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.
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.
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.
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.
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 KILIMANJAROin 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.
“That is a CRAZY IDEA but I LOVE IT!!!” was my response when a patient invited me to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Yes you heard that right, MT KILIMANJARO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The invite came last April 2016 and I am pretty sure both of us suspected something would stop us in our tracks prior to making this happen…but it hasn’t. And so WE WILL!!!AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
In March of 2015, this beautiful woman named Kelly started chiropractic care in my office, Cafe of LIFE. She is just a year older than me and had gotten a cancer diagnosis just a couple weeks prior to starting care. I was in shock and awe that she could have such a bright, shiny composure with so many unknowns ahead. If I remember correctly she already had a huge scar from one biopsy they had done the week prior. Kelly was bright and energetic and positive and she had made the connection that chiropractic is going to help her body process everything that is ahead of her. And it did just that.
She made all kinds of lifestyle shifts as well as underwent heavy chemo and radiation treatments and kept with her chiropractic care all along the way. Because she was so regular with her care, I was able to follow her step by step through all of the radical changes that those heavy drugs had on her body. I have worked with many cancer patients over the years however none so vulnerable to share every little detail. Of course I learned a lot about the cancer going through school but experiencing it with her, from the patient’s perspective, was eye-opening.
And through it all, we became friends.
She did the entire treatment process quite gracefully and came out on top! She has been clear for a while and one day back in April of 2016 I got added to an email thread she started with a list of other great female friends of hers, that invited us to climb MT KILIMANJARO.
Let me just start by saying that I was ABSOLUTELY HONORED to be included in thread along with her close friends. My stomach sank at the possibility of taking on the challenge and my head started spinning with excitement as I really pondered what it would be like!
We started a conversation that went on for about 6 months while she waited for her final scans and clearance from her doctor. In October, we pulled the trigger on putting a deposit down to hold our place with the adventure company. We continued conversations trying to digest this whole idea and the first week of January we purchased our airline tickets.
Now life is officially in “CHECKMATE” status and this is happening.
There are bits and pieces of logistics to figure out and each day one more thing comes together.
I will continue this blog as I progress through all the details and training and of course share the entire journey with all of you. Please stay tuned right here as Kelly and I make our progress.
I was at a family party last Saturday night. Of course at this age, everyone wants to know how my dating life is and of course, most also know that I am working on building a house, so they are asking about my house.
I walk in the door and greet my cousin (who is sort of in the same boat as I am in life) and her and I discuss much deeper topics and catch up for a few moments.
The next corner I turn, I run into another cousin and the question is “What’s going on with your dating life?’
I respond, “Nothing.”
“Oh really? Ok. Well then tell me what progress you have made with your house?”
“Nothing” And honestly at this point in time I don’t really feel like talking about it if that is all I am to this person. So I cut that conversation quickly and turn the next corner of the house and run into an aunt, “What’s happening with your dating life? What’s going on with your house?”
“Nothing. Nothing.”
“No really, what is happening?”
“No really, nothing.”
I turn the conversation around on them and ask some questions about life but it was almost like I had sort of put the kibosh on the connection by answering my truth, which is “nothing”.
I turned yet another corner and a family friend started the same conversation with me all over again. And then of course is the ever so cliche comment of “How is someone like you still single?” which I constantly hear from every corner of my life.
“Who knows. Good question.” …and I really mean that.
So here is the deal, people, I am FAR MORE than who I am dating and where I am living! In fact, I believe the contrast on that particular evening was so strong because I spent the entire day leading up to that party at a most incredible and enlightening seminar on “Developmental Neurobiology” and although I couldn’t necessarily convey all of the information I learned that day in that seminar, I could have shared some. I am also working on a full Pediatric Chiropractic Certification which is far above and beyond the normal chiropractic degree and is a 2 year post-graduate program put on by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association that I am incredibly passionate about.
I also have started taking an intense kettlebell class that is changing my entire physical makeup and spending my time at some of the coolest yoga classes. I also have done a ton of reading and lots of writing, hung out with some great friends and am planning or just went on a trip most of the time.
I also am a pretty awesome Aunt E and I could share lots of stories about my amazing nieces and nephews and the time we have spent together.
But to these people, I am defined by who I date and where I am living. And quite frankly, since NOTHING is going on with either of those, to them, maybe I am nothing. ..and that is ok by me.
Maybe these people, as we all do from time to time, are looking for some juice somewhere in life that they can share out in the world somehow and in someway. I don’t really get it.
So I decided that I would sit down next to an interesting friend of the family and chat about running a ski resort, which is what he does, and I learned a LOT!!! Then I moved on to a couple I haven’t seen in a while but really enjoy to chat about the year just gone by and the year ahead; plans, experiences, travels, fun, laughs, work…all those kinds of things. I have decided that one or two good conversations in an evening like that is worth way more than trying to get around to everyone and stay as the “single homeless girl” (exaggerated description but you get the idea).
In saying all of that, I am also not really all that skilled in small talk to begin with. It is not my strong suit as many of you already know. That is definitely one of my faults but I’m alright with that. I also realize and am so very grateful that I get to live the blessed life that I do, this is not talking negative about any of that.
Someone said to me the other day, “You know, you have a lot of dating experiences that you should share a little bit about sometime…and I thought to myself that maybe I will. Stay tuned for maybe some stories over the next phase of this blog as hopefully my “nothing” will start to transpire into an incredible SOMETHING!!! …or at least that is my hope, on many fronts, but house and relationships in specific. l.
It is the month of THANKSGIVING!!! The best holiday of them all in my opinion. We have a GRATITUDE PROJECT going on in ouroffice for the final months of the year.
“What we think about and thank about, we bring about.”
The world proves to us over and over again that what WE FOCUS ON, EXPANDS!!! So let us get back to focusing on GRATITUDE and what we are grateful for.
Our lives are blessed in so many ways. Seriously so, so, so many ways.
I want to challenge you to sit for 5 minutes, set a timer even, and think about all the different things you are grateful for. Make a list in your mind. Can’t fill 5 minutes of time? Look harder, you are not paying close enough attention.
I am so very grateful for my officeCafe of LIFE Chiropractic and the ability to serve this community! I could not imagine my life any other way than spending my days doing what I love.
I also LOVE LOVE LOVE to fill this space with GRATITUDE!!!!!!!!
GRATITUDE PROJECT:
Each day you walk into the Cafe of LIFE, you will make sure to stop by our GRATITUDE STATION. There are leaf cut-outs ready for you. Write one thing you are grateful and tape it to our tree on our window. It becomes the biggest and most beautiful gratitude tree in just a few short weeks, and we just keep going. It is simple and super fun and such an awesome way to build GRATITUDE ENERGY!!!
And if you are not a patient here at the Cafe of LIFE, feel free to swing by and just fill out a leaf and join our mission. The more GRATITUDE, the BETTER!!!!
In saying all of that, I want to take a moment to extend my GRATITUDE to you, my readers, family, friends and patients, for being part of my life. My life and heart are filled up because of YOU!!! Thank you.
This particular answer is not going to cut it in this life. A dialogue I had today…
Me: Is your week going well so far?
Patient: It will be when the weekend gets here.
It’s Tuesday. This answer is not going to cut it.
What do I mean by “it is not going to cut it?” Guess what???? LIFE IS REALLY FREAKING SHORT!!! Why would you ever want to spend 5 days each week looking forward to 2 days?
So you wake up in the morning on Monday and it is seriously a race to see how quickly you can get to Friday afternoon? Seriously? How can this be a life worth even living? The ratios are all off there…ALL OFF!!!! What if you spent 2 days looking forward to 5 days? That is more like it!! If he said to me, “Well I made it through Monday and Tuesday and so now I am going to have an awesome week!” I would have taken it.
But that is not what he said and so here I am at a coffee shop having to write about it. I don’t get to go home right after work, I have no other choice than to sit here and write about it. There is not a chance I will be able to sleep after hearing that comment unless I spend my time time this evening writing about it.
Not really guys, I am not that obsessive. If I was, I would have WAY BIGGER problems!!
Seriously the days are not all filled with rainbows and butterflies. We all see tough times. In fact it was just revealed to me that I appear to live among the clouds and am untouchable by strife. NOT EVEN CLOSE!!! I am just grateful for the learning when I am in the trenches. Of course I am not grateful at the time, but the stuff I learn there when the pressure is turned way up, allows me to be real, authentic and genuine and it makes me more, well, ME!!!
We seriously never know when the tables will be turned on us, towards the bad or towards the good. We never know when a really crappy week will turn really good. We also never know when our wonderful life will be turned upside down either.
(yes that is me)
What if we just started the day, every day regardless of if it starts with ‘Sat” or “Sun”, in a good mood. Lets look at the fact that we are waking up on the top side of the grass. We get a chance to do all kinds of things today!!! And SO MANY more things that if we weren’t on the top side of the grass!!!
So you could maybe be asking “Well what if my life really does suck?”
Okay, that is a legitimate question. I like that you are thinking like that and want to question me. If your life really does suck, you actually can take this day and make it just a little bit better.
Let me tell you about the time my life really, really, really, really sucked. I got divorced half way through chiropractic college. I had 2 years of intense schooling still ahead (I was 8 years into school at this point) and not a moment to process such a huge loss. When I finally finished I moved home to Fenton to try to figure out what I wanted to do. Life got really quiet, my friends had dispersed all over the country and I was left with all of the “stuff” that really didn’t feel good. I went into massive grieving mode and severe depression, to the point that I could hardly get out of bed. I also had a degree, a license and a desire to not stay that way. It would take one step every single day to move me forward. Even if that meant going out and buying one single pen, it was movement.
Just do that. One little tiny step in the direction you want to go. Because guess what? The time is going to pass anyway. Go do something with your ONE WILD LIFE!!!!!
I cannot do a thing about patients responding to me like that and not having a good time in life. If I could, you know I would!!!
The only hope I really have is letting you, my faithful readers (have I told you lately how much I love you??? I DO!!!) know, that that kind of attitude is just NOT GOING TO CUT IT!!! Get on with enjoying your LIFE!!!! We only get one chance….
I had an incredible weekend! It was just about as much fun as one could possibly pack into the minutes of one single weekend and a good portion of it I spent at the Barefoot and Free Yoga Festival.
Pack up yoga mat and hike to the “unknown”
We live, work and play among some real superheros and it is hard to know who those superheros are until something like this weekend is pulled together through the vision of one woman. Of course, there will always be so many people behind the scenes that do not get enough recognition, however, it takes one person to have the vision to start with…and that person is the one who ultimately takes the initial step forward.
Proud Lake Recreation Area is a super amazing place just south of Milford, Michigan. I had never been there before and although I had signed up for the yoga festival just because of the idea of it…quite frankly I had no idea what I was getting into.
I pulled in, parked my car and took a walk to the festival site. It was an absolutely ideal location allowing for yoga classes to be held in a few different areas on the grounds. There were vendors, big tents that would hold yoga classes, a bunkhouse for those that wanted to stay, areas for tents, food vendors and so much amazing positive energy, it could not have been in a more perfect place!
Us yoga peeps, even though we are supposed to be super flexible (not only in class but in life in general), sometimes get stuck with wanting to only take our “favorite” instructor(s) and become actually quite rigid with our regular yoga routine. For me, my time is precious and I am always wanting to maximize my time spent in any yoga class and so I have my favorites and stick with them.
The great thing about the festival setting is that there are options and you are exposed to some other really
The reflection is the view while laying on my yoga mat
exceptional instructors…and because this festival was so close to home, those instructors are easily accessible to me, well if you consider “easy” to be within about 45 minutes.
When I am at my usual yoga class(es) during the week, I am usually running in there last minute and heading out immediately following closing postures. Life is busy, busy, busy! The flow of this festival and the timing of classes
gave us some real time to spend with these like-minded people. There were a few people I see regularly at class but I actually had some time to ask them about themselves and their lives outside of the studio. We shared time, space, laughter and snacks together. We had time for conversation between sweating our behinds off. We had a few moments to jump in the river together. I have stronger, tighter connections because of the weekend.
And then I should mention what it means to the body and mind to do that much yoga in a condensed timeframe. I took six, 75 minute vinyasa classes in 90-100 degree temperatures. I took an inversion workshop, a slow burn class and attended a lecture. This all happened in a matter of 48 hours starting at 7pm on Friday and finishing Sunday at the same time. That much yoga for me would usually be over a 2 week period and so putting myself into that many different postures, that much intensity, that much breath work, that much laughing and that much dancing, shifts a person at their core. Barefoot and Free has such
Grateful for the fresh water of the Huron River
divine timing as I am in one of the most stressful weeks of my life in a long time. In the midst of playing a mean hand of “52 Pick-Up” with my life, I find peace. Peace is my center and I am craving more time on my mat like I have never felt before, such a strong draw for that level of intense movement and shifting.
I have shared about my experience over the past day and so many have asked “How do I get involved?” “How did you find out about that?” and “When is the next one?” I can say this for certain, DO NOT MISS next year! It is a simple 30 minutes from my home and if you are around the southeast Michigan area, probably within an hour from yours too…very central location to many.
I seriously had no idea what I was getting into. This is yet another time that I simply said YES and made it happen. Leading into the weekend I was asked, “Are you meeting a bunch of friends there at the festival? Do you know many people going?” No I did not know many people going, but I knew by the time I left, with the nature of yoga and the woods and the connection with Mother Earth, I would have new friends by Sunday. Plus I am not sure I love anything more than being BAREFOOT AND FREE!!!!!
Thank you to that teeny tiny superhero, Beth James, for creating a place for all of us to play…and be barefoot…and FREE!!!
About 20 years ago, I was clued into this place called Antelope Canyon. I am not sure where I heard about it but it has sat in the back of my mind for that long always thinking and knowing that I would visit someday.
I do not have a bucket list. I do, however, have a LIVING FULLY list. There are a few things on that and visiting Antelope Canyon has been one just waiting for the chance to make it happen
I am lucky enough to have quite a few phenomenal friends in my life, but 3 very special sisters. I grew up with 3 brothers and begged my mom for a sister right from the start. These 3 started as, what so many consider, “soul sisters”. However a couple months ago, as we traveled to a conference together, we decided to drop the word “soul” and just be “sisters”. Two of them are actual blood sisters, but two of us only had experiences growing up with boys and were ecstatic about the idea of having sisters.
We planned a sisters trip to Sedona, Arizona about a month ago. As the weekend approached, one of my sisters likes to have a couple things planned out and so she threw out some ideas over text message…and one of them happened to be Antelope Canyon.
Of course I jumped at that chance and shouted “YES!!! YES!!! YES!!!” as loudly as I could…over text message…and the day trip was planned.
There really is plenty to see in and around Sedona, and traveling 3 hours by car one way was not really necessary, however it was so incredibly worth every minute in the car. I don’t think I could use words to explain this, let’s talk with pictures for a bit…
The canyon hike was down into the earth around 30-100 feet.
It is really just that beautiful!!!
The pictures are amazing and truly don’t even come close to doing it justice. They were taken with a simple iPhone camera, nothing fancy. It is just that beautiful! Of course it appears super peaceful as if nobody is around, however, there are hundreds and hundreds of people going through this canyon in a group hike format with about 20 people per group all day long…but the crowd hardly matters.
Please do yourself a favor and go check it out for yourself!!! I’m serious!
20 years I have had this on my LIVING FULLY list…and I would go back in a second!!!
A few weeks ago I was at a seminar in Toronto and there was a sign on the bathroom door of the convention center and I thought to myself “I’m confused.”
This is what the sign looked like.
Most of you know that I do not have a TV at home and mostly listen to music and read on my downtime. Because of that, I generally get most of my news from Facebook and all the hype about Target and their bathroom policy had many up in arms.
For a day and a half during the weekend, I walked by this bathroom in search of a “women’s” bathroom and all the while was wondering what it would be like to go into a bathroom that was marked as above.
Would there be urinals in there?
Would guys be required to go to the bathroom inside of a stall?
Will I be walking in on someone or something that I do not want to see?
So I passed by this bathroom option all weekend and pondered it over and over…what is going on behind that door? This is Canada after all and maybe they just do things differently here.
As I watched that particular bathroom door all weekend, I did notice that perfectly normal, and un-traumatized women were walking into and out from that door. Men too!
And then on Sunday afternoon I decided I would take a chance and head through that door.
Once I got to the other side of the door I started laughing. There was a set of stairs that went up with a sign for men’s bathroom and another set of stairs that we down for the women’s bathroom. The women’s bathrooms down that set of stairs had zero lines. The other set of women’s (marked as women only) bathrooms had long lines every single time, as many women’s bathrooms do in this life.
Once I crossed through that door and started laughing, I thought what a great metaphor for life: things are not always what they appear and are usually less scary than we think if we have the courage to cross the threshold.
As a culture, we really need to start paying a little closer attention to the sensationalism that is the news, and even the news on Facebook. We need to be conscious of all the things that slip by our filters and get lodged into our minds and beings. I am not exposed to news a whole lot, however even that whole Target thing, and I am sure that is not the only thing, got planted in my own mind without me even aware of what was happening.
Our subconscious runs most of our days for us without us even paying that close of attention. We need to guard ourselves from a lot of what the media is promoting and learn to originate our own ideas, decision, perceptions and actions.
“I’m confused” may be a theme when moving through the next door that is marked in an unfamiliar way. But I know and trust to drop my guard sooner and venture in just to see what is on the other side. Maybe you will want to try that too!!!
