Contributor’s Corner
Bill Arnott:
A REFLECTION OF SELF IN OUR CRAFTS by Jazie Pilones
As I write this, I am surrounded by the extremities of silence filling the space of the two-story house I rent cheaply. Silence fills every corner, every room, even the tiny hollows left by broken tile grouts, and I squat here in my living room alone with my three precious cats that mean the world to me. A lot has happened this week, and I find myself and my brain cells scattershot all over the place, which is way out of character for me. I am on the verge of giving up on life that I begin to ask myself, what exactly is my purpose? Where am I supposed to go? Where exactly is life taking me? Right now, I wish I had the resources to travel to places I’ve never been to, or to destinations I wish I’d gone to so I could spend some time alone, find inner peace if I could, and try to navigate myself to a path I want to take. But right now, there are bigger things to face; the pandemic is far from over yet, and projects are waiting to be finished. Speaking of self, travel, and purpose, there’s a special human bean who has consistently shared with us his travels and the insights he took with him from each trip, Bill Arnott.
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Bill Arnott is a creative and award-winning author known for his Gone Viking series and NRM’s resident contributor for Bill Arnott’s Beat. If you’ve been following us for a while, you’d surely have read one of Bill Arnott’s Beat, which guarantees there’s no regret knowing and learning more from our friend from the Great White North, who he is and his perception of life. Bill, the hodophile. Growing up in his small British Columbia hometown, young Bill was already drawn to adventure when he had his first bus ride and enjoyed watching the driver, the wheel, and other dashboard instruments that made him feel like he’s on a spaceship. To him, the movement, the perspectives, the whole experience shaped his view of the world that are evident in his writings. Bill started writing in his journal where he’d keep his thoughts about his travels, memories that he’d like to come back to at some point in his life to reminisce and relearn. He hadn’t thought about writing for the masses, and it wasn’t until he shared his journey to his friends, where he received good feedback that he decided to write more about them so others might enjoy it as well. By the time he was receiving awards, he felt an obligation to share his best works with the world. We all understand that getting to know, loving, trusting, and being true to oneself are hard to come by, and it takes a lifetime to master. Part of it is letting go of things and people that don’t help you grow or don’t bring the best out of you, so you can nurture yourself. Leaving behind these baggage helped Bill find himself, his artistic path, and the community that helped him become the person he is today, whose works we dearly love.
