All around the planet, people tend to wonder what faith means, a Sundre resident who recently completed a book that explores life told the Round Up.
"Over the years, I've walked and talked and worked with men and women all over the world," said Tim Kirby, author of The Green Soother.
"From the homeless to millionaires, they keep asking the same question ó what is faith?"
The theological and dogmatic answers don't always necessarily fit, said Kirby, who is also the Sundre Legion's comrade chaplain.
"So I went back to the old, old tribal language."
In its simplified essence, faith is doing what a person believes in, he said.
"Love is doing the best for another no matter what it costs me."
Travelling and talking with so many different individuals over the years motivated him to compile thoughts about life that people can understand and use in their daily lives.
The book was a project about 25 years in the making, which Kirby said he worked on piecemeal along the way.
"When you're busy doing a lot of things, you need to find the time to do it."
As his path led him to meet different people with a variety of background experiences from blue to white collar workers and just about everything in between, Kirby said his own perspective evolved.
"Your conception of life ó how you see life ó your worldview changes along the way," and he said that was reflected in his writing. Although a person cannot change time, time can change a person.
An avid conversationalist who enjoys the opportunity to chat and share thoughts, Kirby said he approached the format of his book as a casual face-to-face discussion with someone.
"The book is put together in such a way that it's you and I sitting down, cup of tea with our feet up on the coffee table."
Although The Green Soother offers perspective on life, Kirby did not purport to provide definitive answers within its pages but rather the author sought to provoke thought.
Part of his goal was to reach the widest audience possible to have a largely universal appeal.
"I am in contact with people around the world, and so I talked to them about certain words and certain mentality. If it doesn't work for them, it's not in the book."
Describing the tribal approach to the book, Kirby said at the end of the day, "it's us guys. Tribal is you and I walking through time. You have a question, and I may not have the answer, but we go look for the answer."
At the community, provincial, national or even global level, humanity is one big family, said Kirby, whose own roots include a mix of Irish, Swiss and Cherokee.
"I don't care if you're white, black, green or pink polka-dotted ó it's us people."
After completing the book and getting it published just before the new year, he told the Round Up it took him a couple of days to wrap his head around the fact it was actually done.
"People over the years have cheered me on to get 'er done."
A Sundre resident of about 25 years, Kirby was born in Drumheller, although growing up, his family followed where the work was available and moved throughout the '50s to '70s to towns such as Rocky Mountain House and Red Deer. Even throughout his travels around the world as an adult, Kirby was never tempted to relocate anywhere else.
"Alberta is home."
