E079 Mike Kienapple Canoe Tripping One With Nature
Let’s Be Well Together Podcast - Episode 79
Date: August 1, 2023
Participants: Isabelle Sinclair, Ciara Fletcher, John Webster, Cameron Earnshaw and Sheila Webster
Guest: Mike Kienapple (Interview) and Liz Bellingham (Move that Body)
Start times and Segments:
[0:00:35] What’s On Your Mind: University students and co-hosts Isabel and Ciara discuss the hustle culture trend, which is on the rise. Are there pros and cons?
[0:11:02] Expanding Minds Interview: [Environmental Wellness] We interview Mike Kienapple. Very few people these days experience nature totally unplugged. Mike is an exception. He enjoys portage canoe tripping in remote norther locations in Ontario, Canada. He feels at one with nature. Pictures never do it justice. It’s not the same. It’s that lived experience in that environment at that time. He wouldn’t trade the feeling of being alone in that environment with no people and no cell phone service for anything.
[0:27:47] Adventures of the Starving Artist: Cameron can finally share news that he is the metal vocals in the theme song to the new Rick and Morty animé spinoff series being launched up on Adult Swim network. It’s nice to see projects come to fruition. Here’s a link to a first look video. Listen for the “death voice” around the 50 second mark and check out the credits at 1:24. How fun is that?! Cameron’s name in an animé intro.
[0:30:47] Move That Body: Liz Bellingham and work colleagues meet at lunch once every couple weeks to walk together. They enjoy being outside. It’s refreshing. It’s a reset and it’s community building in the office.
[0:35:14] Running Popup: We’re affected by outside forces such as nature and nurture. Even so, we can choose to believe and act as though we have choice in how we respond to what people do to us and say to us.
[0:37:13] Flipside of the Coin: Sheila saw a thought-provoking post about a Buddhist monk suggesting to children that they help their mom with the dishes. We can all do small things that have positive impacts on other people.
Quotes and Take-Aways:
Isabelle – Hustle culture has the sense of prioritizing productivity over down time or making meaningful relationships.
Ciara – Hustle culture reminds me of LinkedIn culture. You always need to post that you’re doing something, and always getting those achievements.
Isabelle – In my downtime on the weekend I try to limit my time on my phone, because I’m always on a screen. I try to prioritize myself and my own mental wellbeing by avoiding mechanisms to compare myself, especially on LinkedIn and other forms of social media. Taking a step away from the connectivity of being online is helpful to me.
Ciara – Tying hustle culture and down time together, I think there are different strategies you can do surrounding wellness. I work my 8-and-a-half hours a day. When I come home, rather than going onto my phone, I try to immerse myself in my hobbies and do other things that are more meaningful.
Mike – In Ontario, I don’t consider anything south of the Trans-Canada Highway to be north.
Mike – There are lots of spots up north. There are canoe routes all over Ontario. It’s endless.
Mike – Pictures never do it justice. It’s not the same. It’s that lived experience in that environment at that time. It can’t be replicated in a picture.
Mike – I flip my canoe upside down and I have a dinner table.
Mike – It was a busy place back in the 1700s. Fur traders were crossing Missinaibi Lake on a daily basis. I envision the Voyageurs going across it.
Mike – I’m camping on spots that were camped on 300 years ago, even longer probably. Good spots are good spots. It doesn’t matter if it’s 300 years ago or today.
Mike – The feeling of being alone in that environment with no people and no cell phone service – I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
Bulletin Board Quote brought to you by Cameron: Some people are vehemently against it.
Guest Information: Mike Kienapple is a business owner and an avid outdoor enthusiast. He enjoys camping, canoe trips, exploring and his gym life at CrossFit Kitchener. Mike has lived the region of Waterloo his entire life. He has two adult children – his daughter Emily and his son Sean.
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Thanks for joining us,
(-(-_(-_-)_-)-) Your wellness check-in team
John, Sammy, Cameron, Sheila, Elise, Isabelle and Julie