Article by Candace Matwijiw
Article by Candace Matwijiw
“Would you take a $30,000 a year pay-cut?” asks my lunch companion. “No! Do you know what I would do for $30,000?” I laugh back across my menu. Two years ago that is exactly what local author Jayanne Sindt did. Jayanne’s journey began as a child, listening bright-eyed to stories of reincarnation as told by her mother. Brought up to question her heart’s desire and acknowledge spiritual experiences, Jayanne says “it became very apparent” that she couldn’t continue to work for the law office she managed. With her husband’s support she was able to pursue her dreams. She put pen to paper and started a trek she described as “something that doesn’t suck away my creativity in any way, shape or form.”
In a Lakota sweat-lodge ceremony she was graced with the name North Bear. White bear walking north she was told. Unbeknownst to the guests of the sweat lodge ceremony, Jayanne had a gravitational pull since infancy towards polar bears. The name fit perfectly, and pushed Jayanne further to write what was already in the creative spaces of her mind. Mato Finds True North was finally published in 2009. While we let our food cool, Jayanne signs a copy for me. I flip through the book careful not to smudge the inscription and smile. I had the honorable, albeit guilty pleasure of reading the story before publication. Mato Finds True North is a children’s book about a curious male polar bear that goes in search of his “true north.” As I look at the illustrations I can’t help but think of Mato as Jayanne in her past-life.
Jayanne and Mato have done what a lot of people only talk about doing. “Following your true north involves a lot of surrendering…and allowing. Moving in the direction of love must continue as a never-ending quest,” she tells me leaning toward in over our french-fries, as if telling a grand secret.
As we fill our bellies she tells me of her upcoming book geared towards the young adult category hopefully being published this fall. And I ask how her website is doing. Jayanne is a professional personal poet; she offers custom writing on her website personalverse.com. For a small fee, people without the gift of verse can enlist Jayanne’s help in telling that special person how they feel. This service is offered for everything from birthday speeches to wedding vows. And because it is from a “ghost-writer” no one will be the wiser.
Inspired by Jayanne’s advice and outlook on life I begin to tell her my childhood memories and how I have always believed I was an elephant in a past life. I share the same gravitational pull towards the stoic creature. And as we filter off the subject of our publishing dreams I remember the last line of her book. “The end or the beginning”
By Candace Matwijiw April 18, 2010
