jen
Upon arrival, the first thing that strikes me about Jen is her lean and athletic build. Her tanned skin glows vibrantly and she walks around barefoot for the entire time we were there. After she invites Shane and I inside for conversation, we gather to talk around a small round table near a window looking into the woods. “Imagine being a migratory fish and your last dying wish is to lay your eggs up river and you just must get there but you can’t because there’s a dam.” Jen’s voice grows powerful and then tappers back to gentle song. Most of the interior decorations are made of matter that once was a part of a living being: feathers, sticks, and bones.
Jen grew up the youngest of nine in Mexico, Maine on the Androscoggin River. During her childhood she enjoyed total freedom to explore and be in nature without supervision. Today, Jen is many things and continues to grow and change with the dynamism of a pioneer. She teaches women how to wield axes and build fires, and seekers how to clear their minds. She teaches how to heal and how to find inner peace. The tools of her trade are the rivers and the streams, the birds and the trees – nature.
Jen believes that cleaning up our planet begins with cleaning up our minds. One way to do this is with canoe coaching. The idea is that Jen takes a person on a guided canoe trip in which they sit in the front and are encouraged to immerse themselves in what is right in front of them while Jen steers and paddles from the back. Chatter is limited unless the silence is uncomfortable for the client. Talk and intentions are centered around the present surroundings or something the person is considering for their future. Because both people are facing forward the person in the front can enjoy a guided meditation without being visually confronted by another human.
Transition and change are staples in Jen’s vocabulary and she believes that individuals have the potential to change systems. She is a conservationist and a voice for all flora, fauna, mountains, and streams. Her advice to young people who are fighting a difficult fight such as climate change is to walk the talk and avoid carrying hate in your heart.
