Leap Year

We might not be as daring as this young man but how lofty are our goals for this year?

You can bet that this brave soul did not just decide one day to head to the top of the mountain and see if he could make it down (in one piece). 

I’m quite certain that he had made a plan, he’d practised, he’d trained, he had the right equipment, chose the best climate and conditions and many other important details which I know nothing about snowboarding. In other words, he did what he could to be prepared. So my question to you is, how prepared are each of us to reach the goals we’ve set for this year?

Have you done the training, have you taken steps to see your expertise grow, have you set a goal that is attainable (no one needs to feel shamed)? Because when we gather the facts and research with an expert, reward ourselves by documenting our learning and keep ourselves accountable, we WILL see progress. Yes, set a goal that excites you, it will add a spark to your life.

The first week of the new year has already slipped passed us, what have we put in place to move ourselves forward to these goals?

2016 is a Leap year, how will we use this powerful word to inspire us? This year I aim to be as brave as my friend flying through the skies and see how the leap will help me learn and grow. 

This week I can say that in spite of our bone chilling cold, I had fun and made some headway, this is my way of staying accountable to you:

Fitness – kept up on my training for the next half-marathon on my schedule

Writing – scribbled ideas to write about in my journal and have written on this blog 3 times this week

Healthy eating – allowed myself one small sweet treat each day this week, if only in order to empty the freezer

Something new – signed up to volunteer at the Calgary Public Library for the 50@150 Exhibit, I’ve never been a docent before!

The 50@150 Exhibit highlights Canadians who have had an impact on us all in celebration of Canada's 150th birthday coming up in 2017.

Small or Big Picture or Somewhere in-between

Aperture is "the opening in the lens". In camera talk, changing your f-stop, will change your focus. When we change our focus, wild and exciting things can happen.

We each have our gift, some can spend hours designing a creative project with dots, other prefer the expanse offered with a large canvas, some like ballads with thought provoking lyrics and their neighbour blasts techno music from his balcony.

Whoever we are, whoever our partner, colleague, fellow runner or yogini might be, we all see the world through our own filters. Our past experiences and the ones we anticipate, colour our worlds. Do you know someone who sees things as black and white/ right or wrong, this person most likely feels safe because of the framework of the rules they have adopted. Do you know someone who brings colour and vibration and joy each time they walk into the room? Take a guess what this person is focusing on! They are not confined by what lies underfoot, they are exuberant about the possibilities.

As a photographer, our aperture is crucial. It will assist us on our focus, it will change our picture, it will change what we see.     

Reflected in Coffee - 8

She had to stop looking over at them. They would think that she was stalking! But that smile kept drawing her back. Where had she seen it?

Ollie and Merrick adjusted themselves in their seats and started a new conversation. Their hands busy with shelling the peanuts which were forming an abundant mountain between them. Merrick got up and ordered a second coffee for each of them and made his way back between the tables, gripping the cups in each of his large hands.

She doodled in the large notebook that she always carried with her and did her best to be discreet. Her page had a lot of ??? on it.

Then she heard the laugh and her head sprang up. She knew someone who had had that laugh, but that was 35 years ago, on the other side of the country. She hadn’t heard that sound since then. She looked up and mentally erased the lines of time, and added hair (what’s with the toupé, she giggled to herself).

Yes, it must be Oliver.

She looked up and mentally erased the lines of time. (Click to Tweet)

For the rest of The Little Story, read here.