2012 – Page 2 – We Only Get One Chance

I TRUST

I TRUST that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

I TRUST that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.

The Universe has a really big plan for me and I will ride the waves, anything other than going with that flow could potentially inhibit the BIGNESS of that plan.

I watch as the plan unfolds in front of me and though I may have an opinion about how it is happening, I TRUST that it is perfect for the time.

From an outside view life may seem chaotic, however, all processes and events are in perfect order.

Although difficult to see the end result, it is good to have direction and know that life may shift along the way…and I TRUST that shift.

I am guided by the little voice inside, usually a whisper but sometime much louder.

I TRUST that I meet people along the way that facilitate my journey.

People stick around for a reason, a season or a lifetime…I can have my own opinion about which one they fit into, but ultimately I TRUST the bigger plan.

Life is amazing and needs to be lived as such…there is some real juice to be squeezed from the mundane-ness and routine of the day to day.

I have a strong conviction about the perfection of the profession that has chosen me as I find so much joy in my day to day…serving others.

I TRUST my family and friends have my best interest in mind.

I TRUST my body and Innate Intelligence to do the perfect thing according to the environment I create within.

I feel safe, protected and supported.

I live in gratitude.

I TRUST LIFE!!

WHY I AM A DOCTOR OF CHIROPRACTIC

Because I honor the inborn potential of everyone to be truly healthy.

Because I desire to help the newborn, the aged, and those without hope.

Because I choose to care for the patient with the dis-ease, not the disease.

Because I know doctors do not heal, only the body can heal itself.

Because I wish to assist rather than intrude; to free rather than control.

Because I seek to correct the cause, not its effect.

Because I have been called to serve others.

Because I want to make a difference.

Because everyday I get to witness miracles……….

Because I know it is right!!

“OK”, “EH”, “NOT BAD”

I get to serve a lot of people at my chiropractic office and many of them I have seen for many, many years. This is not everyone, but this is a taste of how some of the conversations begin…

Me: “How are you?” Them: “Eh…”

Me: “How has your week started?” Them: “It’s ok.”

Me: “Has you had a good day?” Them: “Eh…”

Me: “Has your week started well?” Them: “Not bad.”

Me: “What are your plans for this beautiful evening?” Them: “Not sure.”

I am by no means saying that these are not perfectly acceptable answers to my rather regular questions, it is absolutely ok to say whatever you feel like. The reason I am bringing this up is because some of these people say the same things over and over for YEARS! When I say that, I really mean they have been un-excited about life for as many years as I have known them. It almost

seems like they live Monday through Friday just to get to the weekend. Then when I ask them how their weekend went, they say “Eh, it was ok.” REALLY?!?!?!?! WHAT GIVES???

LIFE IS LIFE. Sometimes there isn’t anything real “exciting” going on, no cool vacation to look forward to, didn’t win the lottery recently, no brand new home to move into, still driving the same old car, no crazy shopping spree to go on…nothing exciting at all. Ever thought for a moment that what happens on a regular daily basis is ENOUGH to get excited about?

Life is absolutely filled to the brim with mundane, routine stuff. As human beings we have to get up in the morning, it is probably a really good idea to eat breakfast and take a shower and most will be get ready for work (either inside the home or outside the home) or school. We will then put ourselves in a vehicle of some sort and transport ourselves somewhere where we will spend the next 8-12 hours (1/3-1/2) of our days doing something to earn a living. During that time we will probably take a break for lunch, maybe find a lunch buddy to chat with and then go back to work or school (even if you are at home raising a family, there is probably a routine you fall into). We will more than likely jump back in a vehicle of some sort and drive ourselves back to the place where we started our day, find a little more food, maybe get some sort of exercise in, brush our teeth and lay down for the night to rest only to get up and do the same thing all over again the next day…and the next day…and the next day. Ugh, just writing that sounds like a drag.

But...LIFE IS LIFE!! What if you started your day with the idea that “gosh it is really good to wake up on the top side of the grass!“? What if that is the attitude you began the day with…an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE for even getting another day to live? What happens if you sat a few extra seconds and decided to actually TASTE and EXPERIENCE your breakfast? What textures are there? What tastes are happening in my mouth? It is so neat that I can eat a bowl of cereal and it becomes muscles, tissues, organs and glands! Then when you are in the shower…how about really feeling and experiencing what it takes to clean your body. How does the water feel? What smells are present? Or just be grateful to have clean, fresh, warm water to bathe in everyday!

If you let it, the drive to work will take on a life of its own…so many things to look at inside and outside of the vehicle. This time of year the leaves are changing and it is beautiful! And suddenly we are grateful for the stop lights and stop signs because they make us pause and have a moment before moving forward and that can become a moment to give thanks for the good ‘ol car that you get to drive everyday. Once at work, instead of dreading all the filing you have to do, the emails you have to return or the annoying people you have to deal with…take a glance out to what is the big picture of what you are doing on a daly basis. Can you count the number of lives you have effected just because you do the work you do? How are you serving others?

The drive home, exercise, stopping in for your chiropractic adjustment, getting dinner, spending some time with your family and then hitting the sack for another night of rest to be able to recharge to do it all again tomorrow…they all take on a new meaning if we become a little more present and show just a smidgen more enthusiasm while doing them. When you are asked “how was your day?” after you spent a day like that, you will actually want to say “IT WAS GREAT! For what it was, it really was great!” Now that doesn’t mean that other people’s day wasn’t 100 times more fun than yours, according to your perception…but in the grand scheme of things, their day doesn’t matter and there is absolutely no reason to try to compare your day to someone else’s day. It is YOUR LIFE and this LIFE full of mundane-ness is going REALLY FREAKIN’ QUICKLY!!! We are here to do this one time and I cannot figure out one good reason to not get excited about the mundane-ness and routine-full-ness…because 90% of what we do on a daily basis is exactly that.

So think about the concept of SUPER EXCITING, ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, REALLY FUN, AWESOME, BREATH-TAKING, PULSE INCREASING, HAIR RAISING, TERRIFICALLY FANTASTIC mundane-ness. It exists. Trust me, I know. The key to it, its a conscious choice you get to make Enjoy yourself, every day of your life…and consider this a triple-dog dare to you to have some fun going through your routine tomorrow…and then let me know how it goes. If you are able to make a small shift, you will notice something about life…that it is REALLY, REALLY GOOD. I would love to hear your stories. 🙂

FAMILY WEEKEND

On a daily basis I feel blessed to be born into this family. I have 3 brothers that weren’t always my favorite people, but over the years have evolved to be some of the coolest cats around. They are great friends to me and 2 of them have married some pretty amazing a wonderful women that I get to call sister-in-laws. Between the two that are married, there are 3 children…and I may be a biased “Aunt E” but I have to say they are some of the brightest, most wonderful children I know. It is awesome to watch them learn about the world and fun to see them put pieces of the puzzle together. My third brother is dating one of the sweetest girls I have ever met and I look forward to seeing what their future holds.
My mom is one of the greatest gals on the planet and has married one of the most amazing men that anyone could ever know. My 3 brothers and I are so grateful to have someone like him in our lives. He comes with 2 boys that are older than us and a daughter that is younger. All of them are such a blast to hang out with. The guys are feisty, the most obnoxious U of Michigan fans but so much fun. They are both married and have 3 children between them. I feel like I have gotten to know the 7 year old son of the oldest one the best. This kid happens to be one of the coolest 7 year olds you could ever meet. He loves being around kids and equally enjoys spending time with adults…and the greatest part is he adds so much to either scenario. It absolutely amazes me. My step sister lives a bit of a distance from Michigan and we enjoy time spent with her and her husband though it seems far between visits due to location.
Now imagine this group of super cool people all hanging out in “up north” Michigan at an awesome house on the river, camping in the back yard, bonfires, walks, long runs, bike rides, college football, meals, music, dancing, duck races, reading, exploring, fishing, laughing, and telling stories. That is how my last weekend was spent.
See why I feel blessed? Have you counted your blessings lately?

WHEN AND WHERE IS THE NEXT TRIATHLON?

I DIDN’T DROWN!!! I am grateful for all your kind words, prayers and postive energy that you sent my way. I could feel the support and I want to say thank you and recap the event.

We arrived on the scene Saturday night to survey the course and see what we were in for…admittedly mostly just to check the swim out. I had done a super sprint triathlon with a 300m swim a year ago and I saw the same big orange buoys out in the water and made the assumption that they were marking the course. The course was an out, over and back style. I was relieved in my mind because it didn’t seem like the distance was out of my league. It seemed simple, my mind was settled, we had a

great meal and got a good rest that night.

Arriving back in that same location for gametime the next morning was so exciting. Part of the challenge of doing a triathlon is to make sure all the gear is in the right place. I set up my transition station, put my wetsuit on, grabbed my goggles and swim cap and headed down to watch as the first wave entered the water to begin the swim. There was a guy with a megaphone breifing us on the course and explaining how everything was going to work. He was talking the course through and said “the orange buoys can be on either side of you but make sure the yellow dorito-shaped buoys are on your right.” I thought to myself “What yellow dorito-shaped buoys? Wait, WHAT?!?!? THOSE ONES WAY OUT THERE?!?!?! HOLY MACKERAL!!!! HOW IN TH HECK AM I GOING TO EVEN GET THERE?!?!?!” It turns out the orange buoys (that we thought were marking the course) are just the sight buoys so you know what direction the yellow doritos-shaped ones are since they are so far it is difficult to see them. The orange ones marked about the half-way distance of each side.

Panic set in and I almost lost it. I thought all my training was for not because there was no way I could make it that far. Half mile swim…just seconds away…and all I can think of is I want to curl up in a corner over by the rocks and cry. My Aunt Patty was standing with me, and with a little “You got this!” from her (Thank you Aunt Patty), I took a deep breath and settled down enough to make my way to the start.

I don’t even know what they said besides “Go” and the water was filled with people splashing and kicking and arms and legs flying as a sea of pink caps flooded the water. I thought to myself “all I have to do is put one arm in front of the other and keep kicking and breathing like I had been doing in training and I will be fine” and I found a tiny bit of peace. I passed the first sight buoy with so much negative self-talk going on about how “I can’t go that far” and “I can’t do this” until a moment happened when I realized that I WAS DOING IT!!! …and…I was doing a OK job at it and I was even staying ahead of a few pink caps. Then I remembered all of you out there and in my head, I began to review all the words you had shared with me leading up to the race. I pictured all the faces of the people who wrote to me and were standing by me. It brings me to tears just thinking about it. Half way between buoy 1 and 2, I found a rhythm. I would freestyle for 10(ish) strokes and side-stroke for 3-5 and catch my breath. I remember finally finding a groove and realizing how beautifully navy blue the water is, how warm and wonderful it feels and how powerful my arms are as I watch them cross through my visual field. It was not easy, the distance was no joke but I found myself rounding the second buoy and was heading towards shore.

If any of you have ever been in the water with me, I freak out when weeds are in or around my body and my heart skips beats with the sight of them. My Mom would always say, “They are just bushes underwater” to try to help me deal with them. In the navy blue abyss below me, I could faintly start to see the beginnings of the bottom…and weeds were EVERYWHERE!!! Do you know how grateful I was to see those weeds because that meant I was so close to shore!!! KEEP GOING!!! There was a severe drop-off from the shore and when my foot hit land I was in knee deep water…which meant I could run and that I MADE IT!!!! There was quite a crowd of people standing on both sides of the swim return area when I finished and I know not one of them really knew what it took for me to get to that point…but they cheered anyway and were part of my fan club, or so I pretended.

I finished. I made it. I didn’t drown. I kept going. I swam 750m!!!

Oh yeah, and then there was the 12 mile bike ride and the 5K run and the finish line.

I have a friend that was sending me motivational quotes the day before the race and at the very end of the evening, just before I went to sleep, he sent this:

“Life shrinks or expands exponentially in proportion to ones courage.”

So so true. Life is really, really good. “Strength isn’t doing something that you know you will succeed at, strength comes from doing something you thought you never could”. I finished the entire race and besides the HUGE silly smile on my face and a cheesy thumbs up picture to post to facebook, I thought “When is the next one?”

I don’t know…maybe I am sick… 🙂

I BROKE DOWN…TRIATHLON TRAINING IN TEARS

I broke down this morning…on my run. I broke down and found myself in tears. Some of you know that I have been training really hard for a sprint distance triathlon that is coming up this weekend. My mornings are spent swimming or running or both. I have been working super hard on the swimming part of it because that is my biggest challenge of the triathlon sport. The distances for the race are 750 meter swim, 12 mile bike, and 5K run.

This morning I got up and put on all my gear to jump in the lake and swim. It really wasn’t what I wanted to do but I knew I had no choice. I found myself standing in waist high water not wanting to take the plunge…literally. I learned to swim just last year and I am still learning the technicalities of the stroke and breathing and rhythm. I really wish I would have learned how to put all that together many years ago. It is hard to teach an old dog new tricks…though it is possible. I hired a swim instructor over the past couple weeks and have learned so much from her.

Back in 2006 I was diagnosed with a hole in my heart. It is a hole that is there while in utero but is supposed to close shortly after birth. There is a small percentage of the population that has this challenge. I constantly push my body to it’s limits. Because of the hole, some of my blood skips the lungs and the oxygenation process and so my body ends up with a lower oxygen carrying capacity. I have a challenge improving my running times and biking times because I can only breathe so hard. Then I add the variable of the breathing process while swimming and only being able to take in so much air per stroke. I end up running out of oxygen quickly.

This morning my swim felt awful. It was hard, I had to stop a lot and I got really frusturated when I am found myself gasping for air…yet again. I got back to my dock, switched to my running gear and took off with the dog for a little over 2 miles. It was a simple run and a beautiful morning however I was so stuck in frustration about my swim that I had the thought “I am not going to be able to finish that swim on Sunday.” Admitting to a limitation is a very difficult thing because there isn’t much more that I want but to be able to swim with ease, especially with how hard I have been working on it lately. It is frustrating and I allowed myself to go to tears for a few moments. Then I realized that I cannot run and cry at the same time so I better pull it back together…which I did and finished my run easily.

I came across a quote last night that I will keep close to my heart this week. It goes something like “Strength isn’t doing something that you know you can do, it is doing something that you once thought you couldn’t.” I will keep practicing and on Sunday, August 19th, ready or not, at 8:00AM I will be heading into the Traverse City Bay and swimming 750 meters, followed by a bike and a run. I will be in a shorty wetsuit because it will allow me to, at the very least, stay buoyant and warm. I will put one arm in front of the other, and be grateful for my two arms, and kick, and be grateful for my two legs, to propel myself forward for those 750 meters. If you are reading this right now and you think of it when you wake up that morning, send me a little prayer of strength and endurance.

I have completed a full marathon (ran 26.2 miles) however this is a pretty close second when it comes to anxiety before a race. I do a lot of races and push my limits on a regular basis just to see where those limits are. I am motivated by the feeling of completing them and being awarded a medal, to look back on, for participating, although some races do not hand out medals. I never expect to win and I look at completion of the race as the win. All I have to say is there better be a medal at the finish line of this particular race. I broke down this morning, but I will keep my chin up!

LIFE MOVES ON

This past weekend I felt very blessed to reconnect with some good friends of mine after years of being apart. As many of you know, I got married when I was 19 years old. I know, I know…what on Earth was I thinking, right? I sometimes laugh when people tell me they get the impression that I have my life together. All I have to say to that is you should have seen me when I was 19!!! The difference between then and now is that at 19 I didn’t have anything figured out and I thought I did, and now I still don’t have anything figured out and I know and have accepted that its possible I never will. Life is an amazing teacher and the more we live, the more we learn, or at least I can only speak for myself.

On Saturday I got to spend some time with my ex-husband’s family. He, and they, were part of my life for 10 years. He was not there this weekend but his sister, whom I was pretty close with, was home visiting family. She called ahead of time to let me know her, her husband and their NEW BABY were going to be in the area and that it would be great to share a meal. It worked out that we met at my ex-in-law’s (I really do not like that phrase) home and sat around the table with her parents and ate lunch.

It was a wonderful couple of hours as there was so much to catch up on. Being in someone’s life for that long, really gets one intertwined in all of the family’s life happenings. We caught up about family, extended family, life events, work, dreams for the future, and of course I got to meet her new baby. The time spent was wonderful, priceless and I feel so blessed. These people were a very big part of my life from the time I was 17 to the end of my 20s. Those are some impressionable years and in each their own way, they helped shape me to be the person I am today. I am forever grateful for their love, support, genrosity, compassion, reliability, entertainment, fun, teaching and connection. They are all near and dear friends of mine though our lives don’t allow for the “near” part of that equation much anymore.

My divorce was very amicable and after being best friends for almost 10 years, we had promised to keep in touch as LIFE MOVES ON. That has gone to the wayside as he is busy with work, a new family and a new baby of his own and my life is busy as well. I am forever grateful for all the adventures we had and all that we taught each other and learned together. I am forever grateful to his family and feel blessed to reconnect from time to time.

LIFE DOES MOVE ON. I still do not have anything figured out though I feel blessed to have these and other angels come and guide me though parts of my own personal journey. My heart overflows with gratitude. Thank you…you all know who you are.

BEST YEAR YET!!

Happy New Year!!! It has been pretty busy and hectic start to the year…all good things. Over the past couple years, I have spent a little time brainstorming with a few friends about a “theme” for the year. For example “Life is Zen in 2010” or “There Will be 7 in 2011” or “Life is Heaven in 2011”. So we were talking about 2012 and honestly, besides the word “delve”, not much rhymes with 2012. I was working it out and trying to figure out a cool catch phrase for 2012 and…it is just not happening.

So I look back at the past and I ask myself “Was life really ZEN in 2010?” NO WAY!!! What about 2011…”were there 7 in 2011?” Yes there were 7 this and 7 that, but nothing that was significant that pertained to that number. “Was life HEAVEN in 2011?” NOT EVEN CLOSE!!! I was seeing a pattern and I began to think that though it is super cute and catchy to make something that rhymes, maybe the rhyming part was the problem…limiting.

This past Saturday, I spent the entire day at a Women’s Retreat over in Oxford. It was a day for women, all things women, and lots of local practitioners with interesting topics about things that pertain to women and issues surrounding women’s lives. It was a day to escape normal life, hide out in this great little place tucked back in the woods and get reconnected…and I enjoyed every moment of it! It was such great timing with the beginning of the year and such an awesome time to set an intention for the months to follow. So I began to think about this “phrase of the year” thing again. I was eating lunch and writing a short little note to a real special person and it hit me…THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST YEAR OF MY LIFE!! It just struck me, just like that and I thought “HOW PERFECT!!!”. Since Saturday, that idea has been stuck in my head and resonating in my being. I had to tweak it a little bit to “2012, THIS IS THE BEST YEAR YET!!!” that way I am open to even better years in the future. Actually I think every year is better and better and I think it is a great time to sit for a moment and be grateful for that fact. Each year reveals to me a little more about me, and the more I know about me, the better.

How about you? Have you set any intentions for the year? What kind of a feeling does 2012 give you? Any plans, moves, changes? Is life how you want it to be or is there something or some role you need to step into? Let’s get going…we only get one chance…lets make it THE BEST YEAR YET!!!