City Girl, Interrupted: Bark Lake as Pattern Interrupt

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PATTERN INTERRUPT: A pattern interrupt is a way to change a person’s mind state. We all have behavior patterns that translate as habits, sequences, or mental pathways. However, these patterns can cause us to tune out our conscious minds and rely on mechanical action. Pattern interrupts confront these habits, force us to stop and reconsider, to beckon the conscious, recreate, and revise our routines. Ultimately, these interrupts establish an opening for learning and personal growth.   (Source: http://nlp-mentor.com/pattern-interrupt/)

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The large billowing balsams and hemlocks scatter the rough, narrow, dirt path. In this bend, small woodchips, acorns, and green sap-filled pinecones fashion my path. A gaze to the right, and the beach peeks through—a large brown canoe, an orange bailer, the sighting of a neon buoy. I hear soft waves—a splash—silence and then a crack.

It is not breaking glass. It is not construction.

I trample small twigs; fragments of an enormous oak, and I piece my thoughts together. The dried pine needles act as silencers, my steps hushed. I creep forward toward my destination. The green leaves above curve, directing my feet. The glittering sunlight shines through. I see yellow.

It is not a traffic light. It is not the fluorescents in a classroom.

The illuminated trees emit a delicate odor. My eyes close. Earthy and musty, the foliage is circulated around my nose. The light wind flows, and I distinctly smell a wavering white pine—it is a triangular shape, it has a point.

It is not a synthetic car deodorizer. It is not aerosol air freshener.

The small pine needles act as my compass, I reach my destination. It is an expansive opening. The enclosed area releases me from its safe hug and I am thrust. It is open, airy. In the horizon different trees compete in height, clouds are scattered, and the lines in the water do not follow a direct path. Yet, I breathe, liberated by the landscape—a mesh of water, land, and sky unfold as an embodiment of Canadian wilderness.

It is not suburbia. It is not the city. Immaculate houses do not lunge into my eyes. White picketed fences with odorless shrubbery do not line my path. Gigantic buildings do not impede my view.

It is opportunity, and awakening, a beacon for personal change. It is my “pattern interrupt”—a break from the mundane urban scenery in the city.

An intentional or unintentional tool, it is unavoidable—especially here. As this establishment has grown with its surroundings, it is bound to impact and shape individuals that emerge into the expansiveness.

Challenge yourself to break your everyday banalities. The city will be there when you return.

Nalisha Sankreacha