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Tidbit to Threads No. 6
- Susan Stirling
- 7 days ago
- 11 min read
WHAT IF Change was a Calling …rather than a crisis.
“CHANGE”
(/tʃeɪndʒ/ (sounds like “chayn-j”)
to make or become different, alter, or replace something both a verb (to transform) and a noun (the act of alteration)
(adapted from dictionary sources)
In this Tidbit to Thread, What if change was a calling rather than a crisis? is really two threads woven together. Think of it like weaving hair into a fishtail braid. When it’s done well, it looks beautiful in long hair. Hopefully this piece comes together that way too (there I go, being funny again).
First thread. It was early 2020, pre-pandemic, and my life was already in the middle of massive change. I was still finalizing the divorce from my first marriage, which was emotionally excruciating, especially because I hadn’t yet deconstructed the religious beliefs I carried about marriage and divorce.
At the same time, I had just left my role as a technician at the clinic and stepped into the position of office manager.
And if you’ve read my story, you’ll know that when the pandemic was announced, memories from my past began surfacing, without my consent. Then everything shut down: the clinic where I worked… and my body. Panic attacks began. Anxiety mounted. It all felt far more real to me than the arrival of COVID-19.
I tried to stay busy. New flooring. Fresh paint. Wallpaper in the sunroom. I chose busyness over writing. Focusing my mind on tasks helped in the moment, but nothing settled the constant sense that my life was about to Change.
By the time I returned to the clinic, I kept hearing the words inside me: sometimes you choose change, and sometimes change chooses you. As those words echoed through my mind and body, I could see how true they were. Nothing at the clinic was the same. COVID had changed everything. My role had shifted again. And my body felt different, I felt more outside of myself than truly present.
It felt like change wasn’t just choosing me; it was choosing the entire world. And yet, even as I sensed this truth, I didn’t feel able to lean into it. I wanted to run from it …as far away as possible. (I didn’t understand fight, flight, freeze, or fawn back then either.)
Personally, I’m built for consistency and stability, with a dash of adventure scheduled neatly into my calendar. Change is not a word I naturally embrace. This wave of change was rattling me from the outside in and the inside out. I was completely discombobulated by it.
I could no longer put on my public face at work. I was silently triggered every time I had to wear a facemask. Everything blurred together, and I could no longer separate my work life from my personal life. I had no choice but to face change head-on.
In the end, I took an inward journey that would transform my life in every way. And when I came out on the other side, I found myself sitting with a new question and a new perspective:
What if change was a calling… rather than a crisis?
“CALLING” / (KAW-ling) Calling is a strong inner urge, passion, or sense of purpose toward a specific career, vocation, or way of life, often viewed as a “vocation” or “mission” rather than just a job. It signifies a deep attraction to work that is often socially valuable or fulfilling, such as teaching, medicine, or ministry – Cambridge dictionary
The word calling has a felt sense of leaning in for me, something drawing me forward, something inviting, something that holds promise. Compare that to the word crisis, which carries an emergency response. When I hear it, I feel like I need to fight or run - and fast. One perspective has an I can feeling; the other feels like I can’t.
This brings me to the second thread we’re weaving into this Tidbit to Thread.
In 2022, when I was certified as a LifeLanguages Communication Coach (independently, of course, but that’s a story for another time), I posted the following article on my website. At the time, I was writing a collection of pieces about becoming the change we wish to see in the world.
I still have Mahatma Gandhi’s famous quote above my front door: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” This article was used as a entry point into that theme.
So, without further ado. I will repost here Andrew’s story of change because it shows how change, like life, like recovery, like healing is not linear. Instead, it unfolds through small threads and tidbits along the way. I hope you enjoy this piece.
An Adventure of Change.
Originally posted 2022.
Picture taken May 2026.
I invite you to grab a cup of tea and take some time out to read Andrew’s story of his change that took him from Sea to Sea. I’ve left the story in Andrews’s words so that you can see that it’s everyday people, those who choose to embark on this journey of being the change they wish to see and as you can read it really is never a straight path! Enjoy Andrew’s adventures of Change.
I remember getting ready to go to high school. “What is it you want to be, I’m asked?” How am I supposed to know that I thought? Thankfully the high school I chose had many technical programs to enroll in and try. So that’s what I did. I graduated grade 12 with auto body as my major.
I found a job and started my apprenticeship. I learned quickly it was not for me. I didn’t like the environment nor the people I worked with. Not my cup of tea. Ugh. I thought, ‘what a waste of four years of school’. This left me frustrated. I had lots of different jobs over the next few years including retail, construction and scuba instructing. Then I found myself working in a factory. Working in the factory was very good money at the time, but eight months in I knew that this was not for me. What was it I’m looking for? The money at the factory honestly kept me there but I always wondered, perhaps hoped, that something better for me would present itself and I would just know it was right.
Then one day one of the mechanics at the plant was looking for a new airplane to buy, and by chance he had heard that I had started and passed my private pilot’s license. I had started my private fixed wing license a few years back but never completed the training.
Eventually I did return to finish and successfully completed the required training. Flying had always been an interest of mine and I briefly wondered if being a commercial fixed wing pilot was for me. He asked me if I was interested in flying over with him to look at a plane he was interested in. “Sure, why not I said.” I enjoyed being up in the air any chance I could afford.
What I didn’t know was how this particular day would impact me going forward.
While my work mate looked at the planes for sale I noticed a small helicopter on the ramp area, so I let him know that I was going over to the helicopter to take a better look.
As I started to look around his dragonfly looking machine and peer inside, I felt a “tap tap” on my shoulder. “What do you think?” Greg Bailey asked. He was the chief flying instructor at this school. I was caught off guard actually. I didn’t know what to say as this was my first up-close contact with a helicopter. Greg started telling me why this helicopter was there and all about what it could do.
He asked something I’ll always remember, he asked if I would be interested in going for a flight.
Yes please!
So off I went not knowing that this was going to be the start of a huge career. It was a life changing moment for me.
The flight was perhaps no more than 20 minutes, but when he asked if I would like to do this as a career, my gut reaction was ‘where do I sign’. And I did!
I signed on the dotted line without a clue as to what it meant to be a commercial helicopter pilot. But it just felt right in my whole being that this was meant for me.
I went home and sold most of my possessions and got a loan to help pay for the course. I then traded all my day shifts for afternoons so that I could drive over to the airport, about an hour drive one way, do my lessons and then get back in time for my shift. It was one of the best decisions I made.
That was 1984 and Wow! Amazing choice. Amazing adventures. No regrets.
My passion as it turns out is flying a helicopter.
I’m told when I’m asked what it is I do, I light up when I answer. This is sometimes followed by a story of one of countless adventures that my career has given me. I’ve been fortunate enough to have flown across many parts of Canada. I’ve seen things that the average person would never get a chance to. I’m very grateful for this.
I had always wanted to go to Australia. Not sure why but I remember I just did. (more to come on that). As I stated earlier, I worked in a factory. Labatt’s Brewery to be precise.
It took me 5 years to find my passion and another 3 years working at my factory job full-time and my flying career part-time. I was determined to become a full-time helicopter pilot.
My first full time job took me to northern Ontario. Four years later I was tired of the cold winters, and I found myself signing a two-year contract to work overseas in Papua New Guinea.
What an adventure that was!
It had been 75 years, yes 75 years, since the first white man had made contact with the native peoples of Papua New Guinea. It was a primitive and hostile environment to fly over. There were 200 feet of solid tree canopy, which is not your friend in an emergency!
Again, I witnessed events, peoples and places that you could only find in a National geographic magazine. I had a rotation of 28 days on and 28 days off and I found where else to spend my time off - but in Australia. The place I had wanted to travel to since high school, here I was in my mid thirties. Not only did I find myself in this wonderful country, full of friendly people, but I also met my first wife who was an native of Australia. All good memories.
When I was tired of international flying and missing the seasonal changes in Canada, I brought my new wife back to Canada and settled on Vancouver Island. Unfortunately, with all that change the marriage did not last and change occurred again.
I found myself flying for a local company, but I decided that I wanted the experience of being a helicopter logging pilot. As I had in the past, I took steps towards creating that change in my life.
It took a few years but there I was flying a big helicopter with trees below me on a 200-foot longline. I did this for 8 years. Flying this way can be very hard on the back as you are bent overlooking down for a good portion of the flying day. With this taking a toll on my body, change was required again.
By chance a flying friend knew another pilot who flew for the Canadian Coast Guard. They were looking for someone with my experience in Prince Rupert, British Columbia in Canada. I thought ‘Ok’. I applied and was offered the position and off I went with my partner at the time and our two cats.
I flew in Prince Rupert for nearly 2 years then a position opened up in the Victoria base and so I applied and moved back to Victoria. My career flourished. Unfortunately, my partnership did not, but it was for the best as it turns out. Change? I’m with a woman now who is to be my wife and that’s why I’m even sharing my story. You’re welcome my Love😊.(update: we tied the knot – literally).
Again, I want to share, when you take small steps towards making the changes you desire, it’s never the wrong decision. I can say that the things I’ve seen by flying in British Columbia has been and continues to amaze me. I never get tired of it. Whales, eagles, waterfalls and the sites we service for the Coast Guard. Lighthouses along the West Coast with some amazing lighthouse keepers to visit with. Fantastic! Lighthouse cookies and bread are some of the best ever. Just saying.
Here’s a treasure of a story:
I had the very good fortune that in 2014 as part of the crew on the ice breaker, Sir Wilfred Laurier, on September 1st of a six-week tour, it was my job as the helicopter pilot to transport two archeologists and hydrographic personnel to an unnamed island in Wilmot and Crampton Bay.
It all had to do with the ongoing search for the lost Franklin expedition of 1845. In 1845 two ships and 129 men on their quest to find the so far elusive North West passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, just seem to disappear and never be heard from again.
As fate would have it, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to walk the land of the Canadian Arctic with two of the most knowledgeable people on the subject of the lost Franklin expedition. Dr. Doug Stenton and his colleague, Dr. Robert Park. We had covered many miles on the land prior to this particular day.
When I share this story I always say that ‘Kings would pay a hefty ransom to have the honor to do what I was getting paid to do’.
I’m so lucky and grateful.
The words before getting on the land were “Look, Find but DON’T Touch’‘ which I refer to as my instructions in Archeology 101. So, while the three others, Doug, Bob and Scott were busy doing what they wanted to do, I went for a short walk.
It was then that I found what turned out to be the missing clue for one of the lost ships.
An iron davit with two broad arrows, used to identify British Royal Navy ownership. Doug and Bob were certain, at least 99.9%, that this piece of iron had come from one of the two missing ships. The very next day the ship was found using a side scan sonar towed from the Parks Canada boat, Investigator. H.M.S. Erebus. Franklin’s ship. September 1st, 2014 was a very good day indeed!
While the crew and myself waited for our colleagues to return from a hastily put together trip to Ottawa to meet with the Prime Minister at the time, Stephen Harper and the press. I along with the crew were involved in a Search and Rescue for 19 people. I’m glad to say that two days later all 19 people were located and safely returned to their community. What an adventurous tour of 2014.
My thoughts on Change?
My life has been full of changes. Some were better than others. Change is a good thing. It can challenge you. What am I capable of? You won’t know unless you’re challenged by change. Don’t be afraid of it. It’s been a great journey with lots more to come. Change is coming again. Buckle up!
links:
All part of the adventure.
Fishtail & Change
If you’re still reading this article, we hope you’re beginning to see how Andrew’s story and mine weave together the different ways change found us. Like a fishtail braid, our stories can be viewed both together and separately.
Sometimes change arrives feeling like a crisis that slowly becomes a calling, as it did for me: leading to deconstruction, self-exploration, belief exploration, and ultimately reclaiming your own narrative.
Or you might be reading this somewhere along the flight path and, like Andrew, experiencing change as an adventure.
Either way, we agree: change is inviting you into the next chapter.
Or shall we say… it’s already weaving the next strand.
Will you join us?
Thank you for reading Tidbits to Threads: where small moments, insights and deep threads become a return to self-trust, reflection and healing.
Small moments, Deep threads. A return to self-trust.
Author of Velcro Kisses: prophecy, trauma bonds and Reclaiming narrative.
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