Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts

Life Lesson #2

11 November 2009


Slow Down

There is a rhythm to the water, and the thickness of the body slows every movement, whether our breathing, our reach, our kick or vision. If we try to overpower the water, we become tired. Overexerted. We don't find the ease others speak of.


If we move as the water allows us, we slow down. It's not the same timing as Terra time, but we are no longer on Terra. We are in another world, and when in that world, we must adapt to the culture.

In my own life, I tend to hurry everything. Appointments are overbooked and sometimes family time becomes a task, not a pleasure. Instead of enjoying the pathway of life, I tend to focus on the end goal. Rushing to reach it, and becoming exhausted and frustrated in the process. Terra time.

When I bring Lesson #2 to land, I learn to move slower. It doesn't matter if you get to the end of the reef, it's what you see on the way. When I slow down, I notice the magical moments I would miss if I was always running as fast as I can. Sitting, as my granddaughter MacKenzie sleeps for two hours, without worrying about all of the things I could be accomplishing if I weren't waiting. Instead, focusing on the child resting peacefully, without a care, on grandma's couch. Knowing these moments, like those of my children's youth, are precious few and soon will be gone.

To move slow. To realize the end of the reef is not the most important part of the journey. It's the moments along the way. And if the end of the reef is not reached, there will still be enriching moments found in the crags and crevices explored on the journey. Unexpected surprises one would have missed, if only the end was in sight.
How do you take time to "be slow and in the moment" in your daily life? Comment below:

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Lessons Learned from The Water

30 October 2009


Scuba has been the most integral part of my life for many years, but especially the past two, as I work, live and breathe scuba. One of the joys is the passion I feel, whether actually diving or simply sharing the experience with would be divers.

In the beginning of my journey in the sea, I was focused on learning the skills needed to dive safely and competently. Ok, let's be honest, alot of the time, I just didn't want to look like a dork. I struggled with alot of the gear issues in scuba, getting my fins on, adjusting my weight and achieving buoyancy. As my skills improved, I looked forward to doing more challenging dives and exploring new sites.

I focused on learning the skills leading me down the pathway to instructor. Teaching methods, theories of diving, inwater skills for students and marketing. I wasn't aware, then, of the life lessons the sea and scuba would teach me, and how much they would impact my life and personal growth. The sea continues to teach...and I continue to be it's student.

This series will look at the lessons of the sea. Lessons every scuba diver has experienced but maybe hasn't transferred into our land arena. To share scuba, for me, is to share the opportunity for others to experience transformation in their lives. It's not just a set of skills and looking at fish, but a visit to a place with many life lessons to learn. If we listen to the sea, she will speak to us.


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The List

30 October 2008

50 things to accomplish by Age 50. Deadline: October 1, 2017.

Build a million dollar business, not for the money, but more as a benchmark of serving others
Live on a sailboat
Live in a foreign country
Have Christmas in a snow laden cabin
Swim with Stellar Sea Lions in Hornby
Experience kite surfing
Learn to watercolor
Trek thru Nepal
Ride an elephant thru the jungle
Get my motorcycle endorsement
Buy a motorscooter
Spend the winter in Colorado
Raft the North Platte River
Canyoneer in Bryce Canyon
Ride the Seattle to Portland bike ride
Take Kiley to New York for Christmas
Take Micah to New Orleans for Jazz
Spend a stormy winters day at Kalaloch Lodge
Stay at the Bellagio
Learn to build websites
Get into photography for my own articles
Finish my quilt
Get dressed to the 9’s with a place to go on New Years Eve
Join the Tacoma Elks club
Girlfriend trip with Kathy
Return to Trinidad…skip Tobago
Eat bushrat and see the Zambezi in Zambia
Donate 20 classes to worthy causes
Dive the Bermuda Triangle
Put together a scuba program to help at-risk teen girls
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Volunteer 7 days straight at the Tacoma Rescue Mission at Christmas
Learn to both shoot and load a handgun
Create 20 web videos promoting scuba as a “fun” sport for women
Dive the Artic
Put together a “teen toy drive” for teens at the Family Shelter at Christmas
Dive Palau
GirlDiver West Coast Tour
Visit Indonesia
Blog for 50 days straight
Bike thru Vietnam
Attend a gala charity event
Ireland…pubs, dives and castles
Ride in a helicopter
Dive the North Carolina Wrecks
Ice Diving
Dive with an aggressive species of shark
Design and plant a yard…and stay there long enough to watch it bloom
Freedive
Thailand Girl Tour…massage, aromatherapy, yoga, culinary delights…oh, and a bit of diving too!

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50 by 50

29 October 2008


My friend (and student) Sacha Blue introduced me to a new way of goal setting. A goal is simply a dream with a deadline, so Sacha, at 28 years old, came up with the 30 things she wished for by age 30. Her dream list can be found here.


I’ve passed thirty…and forty. So, luckily, I’ve a bit of time until I hit 50, and to undertake such a huge list, I’ll need the extra time.


A dream with a deadline. At 50, when I look back over my list, I’ll have amazing memories of adventures and people met along the way. Things accomplished that, perhaps, would have remained dreams, if not for the deadline.


To accomplish this list will be relatively easy…even though the list itself is pretty staggering. But if I break it down into chunks…yearly samplings of 5 or 6 things, then it becomes manageable. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.


Tomorrow I’ll post the list…but today…think about those things that need to go on your list. If you don’t make your own, please continue to check in on mine…as someday, hopefully you’ll join me on creating an amazing life.


The ones others watch on t.v.

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