Page 12 - 01-Jan-Feb-2025

EDS
LOVE WILL
TEAR YOU
APART
Some of us (like me) are fortunate enough
to do what we love for a living. Our passions become
our jobs.
But, even when you love what you do, there are days
that are tough, where the last thing you want to do is
get out of bed or talk to people.
For me, there are days where the words don’t come to
me easily. I notice that some bot has got onto Goodreads
and given each and every one of my books a one-star
review. I feel that I’m not being honest with my words,
that I’m writing what someone else thinks I should. To
quote Bo Burnham, there are days when “I don’t think
that I can handle this right now.”
Doing what you love, putting yourself out there,
comes with all the lovely side effects: the regular pangs
of anxiety, the feeling you’re wearing another person’s
coat, the constant need to live up to expectations, the
nights you lay awake wondering if you got a name wrong
in a story. And the person you’re toughest on is yourself.
Sometimes, you feel like an actor in a movie — that
everything you do is in the public eye. Even when I’m
amongst the fellow parents at my kids’ soccer or
baseball games, it’s like I am watching from above,
seeing myself converse with others.
You set standards for yourself that you wouldn’t
expect others to set for you. And you can’t turn yourself
off — even on vacation, you’re thinking about work,
because, well, you love what you do, right?
I know what you’re thinking — if you’re so obsessive
about it, is it really what you love to do? And the
answer is yes. People can’t divorce themselves from
their passions. It’s because we can’t imagine ourselves
doing anything else.
And this brings me to two special sections in this
month’s issue — 6 Who Inspire and Edifiers.
12 EDify. JANUARY • FEBRUARY.25
This is the second year we’ve run a 6 Who Inspire
section, where we look at the long lives of six Edmon-
tonians who have held great influence on the city, but
haven’t given up their good fights. From a Stanley Cup
winner to a restaurateur to a university president,
these are people who show us what good comes from
following your passion.
And then there are the Edifiers, which highlight busi-
nesspeople and/or community activists who have made
a real difference in Edmonton. Unlike our Top 40 Under
40 program, there are no age restrictions.
When I look at these sections, I notice something that
all of our interviewees had in common. They are all so
passionate about their lives’ work, but they also allude
to the stresses they face. Randy Gregg speaks about how
he just can’t stop seeing patients. Kim Dineen describes
the growing pressures on volunteers. Darrin Hagen talks
about the spectre of bigotry that still hangs over the
Queer community.
In her profile, Amy Quon, the long-time matriarch of
The Lingnan, says that “If you have a simple life, you can
still shine.” But, to quote the philosopher king, David Lee
Roth, “I found the simple life ain’t so simple.”
Our Edifiers and 6 Who Inspire are proof of this, and
all of Edmonton is better off for it.
Steven Sandor
Editor-in-Chief
PHOTOGRAPHY BY RYAN PARKER