Big Little Life

Everyone has limits. You just have to learn what your own limits are and deal with them accordingly. –Nolan Ryan

A few years ago I was working out regularly with a personal trainer. Before that I’d been working out forever on my own and hadn’t seen any noticeable results in some time. With that, I thought that a trainer was the way to go. I won’t bore you with the details, but fast forward to the moment when I had the first signs of back pain…apparently the result of bad form and exercises I shouldn’t be doing. Money well spent, eh?

Love it or hate it, it's in these moments we grow the most.

It’s funny. You don’t know when or where they’re going to happen but they do.  And life is full of them. Moments that change us forever. For better or for worse.

One life changing moment happened 16 years ago when I was travelling in Indonesia. I was in a small village called Ubud in Bali and travelling on my own. All the events of the day escape me, except for one. It was nighttime and I was walking in the village full of dirty stray dogs of all shapes and sizes.
In the distance I noticed a dog sitting by the roadside which, in and of itself, would not have been strange. But there was something different about this dog that my eyes couldn’t quite make out. I squinted and stared as I got closer. It appeared as though it was wearing a knit cap, which of course made no sense.

Sky diving? Check. Camel riding? Check. White-water rafting? Check. Scuba diving? Check. Rock climbing? Check. Mountain biking? Check. Mine exploration? Check. Caving? Check. Ziplining? Check. Mountain climbing? Check. Hot-air ballooning? Check. Check. Check.

Some people have called me a thrill seeker. I prefer to think of myself as an adventure lover. Present me with the opportunity to try something new that involves the outdoors, speed or even a little danger, and I am happy.

I don’t recall seeing him on television and I was only a child when he passed away.

People sometimes imagine whom they’d like to meet if they could go back in time, live in a different era, perhaps in a different place. My answer to this question would be Terry Fox.
For anyone who knows Terry's story, he represents hope, determination, and perseverance like few others. When I see videos of him on the road, I wonder what it would have been like to follow his progress…to have caught a glimpse of him…cheered him on.

Notice that when you ask people how they are, among the two most common answers are 1. “fine” and 2. “busy”. The former is a polite way of signalling disinterest in continued conversation, the latter is stated as a badge of worth.

I recently read with interest an opinion piece in the New York Times about “busyness”.  The author, Tim Krieder believes we are driven to a frenzied state of busy out of “dread of what we might have to face in its absence”. I find it fascinating that we may simultaneously lament the frenetic pace of our lives while actively constructing our day to day to ensure avoiding…ourselves.

Last week there was a major power outage that affected more than 6,000 people in the Toronto downtown core. I was one of them.

My boyfriend suggested I “enjoy the silence”. Those words resonated instantly and I knew it would be the subject of a blog post. We often complain about our inability to slow life down but the darkness was permission, if not an invitation to do so.

I recently read an article about the phenomenon known as FOMO. Know what that is? “Fear of missing out”.
What has happened to society when we are so consumed with our online personas that we actually end up missing out on “real life” living? Is the consequence of FOMO ironic to me alone?

How many times have I seen couples sitting at a restaurant, so consumed with their phones that they don’t even speak to one another? Or witnessed a gathering of friends who are constantly taking photos and updating their FB status to convince their online followers how much fun they’re having.

Seems a recipe for digital burnout to me.

We become so serious when we “grow up”.

The curiosity and excitement of a child is something we can really learn from. Sure, I know when it’s your kid peppering you with questions or shrieking uncontrollably you may feel something other than inspired…but I'm talking about that wonderful playfulness that comes with simply being a kid that we lose somewhere along the way.
There is such freedom and joy in that play and life doesn’t need to be so serious. Besides, if we were more playful adults, there would certainly be less road rage.