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Thoughts and threads of passion and experience that have woven the fabric I call my life. Sharing experiences, memories and ideas so that they are out in the world for you to find when the time is right.
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 Peacock from the Assiniboine Park Zoo  So, as you know, this blog is all about living MY passions. My work with life coaching and being a Passion Test facilitator allows me to help my clients figure out and work towards their goals and dreams. I love doing that, there is nothing more rewarding, however, if I am going to be doing this work authentically, I need to walk the talk, and so here is where I share how I do that. Don't get me wrong, I don't spend all of my time travelling, taking pictures and playing music. However, I do make those things a priority that I work towards on a daily basis, because those are my passions. It's been a lot of work to learn to say no to the things that matter least, so I can shout a resounding YES to those things that matter most to me. In living this passionate life, I've always fancied myself to be a pretty good photographer. I've had a camera in my hand since the age of 6 or 7 when my Dad gave me his old square box one from the 40s. When at 19 my parents offered to by me a car, because they'd neglected to earlier, and had done so for both of my siblings, I chose instead that they buy me the Canon AE1 35mm Program camera instead, as it was the newest, hottest thing on the market at that time. And my passion continued to grow. As time has gone on, I've come into the digital world and have gone through a number of good cameras, continuing to move up the ladder and love the snapping! Especially now that I'm not throwing money into the fire by having to pay for the hundreds of pictures that weren't really all that great once they were developed.  Places Scotland Glencoe Lochan Over the years, I've continue to enjoy the hobby with no real training. Now that I'm living my passions more intentionally, I decided that it might be good to see if some of this passion could be translated into an income that would allow me to enjoy more time with it, and so it was that I recently signed up with Dreamstime. A new adventure has begun! What I can tell you is that I have much, much to learn! That has been a really good lesson for me at this stage in my life. One things you've figured most of it out, but I've learned that in the world of stock photography I really don't know a darn thing. But that's okay! I am a life long learner, and this is one more lesson that has come my way. I'm loving it! These photos , sadly didn't make the cut. But, the good news is that from what I'm beginning to learn from my mistakes is paying off in that now my photos are beginning to. This, like everything worth doing, is going to be a much slower, harder journey than I first thought it would be. But I know it's going to be well worth it in the end. Now, do I mean well worth it in terms of money earned as a stock photographer? Not likely, but who knows about that. Time will only tell. But well worth it in that I'm giving myself permission and a push to pursue something I love, love, love doing. I'm looking at my photography through a different lens now you might say. Realizing that there is much more I can be doing to turn my passion into a craft. Taking time to read all the tips and suggestions and yes...getting better at it. Sometimes success lies in just knowing you're improving at whatever it is that you're passionate about. For now, I'm good with that....so off I go to snap away!  Penguin at the Assiniboine Park Zoo  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 Freedom 55 plan and my dream of living my life in sandals! Merci!
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 Our last glimpse of the Adriatic Sea We made it safely onto the train, after an easy drop off of the car and two hours of people watching at the railway station. The biggest challenge was standing waiting to board the train when it arrived, not realizing that we actually had to push a button to open the door. I wonder if the train would have pulled away without us, or if someone would have eventually helped us to figure things out had we not moved up to the front of the car and had a steward point it out to us. Regardless, we are on here now. The sun would soon be setting soon, and the blinds were pulled mostly down on my side of the carriage, but through the far side window I could see mile after mile of olive trees, entwined with the endless stone fences that run among them. We guessed that it must be nearing the harvest time for the olives. The trees are all heavily laden, and every where is the smell of smoke as piles of trashy underbrush have been raked up and lit. It seems that in preparation, the land under and in between the trees has been raked clean, and the scrub burned. Our assumption was that the olives will fall to the ground and be gathered for processing, and though I'd intended to look into it further the process, as we were intrigued by it, I never did. It would also be interesting to see how big a role the olive industry plays in Italy's economy, as from what we had seen, it must be huge. Heading north along the coast, it seems that the ground is becoming more fertile and looks to be less stoney and more workable, although the buildings and stone fences remained the same for the time daylight allowed us to observe. With a 5 hour train ride ahead of us and the sun will soon set, we settled in for the long ride. The TrenItalia train we were on didn't have wifi, so the options for killing time were limited. Luckily there were always books to be read on my Kindle, or the opportunity to grab a bit of shut eye. We knew it was going to be a whirlwind day the following one, because unfortunately we only had one day to see the sights of Rome. I always remember my Grandfather saying that it's too bad you can't bank sleep, grabbing a much of it when you can for use when there are things you really want to be doing. Grandpa was one of the wisest men I ever knew, and I remembered his words as I closed my eyes for a while. We made it safely to our hotel around 11pm, tired and ready for a good nights sleep. The Bettoja Hotel I had booked through Hotels.com was older, the room small, but was all we need for the little time we'd be spending there. We went to a little restaurant around the corner and had a late dinner of ravioli, and some type of beef that Cec ended up with when much to his disappointment they were out of salmon. By midnight we were both sleeping in prep for a busy day of touring Rome ahead of us. As part of my passion and life plan, I am aiming for Freedom 55! Therefore, I may receive remuneration from some of my affiliate links!
 I can attribute a lot of what this blog, and in fact my life is about to Chris and Janet Attwood. They are the authors of "The Passion Test" and the creators of the training and practices that have enabled me to become a Passion Test Facilitator, and to live that experience. Following my passions day in and day out have given me so may great and fulfilling experiences, and have enabled me to lead others by example, as I encourage and support them to follow their own passions as they work towards their unique purposes. Today, Chris and Janet's second book "Your Hidden Riches" is being released. It explores how every successful person has designed rituals that work for them and allow them to be at their best. But in our own hectic lives, as we strive to get ahead in the world, too many of us feel disconnected, overwhelmed and depressed without the power of effective rituals to support us. In this book are stories and resources about rituals that are used around the world, by people of all walks of life. Leaders, athletes, parents can all call upon ritual to strengthen the foundation of their own lives, and the lives of those around them. I invite you to click here to get more information on their new book and the many great gifts that they are offering to people who purchase their new book. Things like:
Now, I must get back to my own Passion Filled life and the rituals that I have created to keep it that way. Thanks for checking out the book, I know you'll enjoy it! 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 Freedom 55 plan and my dream of living my life in sandals! Merci!  Click on the book for more information! 
Our last glorious Otranto Sunrise
We started our last morning in Otranto with another sunrise. On the way down to the sea we came across a snail edging along the sidewalk. Cecil picked him up and took him down to the water with us. Spiritually and symbolically speaking, the snail symbolizes steady footing and stability. They carry their homes upon their backs which is symbolic of carrying our security in our hearts. Not only sure of foot snails are also symbols of slow and steady progress. Stability and success do not appear overnight. Rather, success usually comes at a snail's pace.
The snail shell symbolizes the perfection of nature’s creativity, which is also echoed in mathematical fractals (repeated patterns). The spiral shape of the snail shell is symbolic of the labyrinth. Interesting at this time in our lives. The orange tabby cat that lives here at the resort came down to the water with us that last morning as well. He's been our companion on a few of our early morning ventures. I hope he finds others to accompany when we depart. On our way back to the apartment we came across another snail going the opposite direction. Hmmmm. 
One of the snails that we found on our morning walk to the beach. I am always curious as to the messages nature is sending to us through her many creatures.
We returned to the apartment to clean it up and get on our way, ensuring that we'd allow more time to make our way to Brindisi and our next challenge, which was to find our way to the rental drop off and get our train to Rome.
Following the route laid out by the GPS, we made our way though and around lazy little towns in the hot, dry sometimes barren southeast corner of Italy. We arrived at Brindisi with plenty of time to kill, so we made our way to the Roman Archaeological museum, near the port. We didn't' realize that it was so close to closing for siesta, but they were good enough to let us in, and allow us the time that we wanted to look over the artifacts, many dating back to BC. It was an amazing opportunity to explore our known histories beginning. Finishing at the museum, we made our way to the train station and the Maggiore car rental, to drop of the little fiat 500. We got our bearings and headed out to find a place to grab a bite to eat. We ended up at the only pizzeria that we could find open at that time of day. Not sure what some of the ingredients listed were, and both feeling too tired to be too adventurous, we settled on Hawaiian pizza...who'd have thought...in Italy! I am sure that the Italians just cringe when that is ordered, but I was longing for a taste from home. It was only the third pizza we'd had here, but by far my favorite...with a lite covering of ham, fresh pineapple and a hint of curry. Upon finishing, we headed to drop the car of and begin the long wait at the train station, for our train to Rome that wasn't scheduled to leave until 17:13. Luckily there was no end to the people to watch around, as we put in the next couple of hours. I will admit though, in the time we were waiting, we both found ourselves feeling vulnerable for the first time since our arrival (well, other than at the hands of the crazy cabby on the way to Maratea). As we put in the hours waiting, there were a couple of fellows that seemed to be hanging around the station just watching for opportunity, rather than a connection or a person to pick up. It was just our intuition, but we both felt our radar on high alert with them. Luckily it wasn't a feeling we experienced again on our travels. I was glad when the train finally arrived, and we headed off.  Blue waters of the Adriatic at Otranto, Italy. I have had time to do a lot of thinking and planning here, and focusing on my own passions, developing ideas in my head to keep moving them along...knowing full well that is not up to me, but I can still do all I can do for my part. With every sweet-spot exercise I have done while working with Mark McGregor , my sweet-spot always comes back to travel and writing...travel-writer. So I have begun to ask myself why I am not doing that right now? I travel, I take the pictures that capture my eye, I see places others too must long to see...so my responsibility is to just do what I dream to do, and the rest will unfold as it should. Thus this blog began, and will continue long after I return home. I have thousands of pictures from trips I have taken, places I've been, that all fall into my passions...now I must take the necessary action. It's up to each of us to take the steps that our intuition tells us we must take to move closer to our dreams. That is why we have that extra sense tugging at our hearts. Thus, I must follow mine. If I do not, I am a fraud, and should not be doing the work I aspire to do. I must live that, not just recommend it to those I support. After a quiet afternoon we headed into town for a bottle of wine for our sunset routine, and a tomato to finish of the other food we have here at the apartment before we headed to Brindisi, and on to Rome the next day. We got back in time to head down to the beach with wine and chips...a very healthy appetizer, and watched an uneventful sunset. The sunrises are the eye catcher on this side of the country, but the routine of going to the water to check out the sunset is still a nice way to end the day. As a Passion Test Facilitator, I have been bugging Cecil for days to start thinking about his own passions, so last night on the beach, I started asking him the "when my life is ideal I am" questions. It was a slow process, but he eventually came up with 10, then I took him through the system that narrowed it down to 5 and recorded them. It was hard for him to do, as his head kept telling him what he thought he should say, but I kept pushing him to respond to what his heart desired. when it was all said and done, he actually did feel good about the top 5, and saw how the others could be worked in as markers. Whether he gets to the point of doing his markers or not is yet to be seen, we'll push more on that when we have a pen and paper and not just my iphone, but it was a good start. It was good also that his passions ended up being quite in line with my own. A few variations, but for the most part, pretty darn close. Close enough, I know that we can both pursue what we are most passionate about and still live our lives in harmony together.  
View from the deck of the little beach side restaurant
It's amazing how time gets lost when there are no firm commitments to honor, but we are still bad at just going with the flow. So many years of total structure and ensuring that all the little pieces that had to be in place day in and day out were. Wish I was better at letting that go, as we spent the morning figuring out what to do when. I guess it's the only way that we can ensure that each of our hopes and wishes are being met, one way or another. My working towards learning to be more care-free continues to be a work in progress. At 10ish we headed down to the beach. I worked away at reading the rest of my book, Cec went for a long swim. I should have joined him, but the lack of hot water in our apartment was a hindrance. Salt in my hair meant a cold shower....when the breeze is cool, it dissuades you from wanting to endure that. After a couple of hours, we made our way back down the beach to the little stand that we ate at two days ago, but much to Cecil's disappointment, they were out of salmon, and instead he ended up with a panini that was filled with a version of pastrami. 
Resort pool, pristine but closed to us.
That afternoon I actually finished my book and realized it is likely the first book that I have read that is just pure pleasure and fiction in years. I am always busying my time with books on wellness, spirituality, self-help, coaching, leadership.... all of which I enjoy immensely, but none that are purely just for the quiet enjoyment that I got from this one. I loved the opportunity to give myself the gift of getting lost in a good read, realizing it's been way too long. Then I have to ask myself why? We headed over to Alimini 1 at 2pm, hoping to catch the shop that is supposed to be there before the siesta break...again, no luck. I am not really sure the shop ever really opens. It is so bizarre to us as Canadians, to imagine that as we enjoy day after day of +26 weather, they have all but closed down around here because the season is over! There were only a handful of us at the huge resort. The pool was warm and beautiful, and we'd seen it being cleaned, but it was closed to us as well. Still, I kept telling myself, "I am here, it's southern Italy, and how lucky I am." With an open mind and heart, all is well. After two weeks in Europe, I had to admit that I was missing home just a little. The family, my king size bed, my familiarity. Although I didn't feel I was in a rush to get home, I didn't feel bad about my vacation coming to an end either. I think that makes me one of the very lucky ones. |
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