Zublog

Coca-Cola has just released a Canadian version of their song “Open Happiness” (featuring Kardinal Offishall, Jay Malinowski of Bedouin Sound Clash, and the amazing Beatrice Martin of Coeur de Pirate).  It’s a catchy little tune that ultimately is meant to help you equate happiness with opening up a bottle of coke.  It’s certainly not the first time an advertiser has used happiness as a tool for sales – in fact, it is behind most pitch lines when you think about it just not quite so blatantly.

When I see happiness as a tagline, it always gets me thinking about the elements of that state of being.  How can we really find happiness?  Now, that is the question of many a philosophy debate and the motivation for most movements and religions – so I am not going to attempt to answer it here. 

However, I do think that we loose sight of happiness the more deftly we pursue the things we expect to deliver it.  So, I’ll borrow from the likes of the Dali Lama and Buddha to say that three of the key elements of happiness have nothing to do with physical things but rather letting go of the things you can’t control.  These three elements are: being present in the moment; appreciating what you do have; and letting go of expectation.

Kardinal Offishall

Sadly, these things can be very hard to achieve and they alone won’t result in a full life of total happiness – especially when you are up against Western society and culture.  But, if you can find moments of it…then you’ll find slices of happiness.  So, can you find it opening a bottle of Coke? Listening to a jaunty tune? Rolling the dice? The truth is, you can find it anywhere – the real trick is to keep finding it over and over no matter what you are doing.

I’ve always said that there are a lot of creative ways to use Zufall…but I have to say I never imagined this one. A zufaller recently confessed that she and her husband had used the dice to pick a page in the Kamasutra on date night.

My jaw is still recovering from dropping so far. I’m always curious to hear about the different uses for the dice but let’s just say, that one’s not going on the label! After I got over my initial shock…I suggested they use the directional dice to help them pick the room in the house where they would, errrr… read the book. She loved the idea.

It shouldn’t have surprised me so much because romance and chance have always gone hand in hand. And who could blame anyone for wanting a little more spontaneity and fun on their date night? I’m just glad we haven’t seen that adventure show up on the I zufalled page!

The weekend roll was NE/2 – we had set our base value at 10 minute driving and we thought we were headed for deep cove.  We put on clothes fit for kayaking and hit the road.  Much to our surprise, the traffic delayed us and after 20 minutes of driving (a roll of 2 times 10 minutes driving) we weren’t yet at Deep Cove. The next place to turn off Dollarton Hwy was Cates Park.  The parking lot was crowded but we found a spot in overflow.  Lots of families were picnicking and settling in for the late afternoon free music performance that the sandwich boards advertised.  What a place to end up – right on Burrard inlet with an amazing view of Burnaby Mountain!

We were happy to discover that Takaya Tours rents double kayaks (and they’re $10 cheaper than Deep Cove) and launch you right off the beach.  It’s a new service at Cates Park that only started last summer – who knew?

We had a lovely time on the water, checking out the beautiful mountains, dreaming about the waterfront mansions and we even managed to make it to Deep Cove.  Ninety minutes later, we returned to the pebble beach much more relaxed and joyful. There was only one thing left to do…eat. 

Cates Park had one more surprise for us – the recently opened Wally’s Burgers.  This place was an institution in Vancouver and when the original drive-in style restaurant on Kingsway shut down in March 2008, many lamented the loss of a great burger joint.  Well, it’s back and it’s busy.  Tim had the Deluxe Burger with onion rings and I had a mint chocolate chip milkshake made with real ice cream.  Deee-licious!  We sat at the picnic table taking in the view and watching the people come and go from their day at the beach.  

It just goes to show, even when you think you know what is going to happen on your Zufall adventure – you have to be ready for it to be totally different. We definitely made the most of Cates Park today!

By the way, we’d love to hear about your adventures by chance…please share them with us by clicking on the orange banner on the main page and check out the experiences that other people have had.  Each adventure is always unique.

On a recent Zufall adventure we found ourselves in Osoyoos, BC.  It was a scorching hot day in the desert and while a dip in the lake seemed tempting the variety of wineries we passed along HWY 3 had been tempting us for longer.  It was late afternoon, but we still managed to visit two tasting rooms, all with in a few kilometers from the downtown area. 

The first on the list was Twisted Tree, a relatively new winery (established in 2004) just a few minutes North East of Osoyoos on Hwy 3. The tasting room had a real Southern French flare and we soon found out why. All of their varietals are from France. We tried three whites, two of which were blends. We are not usually Chardonnay lovers, but theirs was a subtle Chard, its oaky-ness softened by a hint of honey. That was the bottle we bought.   

Our next stop was just east on the East Bench above Lake Osoyoos, and is quite a bit more established.  Nk’Mip Cellars is conveniently located just up the hill from the campground we were staying at giving us a gorgeous view of the vineyard (planted in 1968) rolling down to the lake. The winery is owned by the Osoyoos Indian Band and is adjacent to the still expanding Spirit Ridge Resort and Spa.

 Nestled into the dusty hill, the property boasts a contemporarily styled dining room, an outdoor patio bistro (with overhead mist jets – a delight on those punishing desert days) a pool (check into a cabana for the afternoon), golf, and some education with the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre. It’s a lovely resort with stylish, spacious suites and well laid out villas with a kitchen for extended stays or families. Plus, the place is riddled with metal sculptures…but back to the wine.  We’ve been fans of this vintner for some time. Tim is particular to the Qwam Qwmt Merlot but this time around we picked up the Reisling.

Nothing tops off a hot, dry day in sagebrush country like a crisp glass of icy wine.  What a treat that we rolled our way to this great, yet under appreciated, corner of BC’s wine country.

Lily Tomlin once said “Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it”.  It’s a funny quote – as comedians are want to give – but it’s seems frighteningly true these days.  Everyone I meet who is remotely sane, seems increasingly stressed out. And why not? For most of us, day to day life is getting serioulsy pressurized – with work, family, bills, keeping up with the Jones…it does tend to run you down.

Everyone knows too much stress can be unhealthy. One of our recent clients told me she was buying Zufall for her friend who had just had a heart attack. She summed it up with a simple, “The dude needs to learn how to let go!”  Isn’t that at the core of a lot of our stress – we worry too much.  We over think things. We’re clinging too tightly to the reins.  We try too hard to make our lives perfect.  We feel compelled to make sure every minute of everyday is being utilized. 

I’m all for making the most of life, and being motivated to achieve the things I want but I do agree – we also need to learn to let go once in a while.  To loosen our grip on the realities that drag us down and just let the stress melt away. 

If that makes me a little less sane in the eyes of Lily Tomlin – I’m happy to join her company.  Oh, you had noticed that during her brilliant career, she has seemed quite capable of letting go, right?  Two ringy-dingies….

We found ourselves enjoying breakfast at The Grand Lakefront B&B in Nelson recently – the dice rolled us straight into a soccer tournament, so we had to abandon camping and enjoy the respite of this heritage accommodation – more on that later.

Joining us at the table were Stacy and Galileo, a bubbly couple from Calgary. Eventually, we got to talking about Zufall and how it works. They loved it.

It was amazing to me, that they were both attracted to it for very different reasons.  For her, it was the lure of not having to plan, to avoid all the research and work that usually goes into a road-trip.  For him, it was the lack of accountability. He loved that nothing on the trip could ever be his fault. 

We often find that men and women like to Zufall for different reasons – women like the romantic notion of spontaneity – the surprise of it all, and to be completely unencumbered by the planning. Men like that it’s easy and it releases them from expectation (their own and their traveling companion’s). 

Either way – it makes for a simpler vacation and forces you to take it as it comes. Everyone is more relaxed and enjoys the journey. When it comes to the battle of the sexes and Zufall – there isn’t much of a battle at all.