For several weeks now we’ve been watching the movement of the American youth, as they take on the challenge of the gun law legislation in the USA.  In the first 16 weeks of 2018 there have been 20 school shootings that have resulted in loss of life or serious injury.  The worst of this year occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida where 17 unsuspecting students and adults were slaughtered. 
 
In the aftermath of that shooting, there have been youth led protests and marches across the United States which have rippled over into all parts of the world.  In the protests, youth as young as 11 have begun to demand that society take a deeper look at what is happening as a result of the current gun legislation and imploring adults to do something about it before any more young lives are lost to the senseless gun violence that is becoming all too common in the lives of today’s children. 
 
One of the lines that stuck out for me in the midst of watching all of these things take place across the nation was one commentators remark that “not finding any leadership, they have created it.”  What a powerful statement on the potential and the passion that these young people are exhibiting.  What promising hope they give us for a better tomorrow, in spite of the damaged world that we are handing down to them.  Given the tools, resources and support, I believe that they offer us hope of a world that is more compassionate, that is safer, that is greener and that is more inclusive that the one we see today.  They are our future, so how to we help them to create the best one possible?
 
With my children’s books, I attempt to reach kids in the early years and ask them to think about diversity, inclusion, friendship and belonging.  I believe that the earlier we can get kids thinking about those things, the stronger their belief in a world that includes those qualities will be.  The more we are able to help children to know that we all need to feel that we belong is instrumental in having so many of today's challenges resolved.  If we can look at one another through eyes that see our similarities rather than our individual differences, there is a chance some of these attacks could be stopped.  If some of the outcast individuals that commit many of the crimes had a stronger sense of self worth, would they act the way they have?  It’s not the answer to all of the worlds problems, but at my core I do believe that it’s the start of something better.
 
Then I think about the Youth Leadership Camps that we are working to create through  Mark McGregor Leadership, I can only imagine how far these impassioned youth could take the world if they had the tools and inner strength our camps offer.  What if these young people had the resources and skills offered to them when they are 18 years old, and still have the energy, enthusiasm and commitment to make their world all that they believe it can be?  What if they were given the opportunity to better understand the power of coaching and were able to lead others to follow the dream they see of what is possible in the years ahead?  What if at 20 years old they had the opportunity to really be supported to dedicate intense and intentional time towards understanding their own values, vision and to know what their mission in life was at the beginning of the journey, instead of learning those things closer to the end?  What if?
 
It’s true that so many people have never had the opportunity to think about that until they reach their 40s or 50s and only begin to think about those things when a personal crisis occurs.  They’ve burned both ends of the candle for so long that yes, they’ve accumulated the material things that our society conditions us to believe we need to have to be effective, contributing members of the economic based world we live in.  But in the accumulation of ‘stuff’, how many of us have lost ourselves?  As coaches, it’s very often those people that come to us in hopes of making sense of lives that no longer make sense.  They followed the rules, got the job, the house, the wife, the car but in exchange they gave up many of their dreams, passions and have never accessed or used the innate gifts that they were born with. Although they have acquired all the material possessions that we are driven to 'need', the efforts to do so have sabotaged their marriages, relationships with children and in many cases their connections to their own selves.   As their lives edge closer to the finish line than the starting point, they now seek to understand who they are.  Why are they here? What is their true purpose and is there still time to live that purpose in a meaningful way?
 
The answer of course is yes!  It’s never to late to start, to reflect, to hit the reset button and begin anew.  But in that same vein, it’s never to early either?  Our greatest hope for the Youth Vision Camps is that we can take our own decades of struggling, learning and finally truly understanding, and share what we’ve come to know with those that are beginning their unique journeys.  Imagine one of these passionate, fiery young adults having the opportunity to truly know what their values are so that they can create a life that reflects those values at all times.  What might happen if they know what they’re passionate about, and instead of following the herd and getting the Bachelor of Arts degree, because that what seems sensible, they were encouraged to dive into that passion with tools and support to see what might be possible? To follow their hearts?
 
Vision Camps are created in hopes that we can take our years of knowledge and ‘pay it forward’ to the youth that attend, so that they can be fast-tracked to where they want their lives  to head.  They've been designed to help them to begin the journey with the end in mind, by understanding the importance of vision.  Help them to know it’s okay to question the status quo,  that there is always more than one way to get to where you want to be in life, and to know that it’s okay to question the way it’s always been...because the way it’s always been isn’t necessarily the right way. 
 
Every generation has rolled their eyes and shook their heads at the generations coming up behind them, wondering how they are ever going to survive in ‘our’ world as we’ve created it.  It’s time for that to stop, because ‘our’ world is going to be handed over to tomorrows leaders, so instead lets help them to be as strong, equipped and supported as they can be, because it isn’t just our world that they hold in their hands....it’s our future. 

​Four months into our transition, there are still as many questions as there are answers.  With that, I have found that I need to live in the questions…because I know the answer will come eventually…and if I strain myself to know it, I may push myself beyond what I’m able to appreciate and understand at this point…so I live in the questions.

Here are a sampling of them….

1. What was it that so pushed us to make the decision to move at this stage or our lives?  Yes, I know it’s been a long time dream…a life time dream to be more exact.  I was born here, I breathed this air until I was six, and I cried every time my parents took me to be near water after that…because the water I knew here on the Island chased me and played with me when I ran.  The water along the lakes in the prairie did not.  But was that enough?  Was that what called to my heart all of these years ?  Was that what my father heard call to him when he left rural Manitoba in 1953 to come out this way and join the Royal Canadian Navy?  Am I my Father’s child…because a part of me says he would think me crazy for the choices I have made…but another part of my soul tells me he understands completely and celebrates my choices…now. 
2. Why could I not be content with the life that had been established where I was..by who I was when those foundations were laid? There is most likely a contingent of beings that see all that we had where we were as perfect.  A lovely home, in a beautiful part of the province of Manitoba that most could not even imagine.  A house, a yard, a view…but why,  I keep having to ask myself…was that not enough to make me feel content, completely...at home..content?  Often it was, more than often it was…it was a grounding space where I felt my roots reach deeply down and connect me to more.  But then the flash would come and remind me that they were not necessarily my roots that were taking hold.  Instead they were the roots of my late husband’s dream of what would be the future of the farm that he and his father had established…so the internal conflict began.  As I grounded myself in that place,  I came to the realization that ‘wait a minute…I do love this, and I have lived out that dream for years now, but when I look at it at a deeper level I see that the dream I was living was someone else's dream, someone long passed.  The closing chapter of that dream, in the long run,  was him selling the farm and embracing the life of freedom and travel he envisioned for himself one day …the same life that I have chosen to embrace.  So why the feeling of guilt for living my own dream?  Note to self…we live others lives way too often for our own good.
3. You’ll miss the kids.  What will they think!!!  Yes, yes and yes…I am not sure.  We do miss the kids…every minute of every day.  But when we spend time, whether here when they come to visit, or back in Manitoba when we end up there…the time we spend together is absolute gold.  It is different from the time we spent together before…where one foot was in the office, and one was on the playground with them.  Now, when we are there…we are all there.  Maybe not as often, or as regularly.. .but more intentionally than ever I think.  And my greatest hope is that they will see that we’re not always just ‘there’ but instead that we are here…and with that, will expand their own horizons and opportunities…because LIFE should not be lived in one, rooted place.  Yes, we need roots…but just as importantly we need wings…to journey, to explore, to learn, and to grow.   Way too many people don’t know the value of living a life beyond their perceived borders and limitations…and that makes for such small, narrow minded views of such a vast, incredible world. So I begin see that what was growth for myself…what was part of our big adventure, was also the chance to create an opportunity for growth for our kids….?  And we are seeing that.
   

The #Future starts today, not tomorrow. How often do we forget that?
How many times to we put off doing the things that we most love, spending time with the people we most love, pursuing the passions that we most love believing that we don't have time today.  Thinking that tomorrow the time needed will magically appear and we'll get at things then.
But the old saying goes, tomorrow never comes, and it's true isn't it.  Tomorrow turns into another busy today, where the same reasons and excuses hold us back from doing what calls to our spirits.
With that in mind then, what are you going to do today, that will take you a step closer to the dream that lights the fire in your heart? What will move you in the direction of living a more full and passionate life? What you've always imagined your best self to be? You owe it to yourself to do something today...don't put it off until tomorrow.

It can be hard.  It can be really hard to figure out who you are in this life.  Especially after years, and years of being the 'roles' that you've lived.  We become so lost in those roles.  Whether its the work we do, the gifts we have, our station in a family or a community, we become so much of what we do, that we forget just who it is that we are.  It happens to almost all of us.


I get that.  I live it just like you do, but I am intent on continuing my growth towards who I am and how I want to be spending my time.  That can be difficult and it can be scary.


I have recently taken a big step back from the work that I have been doing for the last twelve years.  It was time, and I knew that, because the joy that filled my heart in doing that work was no longer present.  And if we don't have joy in our lives, what else is there?


It is frightening when you step away from the security of knowing what your income will be, what the expectations of the role you play are, what is familiar. But there is a there is a comfortable peace that comes with those big decisions if your heart knows that they are right for you.  And my heart seems to know.  


Cancer was definitely the catalyst to make the decision, but only a catalyst.  So now at 54 the real work begins, the work of ensuring that I remain authentic to what fires me up, brings me to joy and breaths life into my spirit.  I know that I cannot support others to do that, if I am not living those values myself.


Initially there was a certain amount of guilt in that I am spending so much of my days doing the things that I love to do!  Playing more deeply with my photography, learning more about social media and website development, writing...writing, writing, writing.  And expanding my coaching business and what it can offer others.  But the funny thing about doing what it is you are meant to be doing is that things begin to flow, and they begin to fall into place in some most unexpected ways.  They days go by and if someone asks what you did, it's hard to explain because on one level it could be seen as nothing really, but on a level that really matters you did everything!   It's a wonderful place to be.

The one thing I am very intentional about is that whatever I am doing, it is aligned with my passions.  My list is always close at hand, and if I question something as to whether it is moving me closer to my vision and my passion I pull that list out and read it through one more time.  If the answer is no, then I put the request or the activity aside, and return to what fuels my spirit.  That can be challenging in it's own right, because so many of us live our lives as people pleasers that have spent decades saying yes to what matters least, sacrificing what matters most, in an effort to please others in our lives.  To not let others down.  To not be considered selfish or self-centered by those we love.  


But the truth is, that those that love us are going to keep loving us.  They will begin to see those actions not as an insult, but as you making self-care a priority in your life, and respecting that.  And in an ideal world, they will see the value of doing that for themselves as well when they see you lead by example.


So here's to always growing and to growing all ways.  Here's to taking the leap of faith that this is what is meant to happen at this stage of life, and trusting that the net will be there to catch you.  Here's to knowing that the universe will provide for you when you are aligned and living the life that you were intended to live.  Sharing the gifts that only you have to share, doing the 'work' that your gifts and passions were intended to do.  And spreading the light that is YOU into this world.  Here's to each of us being who we truly are...being Truly You!

Note to my readers:  I need you to know that if you do decide to click on any of the advertisements on my site, I may receive compensation as an affiliate of these businesses that I support...but I hope you know that in doing so you are supporting my own vision of living life on my own passionate terms and being truly me!