Today, Chris and I visited the Canadian War Museum, our third visit since we purchased a year's membership to that museum and the Canadian Museum of History at the beginning of July.

On today's visit to the War Museum, we took in its special exhibition Outside the Lines: Women Artists and War. It presents the perspectives of 52 women artists on conflict and war over more than two centuries, covering art from the 1800s, the World Wars, the Cold War, and 1995 to the present. As the Museum notes in relation to the 1914-1945 portion of the exhibition, "Although prevented from serving on the front lines, women actively supported the war effort at home and abroad—including by working as war artists." The women's viewpoints are fascinating, varied and important. I particularly liked Christi Belcourt's painting Métis, reflected in the visual below.

Chris and I then returned to the Museum's Lebreton Gallery, which houses its collection of military technology. While I was touring the Gallery, a Museum volunteer approached me to ask whether I had any questions. That led to a riveting conversation about military equipment, supply chains, and threats on the Canadian home front during the Second World War. Like my husband, the volunteer hails from the Saguenay region of Quebec, which led to a discussion about Alcan's contribution to the Allies during the Second World War. The volunteer noted that Alcan (known as Aluminum Limited during the war) supplied half the Allies' total aluminum needs during the Second World War.

When I returned home, I dug out a bit more information on Alcan. The Canadian Encyclopedia's article on Alcan Incorporated states:

When the Second World War began, Aluminum Limited’s Canadian operations possessed approximately three-quarters of the production capacity for aluminum in the British Empire. As the Allies’ demand for the metal grew, Aluminum Limited expanded rapidly. According to Isaiah Litvak and Christopher Maule, authors of a 1977 federal report on Alcan, "The company’s growth between 1937 and 1944 was dramatic: assets increased fivefold; sales increased fivefold; net income increased sixfold."

I'm interested in stories related to the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec because my husband and his ancestors are from there, but I'm particularly taken by stories pertaining to my husband's hometown of Arvida, where Alcan carried out much of its work and employed Chris' parents.

There's so much to discover at museums, but my experience is always enhanced when I have a chance to talk to someone who is passionate about the subject, especially one as well spoken as today's volunteer.

Now on with the Saturday Synopsis.

Some years later, I stumbled on a word that captured the feeling of being concurrently happy and afraid. Zen Habits blogger Leo Babauta called it joyfear. He described experiencing joyfear at every defining moment in his life: when his first child was born, when he embarked on his first marathon, when he quit his day job to become self-employed, when he moved his family from Guam to San Francisco, and when he published his first book. He explained: "Having only joy is great. Having only fear sucks. But having both … that’s life-defining. Do not shy away from Joyfear. Seek it out. Recognize it when you happen upon it. Joyfear will change your life, and you’ll never forget the moment you find it."

So much of what we do in life is a product of some prior experience. We stumble upon a job or calling that feels like everything we did in the past prepared us for that new role.

I'm reminded of something that a consultant said to me a dozen years ago: when our extending ourselves is driven by love or passion, the work energizes us, but when the effort is driven by fear—fear of not measuring up or of disappointing someone—then the work can lead to burnout. Our motivation for overwork can be the difference between exhilaration and exhaustion, she added.

"I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order."

— John Burroughs

"Release the extraordinary buried inside you. Every time you leave the beaten path and aim for the exceptional, every time you silence your fear and speak with your own voice…you are owning your power and emancipating others to follow in your footsteps."

— Barbara Stanny

Living with love doesn't mean accepting the unacceptable. It can mean setting boundaries to preserve a relationship. And if a relationship is not healthy for you, walking away is still living with love—it's loving yourself.