Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic – Page 3 – We Only Get One Chance

60 EXTRA HANDS

Most of you know that I grew up with 3 brothers. If I could possibly explain to you my childhood in 3 simple words, I would call it “three against one”. Always…and I was on the losing side of that scenario.

I am not used to being around women for extended periods of time. Of course I have a lot of incredible women in my life, I have personal time with them in doses. The thought of spending and entire 8 days together with 30 other women was an intimidating factor of my trip to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. However, in retrospect, those 30 women changed my life forever for the good.

I would say probably around a third of the women on this trip had children at home. Women, in general, are naturally helpful and the “mom” energy of the crowd ran strong and deep. If ANYONE, and i mean ANYONE, needed ANYTHING, someone was stepping up to help out, assist others and offer additional supplies. And when I use the word “someone” I am actually talking about 3-5 “someones” because the generosity of this particular group of women was palpable.

We were in this trek together. And when I look out at the broader picture of life, we are ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

I am not one to ask for assistance, I have been able to accomplish a lot in my life on my own. When I am exposed to 8 solid days of really intense activity with such an incredible group of women willing to literally give you the shirt off their backs, it changed me. The consistency of having those 60 extra hands willing to share, give and serve me in the time of need with anything they have to spare…I am forever grateful. I learned from them it is okay to ask for help as I stand shoulder to shoulder with such willing souls to offer help. Of course the culmination of this I wrote about already (click here–>>) “Don’t Die With Your Daypack On”. Such a POWERFUL lesson!!!

I returned to my normal life back in Fenton with a different perspective about asking for assistance.

I know that my willingness to accept help from others has also taken me to a different place as well. I have some amazing friends, a couple specifically I am referring to, that stand shoulder to shoulder with me as I progress through my days. When I ask for help or need assistance with something, their consistent support has continued to help me evolve to a new version of myself.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” -African Proverb

The picture I have added to the post is not a picture I took, however it is a really good representation of how I view this helpful world now. To have 60 extra hands ready to assist in making this life and world a little bit easier for me, what a gift. I love you Kili Dadas!! Thank you for everything!!!

A SUNDAY SHARE

I was driving back from Chicago this past Sunday and deep in thought about life and living. Here is a Sunday share…

https://www.facebook.com/erica.peabody/videos/10155200524038792/

I hope this message finds you happy and healthy and enjoying your week…and your LIFE!! I was realizing as I was sitting in the car for all those hours that we really do have a lot of power in the intention we set for our own lives. I hope you are making the most of it all!!! As the title of this blog says…we only get one chance.

DON’T DIE WITH YOUR DAYPACK ON

“DON’T DIE WITH YOUR DAYPACK ON!” they said.

These words stuck in my head from our briefing after dinner on summit night.

Every evening after dinner, they would come into the mess tent, do our medical examinations and share with us how they thought we were all doing and what will happen the next day, or later that night in this case.

Dr Erica Peabody - Don't Die With Your Daypack - Chiropractor Cafe of LIFE Fenton — Me (Dr Erica Peabody) Ready for Summit Night

We had 12 guides with our group for our normal day to day and about 50 support staff. The porters were the ones that carried all of our gear, food water and tents and such. Everyday they would pass us on the trail and get to camp ahead of us and have everything set up for us for when we finished our days.

The intensity of summit night required the assistance of our normal 12 guides along with 18 additional porters in order to have one to one support for the final hike to the very top. Having this one to one support for the final summit is the reason this particular company has such high summit success rates.

I woke up nauseated and although I ate a tiny bit of food, I really couldn’t manage to stomach much at 15,000 ft and almost no sleep. So the climb begins at 1am. We line up in our hiking line and start to make our way up the trail. It was the most beautiful night with bright stars in the big African sky.

As we begin to hike, the phrase “DON’T DIE WITH YOUR DAYPACK ON” came back in my mind. What exactly where they talking about? I feel absolutely fine. Were they really serious when they said that? I am surprised they made such a point to make sure that was clear and that if we needed to hand over the load on our backs to a porter, we could easily do that. “I won’t need to do that, I feel super strong.”

An hour goes by and I had already overheated once and had to strip my outer expedition-weight goose down jacket off. The guide warned me to keep it close because I would want it back sooner rather than later. As I thought about it all, it is close to zero degrees and I should not be overheating at this point. Then I got the chills. Then I got goosebumps from head to toe. Then I got hot again and then the chills. What on Earth was my body doing??? It felt as though my body was confused and couldn’t regulate my temperatures.

I felt my stomach start to gurgle (which will be an entirely separate blog post) and just after the first hour I realized I was not going to be able to do this summit with the current situation I had going on. I tried and tried and tried to remain calm and keep pressing on. I tried so hard to the point I got blurred vision and lost all my strength. Unfortunately for me my camelbak water hose froze and I no longer had easy access to hydration.

Dr Erica Peabody - Don't Die With Your Daypack - Chiropractor Fenton Michigan — Me (Dr Erica Peabody) Finishing Kilimanjaro Trek

I fell to the ground. I needed a break and I needed help…and THIS is exactly what they meant when they said “DON’T DIE WITH YOUR DAYPACK ON!” I understand now. Sometimes that extra 10-15 pounds, although comfortable and distributed evenly on my back, was just going to be too much, and for me, it was.

Now let’s back up a minute and discuss this concept. I am not one to ask for help from others. Of course in my office, I cannot do that alone and have hired help. But life in general is manageable and when I focus my mind and efforts on something, I almost always can be able to come out on top. I rarely ask for help, I guess maybe I was raised that way.

There was absolutely no way I could have gone on from that point which is common in those circumstances, hence them having one to one support for that part of the trek.

The greatest thing happened when I fell down. I was in tears and yelled “I NEED HELP!!!!” The next thing I heard was “Erica we got you covered.“ As I lay on the ground, those from the group that hiked past me put out their hands for a high-five and I heard things like “Erica you are my hero.”

I realized in that moment that I wasn’t a hero because I was so strong and powerful, I was a hero in that person’s eyes because I recognized that I needed help and asked for it.

Sometimes our admitting defeat is where we really grow into the person we are supposed to be. Admitting defeat and receiving the help we need is a sign of vulnerability and inside vulnerability is where true power lies.

Turns out that not only did I need my assigned porter to carry my pack, the final 50 steps to the summit, I needed him more than ever. When it got to the very end of the climb, I would take 2 steps and lean over so my chest would lay on the top of my trekking poles and take a few breathes. Then another 2 steps and lean over my poles. You guys, there is a reason NOTHING LIVES THAT HIGH!!! It was so void of oxygen I didn’t know how I was going to do it. My porter took my left arm and put it up over his shoulders. He then took my trekking pole and he took the final 50 steps as the left side of my body (picture the 3 legged race during field day in elementary school).

Even as I write this right now, I get goosebumps from head to toe as I re-live the intensity of that scenario (again, sorry Mom).

“DON’T DIE WITH YOUR DAYPACK ON!!” I get it now and I am so glad that my subconscious took good note of that when it was said that night.

A MONTH LATER

I have made a commitment to blog frequently and I am not sure how it is one month later since my last blog. I am not sure where the time goes. I am not sure what happened to that month…but to say it has been one of the most impact-ful months of my life is a massive understatement.
A month later I look back and cannot believe the trek up MT KILIMANJARO even happened. It feels like it was all just a dream. My life here in this precious little town of Fenton is so vastly different than the 10 days in Africa that it feels like I was swept into someone else’s existence when I went to do that. I am only brought back to my reality when I stand up in the morning and my feet are still screaming “Yup, it was us that did that!!!”
A month later I sit in my office, CAFE OF LIFE CHIROPRACTIC, and am so very grateful for this life I have created and how much of it I have shared along the way. Although sometimes I feel like technology and social media has taken us a step backwards learning how to have human to human interactions, I am so grateful to have been able to share the experience with all of you over FACEBOOK LIVE specifically and of course YOUTUBE as well (<<<—links provided to my Facebook page as well as to the YouTube clip of my video logs along the entire trip).

A month later I am still stopped all over this precious little town so that people can congratulate me on my mission accomplished. I get stopped at the gym, grocery store and absolute strangers continue to walk up to me and introduce themselves. I am so happy I have been able to share far and wide that people have followed the story and lived it with me. When I get stopped people say things like “Hey! You don’t know me but I know that you are Dr. Peabody. I caught wind of your story and have followed your updates along your trip. Thank you so much for sharing that because I don’t ever think i could possibly climb that mountain but I want you to know that because you did that, I have been inspired to take on ____________ challenge.” This is the most incredible part of this trip, just knowing that it has spread and ordinary people like myself are dipping into reserves of strength they didn’t know they had. I FREAKIN’ LOVE THAT!!! I ABSOLUTELY LIVE FOR THAT!!!!

A month later I look back at just how serious the trip was. I haven’t shared yet, but two women in the group ended up getting high altitude sickness. When this happens, the porters put them on piggyback and have to run them down to lower elevation as it can be fatal. When I say piggyback, I mean 2 hour piggyback while the porter is running 4,000ft down the mountain. We had an awesome crew and they were able to recover well however in retrospect I can see why my mother was fearful for her stubborn, strong-willed daughter that decided to climb MT KILIMANJARO in the first place. Sorry Mom, life was waiting for me.

A month later I cannot believe how much richer my life is because I was taught the great lesson of surrender. Surrender to the elements. Surrender to the body. Surrender all thoughts and dreams and aspirations. Surrender to the moment. Surrender to the sensations. Surrender surrender surrender. In the most intense peak moments of this trip, there was nothing I could even think about aside from putting one foot in front of the other and taking one breath in and letting one breath out. I know there were a lot of people pushing for my success but I couldn’t even think about any of it or I would instantly choke up and lose my breath.

And just a month later I can look back and say that was one of the most rich and rewarding experiences of my life and I am so very grateful to have taken the time and done the work to make it all happen. Thank you to each and every one of you for all of your encouraging words and positive energy you sent my way. Many have asked what is next on my list? I am not sure as I am still processing this one a month later.

ONE MORE SLEEP

As I wake this morning, I realize that I have one more sleep at home until I leave for my climb! That is a crazy feeling after planning this trip for almost a year! It seemed like it was never going to come!

When I woke and thought “just one more sleep” I instantly got so nervous, a good kind of nervous.

A short little clip to share with you what’s happening in my mind this day prior to leaving.

https://www.facebook.com/erica.peabody/videos/10155066967273792/

So many have asked the question “Are you ready?”

I think I am. I know physically I am ready however “ready” will be figured out retrospectively I think. When I am in those moments when I am wondering if I made all the right choices in clothing and whether I have enough of the right things with me to make due and make the trip happen. That will be determined in the exact moments that things are happening.

The question “am I ready?” will have to be truthfully answered on the other side of the trip because I think I am ready but I have never been involved in doing anything like this.

One more sleep…

I HASH TAGGED AN OFFICE SIGN

This morning I hash tagged an office sign!!!!!

That cracks me up how far we have come on social media!

I wanted to share few details about the office schedule as i head off on my trek a week from today March 2-12!!

https://www.facebook.com/erica.peabody/videos/10155049886893792/

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Let us know!!!

It still cracks me up that I hash tagged an office sign!

MANY EMAILS

I receive many emails. About once or twice a month I get emails that sound exactly like this. This exchange is copied and pasted from my inbox…

“I have been dying to ask your motivation behind your “living” Has this always been your life or was there a catalyst? I recognize the journey and enthusiasm and I am wondering if I can ask your reason? Would you mind sharing?”

My response: “There was no catalyst, just realizing that more and more of life slips by fast and faster…I have always lived like this just have taken it to a whole new level recently for no other reason than life is slipping by. Many have written me asking if I am sick or have some sort of terminal diagnosis (and I don’t) but more than anything is my desire to help inspire others to take action in their lives.”

These emails come in regularly and so I thought I would just share in a bigger way than I have before.

As most of you reading already know, I am taking on MT KILIMANJARO in just under 2 months. No I do not really run a true “bucket list” because I don’t want to do things because I will be dying someday. I take on these adventures because I want to TRULY LIVE this life that I have been given!

When I wake up in the mornings, I start with gratitude. I am so grateful for another day and I go about getting up and around and making things happen. And then I do the same thing the next day and the next day and the next day. This can get mundane and monotonous however I also plan on life mostly being mundane and monotonous and by default it will stay that way. Most people experience this. I think real joy is found in the mundane and monotony of the everyday. When we can learn to enjoy the mundane and monotony of the day to day, happiness is truly lived because lets face it, life is not one crazy adventure and vacation to the next. We live mostly in the in between.

I am a rather simple gal at my core. I love my life, I love my job, I love my family and I love my friends. I like to have nice things but I usually try to go about obtaining them through shopping the “sale” racks. I am always prudent with my next steps and am ultra responsible. In all of that, I do my best to say “YES” to invitations that are thrown my way. Many times I do not know what I am getting into but I choose to stir up all the courage inside of me and step forward. I have learned that over and over and over again, LIFE has my back. And even when stakes are high and probability is down, I choose to step forward anyway and just see what turns up.

I have fallen many, many times, more times than I like to admit or own up to (and for the sake of this blog, I have maybe not shared as much of that as I should) but what do they say? “Fall 17 times, get up 18!’ and I try to live by that. Just get up and step forward and see just what appears under your foot.

So I am taking on MT KiLIMANJARO in the beginning of March. The highest altitude I have been is around 14,000 ft above sea level, “KILI”, as it has been nicknamed, stands at 19,000 ft. That is HIGH!!!! SUPER HIGH!!!

Some of you know about my heart condition, some of you don’t. The hole between the top 2 chambers of the heart that is there in utero never closed for me. What does that mean? It means that a portion of my blood skips the trek through the lungs and doesn’t get oxygenated. It is an issue in my day to day and a bigger issue when I am working out and I manage it by staying super healthy and strong. Will it be a problem at altitude? Quite possibly however 10% of the population has this defect and many don’t even know about it and I am trusting that a few of those 10% that have no idea they have it have done KILIMANJARO or something even more intense and succeeded. I am trusting that LIFE has my back on this one.

But who really knows? There is absolutely no way for me to know if I am going to succeed at climbing to 19,000 ft or not. The only real way to know is to train as hard as I can and then show up and give it my all and see what happens. All that I have read so far is that this trek is treacherous and daunting and a good portion of it is, what my brother refers to as, a “nose down suffer-fest“. He hasn’t done Kili, he has done way more intense trips than that and is partially my guide, trainer and inspiration.

I am so curious if summit is possible for me, way too curious to do anything else but get over there and give it a whirl! It sounds extravagant to be doing something so intense. I plan to share the entire story with you so that you may have an idea of what something like that is like. I also hope that in this process you realize that there may be something in your mind and in your heart that you want to take on and that waking up day in and day out without taking on the challenges just isn’t living enough for you.

It will take us 6 day to summit and then 2 days to descend. In my mind I am preparing for just keeping one foot progressing in front of the other and see what happens. If I took that last step, I can probably take this next step. If I can take the next step, I bet I can take the next one too. If I can string a bunch of those small wins together over and over and over again, I can make it to the top I just know I can. When I picture this process, I get choked up as I know it is going to take every single bit of willpower that I have to make it happen. I am a natural athlete but I have physical restrictions that have deterred me from doing anything too extreme. This will be a test of just how far I can go.

For my 30th year, I ran a full marathon. At this point, I do not see a future of taking on any kind of extreme challenges beyond KILIMANJARO. That will be plenty and such an awesome way to cap my 40th year on the planet and shift into seeing where life takes my next 10.

As I started this post, I get many emails all the time asking why and how and what makes me do these things. Just LIFE…just simply and purely the desire to really live this life fully.

DONATION

Hello Everyone!!! Happy December!!! Over the past couple years, my chiropractic office Cafe of LIFE has chosen to forgo sending out holiday cards and use that money to increase our donation.

We have decided that it is more important to help those who need assistance fulfilling their basic human needs (of food in particular at this point).

Here is a quick clip of what we do with the money we would normally spend for sending out holiday cards.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhl-RsAOtsk&t=1s[/youtube]

We want to do the most good we can this holiday season and we have discovered sending donation to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan is one of the best ways to spread our donation as far and wide as possible while serving our local area. It is astounding that one single dollar can provide 6 meals inside their system. That is some serious buying power!!!

We trust you are accepting of our choice to increase our donation this year. In saying all of that, we are still excited and will gladly accept your holiday cards. In fact, we look forward to it! Happy Holidays!!!!

DEVASTATED

Election day has come and gone and I am left feeling devastated.

Before we go much further, I want to make it very clear that I am not devastated because of who won and who lost, I am devastated because of the friction I have seen increase among our communities.

Let’s be honest and straight forward here, that campaign was the nastiest I ever remember. I blogged about Tuesday and what it felt like even going to the polls. But something else was happening. I made the assumption that Tuesday would be the end of the friction or at least it would begin to subside.

I had NO IDEA that it would actually ramp up!!! Really people?!?!?

I went to sleep around 9:30 on Tuesday night (you are welcome Cafe of LIFE chiropractic patients, I wasn’t going to be tired for you in the morning over staying up to watch the results). I figured what is done is done and I slept well knowing I did my part. I feel a similar way about sporting events, my team will either win or not win and it really doesn’t depend on whether I am watching.

I woke up in the morning and when I came around I realized what day it was, the day after the election and certainly by 6:30am the results would be in (although really got questionable there for a while).

I checked my phone, something I try not to do right out of bed, but this day was obviously a little more special than other days.

Trump won.

“How do I feel about Trump winning?” was my first thought. “What if Hillary would have won?” was my second thought.

You know that emoji with the face that looks like “concern” and is mostly teeth? And the other emoji with a straight face and big bulging eyes? That pretty much sums up my feelings.

I went about my morning and heading in to serve my people at the Cafe at 7:30 like I always do on Wednesday.

I sent a text message to a good friend of mine to chat about the results with someone who thinks similar to me and I moved along with my day.

That was one of the heaviest feeling days in a long time and I know I am not alone when I say that.

Social media completely took over and opinions were flying left and right (no pun intended)…and haven’t stopped since. I have seen some things that I am absolutely shocked from people I would have never suspected. I am not at all saying that is a bad thing because we are all entitled to our opinions. Being that aggressive has gone so far overboard and is so incredibly unproductive it is astonishing to me.

Someone said today “I’m confused, aren’t protests used to voice displeasure for something that can be changed? And if you protest something that can’t be changed aren’t you just bitching in large numbers?” Hmmmm…very interesting point!!!

And FOR WHAT?!?! This isn’t something that can be changed at this point.

So let’s get back to work, and when I use the word “work” in this way, I mean let’s get back to our individual work of being good humans, being kind and making our corner of the world a better place.

There is a time of grieving for some people after election day this year. Ultimately, what is done is done and it is time to move forward. Fighting fear with more fear gets us even more fear. Trying to fight anger with more anger gets us even more anger. We need to switch gears.

Extend love and compassion to your neighbors, friends, people in the grocery store, restaurants, and out on the roads. This is the only way to make the change we really want to see. Step up and take a stand by extending gratitude for the contrasting opinions. We are not promised a tomorrow, let’s move on with our lives NOW!

I have felt devastated for what has happened in and among our communities since the election. It is time to get back to work.

TOMORROW

Tomorrow will come no matter what.

In the meantime, I want to share what I felt walking into the precinct this morning.

It was a feeling of power, anxiety and suspicion all wrapped into one.

Presidential election years feel so different than the other election years. And since they roll around once every 4 years, I have such a stronger appreciation for them than I did just 4 years ago, along with a stronger appreciation for all of life in general.

This morning as I got out of my car, I stood up a little straighter, was a little more mindful and walked a little prouder…because I am an American and I have the right to vote. THAT IS A BIG DEAL!!!!

As I approached the building, a little anxious wave came over me because, although things take a while to actually change, the trajectory of our country is on the line. When anxiousness comes up for me, I realize I am future-projecting stress and I know I need to just bring myself back to the moment and the day, mostly because nobody is actually guaranteed a tomorrow anyway.

When I am standing in line next to the other voters in my precinct (my neighbors essentially), I am a little suspicious about my vote even counting. Of course it counts, however if the very next person votes exactly opposite of me, then it sort of negates the whole thing, doesn’t it? Also I have heard so much about voter intimidation this time around, a concept I haven’t really been aware of before. I am curious if any one of the humans in that building today would do something like that?

So tomorrow is coming no matter what as we all know. Today is a day of division and tomorrow we all move forward together. Every single one of us. Those neighbors with signs in their yards that are directly in opposition to your beliefs, they will still be living next door to you. Those businesses in town that have strong opinions one way or another, will still be the same businesses serving this community tomorrow. The cars with big and small bumper stickers that are directly opposed to your choices today will still be sharing the same roads.

I was in a local business this morning at 8am and there were some, what appeared to be, regulars sitting there chatting it up. One of the presidential candidate’s name was brought up and one guy threatened to throw his scone at the other guy. It was silly and juvenile and precious, and all at the same time being his truth.

We all have our truth. We all have things that we stand for and some beliefs that guide our lives and decisions on a daily basis. We also live and work among those that directly oppose those beliefs. I think that is one of the greatest things about our country is that we can live and work among those that believe different things…and that is allowed.

Tonight will be exciting. Tomorrow we go back to our lives and take the next right step for ourselves to move us along in our own progress. Tomorrow we will encounter those neighbors that have/had those signs up in their yards. Ultimately tomorrow we all wake up together and are here with each other, and it was designed that way for a reason.

Spread some love. Make a new connection. Reach out and help someone. None of us have the right answers, we all have our own answers and the contrast and difference between our answers is what makes this world go round.

Tomorrow we wake up together no matter what today brings. Remember that.