interested in getting to know you better and seeing if there is a way I can help you share your work.
And if these questions are prompting you to begin telling your story, I am glad.
What path are you planning to take?
Please reply and let me know.
Perhaps we can find a way to collaborate.
Three suggested action items:
- Reflect on you life's story.
Whether in a physical journal or on your computer... what if you took some time in the coming days to reflect on your life's journey from when you were born up until now, the experiences and people who have positively impacted your life, the places you've been, the lessons others could learn from you and the the stories that could inspire them to make a change for the better in their lives?
Your life's story could help others. Why not write it down and share it?
- Investigate your family’s history.
Schedule one intentional, sit down conversation with a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or older relative.
Ask about formative experiences, difficult seasons, and key decisions.
You may discover that parts of your own story make more sense in light of theirs.
- Investigate your neighbourhood’s history.
You could visit your local public library and ask to see the local history or archive section. Old maps, photographs, and newspapers often reveal how much has changed and how much has been inherited.
Historical plaques, murals, statues and other public art also add value to those who pause and reflect.
You may find meaningful stories and pieces of your life's puzzle that you were not aware of before going down this path.
Your live's story, your family's story, and your broader community's story come together in beautiful ways, and finding the connecting thread can be a worthwhile endeavour, one that could reveal more of what it true, good, and beautiful.
Thank you for taking the time to read and reflect on your story, your family, and your city.
Until next time,
Alex Rășcanu
