63

By Miles Patrick Yohnke

© 2026 All Rights Reserved.

"Each day we must be more than the last. If not, why be here? Why repeat yesterday's performance?" - Miles Patrick Yohnke

Miles Patrick Yohnke, 2026. Photo and design by Henry Buitrago.

The birth of a human life represents a significant and transformative event across various philosophical and spiritual traditions. It is often viewed as a rare opportunity for spiritual growth and enlightenment, symbolizing the potential for goodness and the pursuit of higher spiritual achievements.

Is there a number, date, year, that resonates with your existence? For me, it is '63.' I was born in the year 1963.

I didn't think that much of it, until a little over a year ago. It was then that I came to learn that a young woman whom I had only met once, in 1988, and shortly after meeting her she was physically killed in a car accident. It turned out she was born just thirteen days before me on September 28, 1963.

After I learned where she was buried, on August 31, 2025, I ventured out on a bicycle and rode 1,400 kilometres or 870 miles over five days to visit and sleep in front of her tombstone. Margaret Anne Dempsey was her name, and I wrote a short story that chronicles not only the significance of the bicycle ride, but how Margaret Anne Dempsey had removed all the falseness of self - that need to take vacations, that need of a certain job title, that need to live in a certain type of neighbourhood, that need for a certain type of vehicle to own. Margaret Anne Dempsey, at just twenty-four years of age, transformed herself above all of that into a life centred on other people's needs, not her own. Margaret Anne Dempsey only existed to help show others their potential. She was in pursuit of showing others their ability to reach a higher spiritual achievement like she so others could provide goodness to all they encountered.

I have to say I was utterly rocked by seeing September 28, 1963, on her tombstone.

With the waxing crescent moon faded away, a spectacular sunny Sunday presented itself. It was, June 21, 2026, and it was on that day of growth, inspiration, and the courage to act on new ideas that Wayne Hudson sent me these words:

"Miles you put most of us to shame with your 4637km cycle rides and your go-go-gadget energizer-bunny hyper-positive approach to living. I can say you have influenced me to live better too, not only because you're so full on, turned up to ten, and mile a minute, no, but also because you show us that we can overcome anything, any hurdles, any difficulties, and still live a good life. And do good. And you do buddy."

I was deeply honoured to receive those words, to be recognized like that by another human life.

Miles with his first car, a 1976 MG Midget, purchased in 1980 at age sixteen. Photo by Susan Sigurdson at the 2026 'Brits by the Bess.'

I have been like that much of my life. I've often wondered where it developed. Was it the horrific death of my father when I was just five years and six days old? Or at age nine, when my mother and I were told by paid professionals that I was mentally retarded and wouldn't amount to much in life due to the severity of my 'Double Deficit Dyslexia'? Or being unmercifully bullied throughout elementary school, not only from fellow students but by the teachers as well?

All of us will experience obstacles that we will have to overcome. The only thing we control is our attitude. It is our attitude, and that alone, that chains us or sets us free. We make that choice to be physically active. We make that choice to take care of our bodies. We make that choice not to just change, but to transform. We make that choice not to just relate, but to advocate. We make that choice not to just promise, but to prove. We make that choice not to just criticize, but to encourage. We make that choice not to just think, but to ponder. We make that choice not to just take, but to give. We make that choice not to just see, but to feel. We make that choice not to just dream, but to do. We make that choice not to just hear, but to listen. We make that choice not to just talk, but to act. We make that choice not to just tell, but to show. We make that choice not to just exist, but to live.

My attitude after learning of Margaret Anne Dempsey's date of birth was to propel my existence to a whole other plane - physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Miles in front of Claroscuro Rocks, 2026. Photo by Henry Buitrago.

I was twenty-four years of age when I met Margaret that one time in 1988. I had already developed a deep understanding of audiophile sound from my blessed time working at The Harmony Centre. I, too, was curious to learn about every musician in every genre of music. I had almost completed that enormous feat in that year. Music has always been a great host by inviting me in and nurturing my mind.

I was also channelling my mind into fabric, dress, and fashion. In my composition titled "Unlocking Ourselves" I write about how someone verbally attacked me about my lack of style in 1984 and that it took nearly four years to finally address my state of dress.

Barry Flynn refashioned my existence in that year Margaret Anne Dempsey was physically taken from us. He asked me what colour the pants he was showing me were, and I replied to Barry: "Grey!" Barry then replied: "Miles, they're European weighted wool grey!" That reshaped my being. Up to that point, I was just looking at the surface. I wasn't really connecting with both my eyes and brain. After that I started to really view what was before me and that this could be applied to everything. I would use this with all mediums of people in the arts: musicians, painters, photographers, writers, graphic designers, printers, etc. That everything was a textural composition brought on by this technique of viewership.

With pleated pants back in style, I brought out those European weighted wool grey pants I bought from Barry Flynn shortly after Margaret Anne Dempsey physically left us in 1988. In fact, almost all of the clothing I'm wearing in these photographs within this composition '63' was purchased during that time. I've brought them back out to marry the past to the present. To challenge myself to look beyond any familiar approach from the past to sustain a new sense of self today, and Creator willing, tomorrow.

Financial Freedom: Every time you extend the life of an item through care, you delay the need to replace it, keeping more money in your pocket.

Environmental Stewardship: Reducing waste by repairing rather than discarding is one of the most effective ways to lower your personal carbon footprint.

Preserving Your Story: Many of our possessions hold sentimental value. When we maintain them, we are actively preserving our personal history for ourselves and future generations.

Mental Clarity: Clutter is often just delayed maintenance. When you respect your space and the items within it, you naturally create a more organized, calm, and functional environment.

I saw the iconic music legend Miles Davis for the first time in 1989. At that time, he was '63.' I made a promise to myself that if I reached age '63' I was going to be like Miles Davis - in the sense of his appearance, for he looked fantastic - he looked relevant and his new music was relevant.

On Saturday, September 28, 1991, Miles Davis physically died at the age of sixty-five. That September 28, 1991, would have been Margaret Anne Dempsey's twenty-eighth birthday. It is interesting how life plays out.

It was Monday, December 2, 2019, when, after twenty years of playing the harp and creating original albums, harpist Julia Cunningham decided to reach out to me. At that point, Julia's life as a musician had taken her all over the world, to appear at some of the most famous concert stages on earth. I would come to learn that when Miles Davis was battling for his life, so too was Julia's father. He never got the opportunity to physically see what she would become.

Margaret Anne Dempsey never grew old. My father, Francis Lewis Yohnke, never grew old. Julia's father, Dr. Joseph Patrick Cunningham, never grew old. This single second, this very moment, is a true blessing. A paramount privilege. We are a gift from our Creator. You are a gift from our Creator.

And here we are, you and me. What are we going to do that we haven't done before? What are we going to do today in a loving manner to advance the human race towards building a one-soul-sharing community - a one-soul-sharing universe? For that is the sole reason we were given life in the first place. It is the reason we exist. A person whose life's ambition is to defeat others only defeats themselves. For it is a lesser person who knows not themselves. The wealthiest people are those that enrich others. They have taken the 'me' out of the enrich equation.

And here we have '63'--and the words found to be more than the last day. 63!

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Please click on the images to enlarge. Miles at the first 'Critical Mass YXE' 2026. Photos by Teal Kreuger. For more information, please click here

Miles, with a group of people, including the blind Ron Walsh, Rob Howse, and Ashlyn George, raising money for the Food Bank, 2026.

Miles Patrick Yohnke, 2026, in front of 'Dry Supply'--Saskatchewan's first non-alcoholic beverage store. Photo by Harrison Hall.

Dry Supply has received national interest from CTV, please watch here