I had a great day yesterday. It began with a breakfast meeting at 7 with the Calgary Counselling Centre where I listened to the fascinating and informative Dr. Scott Miller talk about therapeutic outcomes and the therapy model. It ended at 9:30 pm when I said good-bye to my meditation group and headed home feeling balanced, whole and alive.

It was a great day.

The fact is, the particulars of my day, while important and beneficial to me, are not what made the difference. What made the difference, what always makes the difference, was… Attitude.

Now, let’s be honest here. Leaving my house at 6:30 am is not what I consider fun. In fact, at that moment in time, my desire to stay inside and not enter the foggy morning attitude may have been closer to a tree sloths desire to continue to hang on than to let go and experience the day.Yet, getting to the Ranchman’s Club where the breakfast was held, chatting with other attendees, revved up my energy and put me into, ‘present it and I’ll listen’ mode. And, once Scott Miller began to speak, his enthusiasm, knowledge and humility, combined with ability to share openly and to engage the audience were contagious. I got engaged. Fast. And the rest of my day became a reflection of the energy sparked by Scott Miller’s infectious sparkle. His ‘brilliance’ was catching. And my attitude got me through my day feeling alive and curious about the world around me.

Which got me thinking about attitude. If I had clung to my foggy morning soggy awareness outlook, I would not have become as engaged and excited about my day. Letting go of ‘ho hum, it’s just another early morning free breakfast’ thinking and moving into, what can I learn, how can I grow, where can I expand made a difference.

Sure, it helped that the first meeting was filled with exciting engagement. But, more than anything, what helped me move out of foggy morning into sunshiney gratitude for the wonder of the world around me really was based on my willingness to enter my day open and curious about what I’m encountering, learning, seeing, experiencing. My openness to discover meaning in my day created a day of discovery.

Attitude makes a difference.

Ask yourself this morning, or at whatever time you’re reading this, What’s my attitude? Is it making a positive difference in my day?

Am I… open to discovery? Am I carrying thoughts of sleep clinging to my wishful thinking like a barnacle clinging to a whale? Or, am I open to discovery? Am I willing to let go of ‘been there, done that’ thinking and move into ‘here I am, engage me’ thinking?

Think about it. Whether you enjoy what you’re doing, or not, is a thought that will either keep you feeling down and out or up and at ’em.

Which will you choose?

What are you willing to do today to create a world of wonder all around you?

Namaste

They were standing at the top of the ridge taking each other’s photos.

“Would you like me to take your picture together?” I asked.

Big smiles. Heads nod in unison. Up and down. In broken English, the woman replied. “Oh yes please. That would be most nice.”

I told Ellie to sit and stay, took the proffered camera, focused on their smiling faces and clicked. As I handed the camera back, Ellie grew tired of sitting and raced forward. The woman laughed at Ellie’s antics.

“Please,” she asked. “Can you take picture of us together?” and she swept one hand in a motion to include Ellie in her together.

I laughed. “If she’ll sit long enough with you.”  (Ellie is not known for her ‘sit’ when being friendly with strangers. She prefers to squirm and wriggle and make all sorts of fuss about how they’re the only people to pet her and make her feel wanted…)

“We’d like very much,” the woman said.

And Ellie sat and the couple smiled and I took a photo and a sunny warm spring afternoon grew brighter.

When we parted, the couple thanked me profusely and I smiled and waved and Ellie and I continued on our way down the trail towards the river as they walked back towards the parking lot.

It was a simple thing. Taking their photo. A less than five-minute moment on our walk that made a difference in the lives of two strangers. A small thing that left everyone laughing and smiling, even Ellie.

We hiked along the ridge, down the escarpment to the river’s edge. Ellie splashed in the water as I built a sculpture out of heart rocks on a patch of icy snow that clung to the riverbank. The afternoon sun beat down and I felt its warmth soak me to the bones.

When we were finished, we climbed back up the escarpment and on our way back, I walked past a crumbled up paper bag that lay discarded at the edge of the path. I thought about picking it up but didn’t have an extra bag in my pocket. My mind wrestled with the ‘do it ethics’ as I kept walking. A few feet down the trail, I stopped, turned around and walked back to gingerly pick it up by a corner.

I thought of the hiker’s creed — “Carry out what you carry in.” When I started my walk, I was smiling and my mind felt light and carefree. I wanted to carry out what I brought with me on my walk.To walk past the garbage and ignore it would leave my mind unsettled. There was no sense in letting a crumbled up paper bag mar the beauty of the day.

Minutes later, the dirt trail met the pavement where the garbage can sits. I threw the garbage in and Ellie and I walked slowly back to the car. I was content. I was carrying only my peace of mind and a great big smile.

And somewhere, two strangers were carrying a memory of their encounter with a dog who made them smile too. It was a perfect day.

I’m still stuck on the election. The results are in. The party I feared would gain a majority did not. I am content with the results.

It’s the comments of one of the pundits that is making the difference and disturbing my peace of mind this morning.

Political guru, former PC bagman and advisor to Premiers, Rod Love, was at the WildRose Party headquarters last night. He didn’t actually say he was a supporter, nor did he say he wasn’t. He just was ‘there’. Which in and of itself irks me because it speaks to a desire to not stand up publicly for your beliefs — and that is my opinion not the truth for Mr. Love. (I don’t know what is true for him). In his comments to two separate television reporters he repeated, and repeated, the statement that the ‘PC brand is strong and won’.

The ‘brand’ did not win.

People voted. The PCs won.

Now, let’s be clear here. I have never been a card-carrying PC until Alison Redford’s second run for leadership. Then, I made sure I got out and voted because I did not want her opponents to win and in the leadership election, every Albertan, regardless of political affiliation, could vote if they bought a party membership.

Holding a PC membership card did not dictate my decision to vote PC in this election.

It was a heart and head decision.

I historically vote Liberal not because of the ‘brand’. I vote liberal because I believe in social justice. I am, as Jonathan Haidt describes ‘liberals’ in his 2008 Ted Talk on the moral roots of liberals and conservatives, ‘open to experiences’ as opposed to the conservative affinity to prefer things that are familiar, safe and dependable. It isn’t about right and wrong, it’s about natural affinities, says Haidt and he quotes researcher Robert McCrae who studied the ‘open to experiences’ phenomena and wrote:  “Open individuals have an affinity for liberal, progressive, left-wing political views.” They like a society that is open and changing, adds Haidt, who goes on to quote McCrae’s study. “Whereas closed individuals prefer conservative, traditional, right-wing views.”

I didn’t vote a ‘brand’.

I voted for change. And Alison Redford has been shaking up the PC’s since taking office last year. She has been creating and building change into our cultural, social and economic fabric. Change that will make a difference to our province’s future. Change that will create more vibrant, healthy communities.

I didn’t vote brand. I voted against an ideology that is not part of my nature. That does not sit well within my psyche and natural affinity to be ‘open to experiences’. I voted against ultra-right-wing views that promised to entrench our province in hardcore conservative policies that would have hurt those at the bottom struggling to get up.

Okay, so this is becoming a political discourse — not intended, but Rod Love’s repeated comment about ‘the PC brand’ and its strengths, really rubbed me the wrong way last night. It was the worst of my profession — communications. It sounded rote, practiced and a familiar, safe, and predictable comment that doesn’t allow for change to play a part in the political future of our province. Yet, in the context of being open or closed to experience — it makes sense. If an individual tends to have a natural affinity for conservative views, not rocking the boat, holding onto tradition will be natural.

And that’s where I can make a difference.

I can recognize my fear is that I don’t want to be caught in the trap of ‘safe and predictable’ — and note the word trap — it is my perception that safe and predictable is a trap — not the reality for those who hold conservative, traditional, right-wing views near to their hearts.

My perceptions are the trap I fall into when I do not allow differences to have a voice, to hold equal footing for others as my need to be ‘open to experiences’ holds for me.

Yesterday, a surprised PC party continued the party’s reign.

Yesterday, a surprised Wildrose party did not take up the reigns.

Either way, change is in the air.

And I am open to the experience.

And, being open to the experience makes a difference.

If you want to understand more about our natural affinity for open or closed experiences, do watch Jonathan Haidt’s 2008 Ted Talk. It is enlightening.

And…. I promise…. today is the last of my political discourse. Back to regular programming tomorrow!

It is election day here in Alberta. The possibility of a dynasty crumbling looms like an ominous black cloud over a province that the rest of Canada considers one of the ‘haves’. We’ve got oil. We’ve got prosperity. We’ve got jobs.

We’ve also got the highest per capita rate of homelessness in the country. The highest reported cases of domestic violence and the provincial suicide rate is typically higher than the national average (12.2 per 100,000 persons:10.9 per 100,000 persons)  source: http://www.suicideprevention.ca/about-suicide/.

There’s a lot to be said for toppling a dynasty such as the Tories. The black cloud is not about their fall, but rather because of the alternative that could be in play if they do topple. The crowd threatening their position are untested, untried, and unprepared (in my opinion) for the rigors and the challenges of running the province.

But this is not a political column. This blog is not for political grandstanding.

It is about making a difference.

And voting makes a difference.

So does not voting — but that difference undermines the democratic process and, as was seen in Alberta’s last election where the incumbent PCs garnered 18% of the votes cast to give them power over 100% of the people, not voting does not give citizens a voice. It does give the ruling party too strong a voice for the good of all.

Today, Albertans have the right, and the duty, to express their political wishes. Wishes that will affect the future of how our province responds to health care issues, environmental imperatives, governance and fiscal accountability.

Today, we have the right, and the duty, to make a difference.

Will we?

Voting has been on the decline in Alberta. At least, if the voter turnout from the last provincial election in 2008 is any indication — 40.6% of all eligible voters actually cast their ballot. The lowest turnout on record. The reasons for the low turnout are many, but the greatest one cited by pundits is that there was no ‘race’, no imperative to get out there and vote. The PCs were ‘doomed to win’ and people felt that ‘my vote won’t make a difference’.

Voting makes a difference. To you. To your community. To your life. Voting is our voice. It is our opportunity to speak up and share in the responsibility of what happens in our communities.

Close or tight, the race isn’t about the party in power, it’s about whether or not we exercise our right to choose the party in power.

If the PCs ‘had it all’, it’s because we the people gave it to them either by voting them in, or not voting them out.

Regardless of the outcome of this election — or any election where you have the right to cast your vote, get out and express yourself! Get out and vote!

Thank you.

PS: This is not a paid political announcement. There were no promises of future opportunities, or guarantees of fiscal compensation for this announcement! This is just me, expressing my belief that if we want to make a difference, we need to stand up and be heard. And the easiest way to do that in an election is…. VOTE!

I have ‘met’ some amazing people in the blogosphere. People who have beautiful hearts and shimmering spirits that spill out  in words and images and thoughts and ideas cascading in harmony onto the screen before my eyes every morning when I connect with their blogs.

One woman who has touched my heart deeply with her gentle spirit and shining soul is Sandra Heska King. Her blog last week spoke deeply to me about the significance of making a difference. I asked her if I could share it here this Sunday and she graciously agreed.

Thank you Sandra!  Your light is a beautiful illumination of love and joy and hope.

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It is Saturday and time to take time to celebrate people doing whatever they can to make a difference in our world.

Today, I am honouring those things that make us laugh — and the importance of laughter in our world.

Laughter makes a difference!

Make sure you take time to laugh today!

And actors like John Cleese and Dr. Madan Kataria who started a laughter movement in India and now holds laughter yoga meditations in prisons in Mumbia are helping to change the world…. one laugh at a time!

They are heroes!

Okay — and anyone who has the courage to do “Poo Chi” yoga – and make people laugh — is a hero too!

Looking North

It was a perfect spring afternoon. Warm temperatures. Warm sun. Warm breeze gently blowing.

Ellie was in heaven. Her friend Donata was coming with us. An assured source of lots of pets and ear rubbings always makes Ellie happy.

I was happy too. Ellie decided to do her business right beside the garbage can at the head of the trail. No need to carry a full bag along of doggie fertilizer, or leave it at the edge of a trail to remember to pick up — as long as we took the same route back.

Except. Ellie decided to go again.

I decided to bag it and leave the bag at the side of the trail for collection on our return.

And we set off into the gorgeous spring afternoon. X-country. Along the ridge. Down the escarpment into the valley. Along the river. Back up to the ridge, always following the river’s south by southwest meanders.

We stepped over fallen logs and around muddy pools. We brushed aside branches and side-stepped rocks. The river glistened in the afternoon sun and whenever possible, Ellie splashed about, her enthusiasm for life contagious.

I collected heart rocks and garbage, stuffing both into the deep pockets of the jacket I wore tied around my waist. Ellie picked up sticks. Tossed them in the air. Dropped them at my feet, begging me to toss them into the river. I obliged. She swam after them. Returning to shake. Drop. Plead all over again.

Happy Pooch!

We walked and played by the river for over an hour and then, the afternoon waning, we turned around to head back. I had a meeting at 3 and Donata had a client booked for a massage.

On the walk back, I stopped to pick up the bag I’d left by the trail but it was gone.

“It must have been the woman with the two dogs who was sitting on the bench at the beginning of our hike,” I told Donata. “I think she’s the one who left the blue bag just down the trail. It’s gone and so is Ellie’s.”

An unexpected gift from a stranger and the afternoon turns even sunnier.

“People are nice,” Donata said.

And I agree.

People are nice.

People make a difference.

So does sunshine, spring days and a walk with friends — of the two and four-legged kind!

I was just pulling up to the corner to turn onto the main road when it almost happened. Traffic was heavy and I was looking left when a man in an SUV cut across three lanes of traffic to turn the corner from the main road onto the side street. Directly into my lane. He was moving fast. I slammed on my brakes.  The driver in the car in the approaching lane on the main road slammed on his brakes.The SUV swerved to miss me and sped away into the distance of my rear view mirror. I sat for a moment breathing deeply. My hands shaking on the wheel. The other driver honked his horn angrily and carried on his way.

A near miss. Over in a flash and a honk of a horn.

Waiting for a break in traffic, I recomposed myself. Thoughts of ‘what an a** flit through my mind. I breathed deeply. Why are there so many stupid people in the world? I wondered.

Stop.

There are no stupid people in the world Louise. There are people who, for whatever reason, do stupid things. But they themselves are not stupid. It’s their actions that are questionable.

Bless him. Forgive me.

Ellie and I went to the park and I shook off the tendrils of  the near miss in the soft spring breezes caressing my skin. We hiked along a trail at the top of the river valley, dry prairie grasses waving in the breeze. Two young boys on bicycles rode up behind us. I stepped aside, called Ellie to my side and they passed. “Thanks!” they called out as they rode away.

I took photos of the two crocus blossoming. The river flowing. Ellie rolled in mud. We traipsed down to the river to clean her off.

On our way back up the hill towards the car a young man came skateboarding around the curve in the trail. His smile was huge and I laughed to witness the pure joy of his ride. He stopped several meters in front of us, stood up off the skateboard on which he’d been sitting to ride down the hill, picked it up and started the climb back up the hill.

When I rounded the bend he was standing, skateboard primed for the next run down, halfway to the top of the hill. He had spiked purple and black hair. A silver ring through his nose. Large black ear spacers. Tight, stovepipe jeans hung low. A ‘scenster’ as my daughters would call him (at least I think that’s the term).

He smiled as I approached. Went to move his skateboard and helnet off the paved path.

“It’s okay,” I said. “We can walk around.”

Hearing me speak to him, Ellie, ever hopeful of attention, pulled on her leash to say hello. He pet her. She squirmed in delight. He laughed. She squirmed more.

“Aren’t you scared going down that hill?” I asked.

He laughed. “Yeah! It’s great!”

Oh to welcome fear with such enthusiasm.

Ellie and I continued up the hill a bit. Turned to watch the young man get ready for his next ride.

“Is there anyone behind you?” he asked the woman walking some distance behind me.

“Not that I noticed,” she replied.

And with a smile and a wave, helmet back on his head, he crouched low on his board. Bent at the waist, hands behind his back like a speed skater, he took off down the hill. Just watching him was exhilarating. His body was poetry in motion. His joy palpable and contagious.

Sure. I could judge him for his choices. Think him stupid for taking such a risk (it is a steep hill). He was old enough to make his choices. And he was incredibly competent on his board. And watching him was pure delight.

He made a difference.

In his infectious delight of time and space and simply being alive, he made a difference and I am grateful for his reminder to get out and take risks. Have fun!

And I am reminded of the man in the car. He made a poor choice. Took an unncessary risk. Fortunately, the other drivers were paying attention and nothing untoward happened. Time to shake it off and let it go.

Bless him. Forgive me.

I met with a coaching client yesterday. A co-worker had told her about my work with her when she was getting ready for a keynote presentation and had suggested we connect.

We did and in giving, I received.

When I left our session I felt enlivened, on purpose, focused and energized. And she was feeling confident about her capacity to create the next steps in her presentation. We meet again next week to move it forward — and I feel excited about what she’s doing, and creating and my capacity to provide insight on her journey towards her presentation. A win/win for both of us!

And I learned something very important.

Making a difference is easiest when I feel ‘on purpose’. When I am using my gifts to create better, I feel better!

Yesterday I put the final touches on a course I’ve created called, Write Your Heart Out! A poetic guide to falling into love with you, your life and everyone in it.

The course consists of 21 Practices that deepen your creative expression of who you are in the world.  Writing this course has made a difference in my life. It has clearly demonstrated how when I put my attention on something it grows stronger in my life — It’s not just the fact that putting my focus on creating the course resulted in a finished product yesterday. It also means my understanding of Love and my belief in myself, as well as my understanding of my purpose in the world is stronger.

I started to create the course after realizing how powerful the process of writing my beloved a poem a day was in my life and our relationship. One lesson lead to the next and there I was yesterday, with 21 lessons completed, photos inserted and a finished product in my hands. Now the work of getting the course ‘out there’ begins.  And yes, I am plugging it here!  My very first official plug of Write Your Heart Out!

Which is also something I’ve learned that makes a difference in my life too — believing in the work I do, what I create and its place in the world.

Within me is that inner voice that believed ‘the world will come to me’ which sometimes translates itself into believing — the world owes me, now get over here and make my life happen.

The Universe doesn’t work like that. True. The Universe is always there. Always present. The Universe is on my side. It wants me, needs me, to succeed. And while the Universe is doing its job of being present, it’s my responsibility to turn up. To let the world know I’m here. I mean business. I am serious about being real, about being authentic and true and who I am. I am not playing small. I am not hiding my light. I am shining!

Shining is in all of us to do. Dimming our light shades our brilliance.  And when we are not sharing our brilliance, we are playing small — Life’s too short to play small.

Write Your Heart Out! is a labour of Love. It is up to me to continue expressing it. Which means — it’s up to me to ensure I have a marketing plan that will provide a path for getting it out into the world. It means ensuring I have materials put together that are compelling enough to inspire someone to put up their hand and buy the course. It means — getting real.

Making a difference means exactly that. I am real serious about being real in the world — in all facets of my being.

Right now, that means getting serious about what I do next with Write Your Heart Out! 

Watch me fly!

But first, watch this space for the details to come on how you can Write Your Heart Out!

I met with a group of “peace-a-fires”  last night (my term, not theirs). A small, eclectic group of individuals committed to creating a summer of peace here in the city, they welcomed me into their creative circle each person making room with grace and ease for the new comer. The passionate heart behind the creation of this group that intends to ignite ‘one million acts of peace’ over the next year — and the force behind this year’s ‘summer of peace’ is the amazing, Kerry Parsons.

I met Kerry through an online course I took a couple of years ago. From the virtual to the real world, we connected and I found myself in awe of her beautiful spirit. Along with her husband Howard, Kerry has been making a difference for years through their rebuilding after divorce courses and their spiritual directions initiatives.

A ‘summer of peace’ is just such a difference.

“Peace is possible”, said Kerry in the circle last night. And I agree.

Peace is possible. And it’s up to each of us to do whatever it takes to create it in our lives and in our world.

Seriously. If we can create space shuttles and deep-sea divers, we can create peace.

It just takes a dash of imagination, a dollop of commitment and a whole world of people focusing on the power of ‘make love. not war’.

Imagine!

Imagine a world where weapons are put down and arms are extended in loving embrace?

Imagine each of us committing to performing an act of peace a day for the next year.

Imagine if you told one person and they told another and another and another.

We could peace throughout the world.

We have the power to ‘give peace a chance’.

I don’t have a lot of details to share yet about the events that will be happening in the months to come — but they promise to be exciting, and peace-a-fying. I’m excited by the possibilities. I’m excited about doing one act of peace a day.

It’s a great way to make a difference.

Make love. Not war.

Create harmony. Not discord.

Extend friendship. Not hatred.

Hold forgiveness. Not grudges.

Embrace joy. Not anger.

Give hugs. Not cold-shoulders.

Be tolerant. Not judgmental.

Share compassion. Not criticism.

Be an agent of peace.

And above all, be the change you want to see in the world.

I’m excited to be part of the circle of peace as it widens out into our communities. I am excited to be a peace-a-fire, igniting harmony in a world of compassion.

Do you have any ideas you’d like to share on how to create a world of peace?

Is there an act of peace you can create today?

It’s another way to make a difference. Focus on peace and peace will arise.

Namaste.