On December 5th, 2013 Nelson Mandela died. He was a man who personified freedom and what it means to be free. There is much we can learn from this man, including and perhaps most importantly, the following: “there is no easy walk to freedom.” Reflect on this statement as it applies to your own life. …
When you walk into a room, do you bring sickness or health? I’m talking about both physical and mental health. Good physical health means your body is in good working order. You eat healthy, exercise regularly and get enough sleep. Your weight is healthy and you’re free from disease. Good mental health means you have…
To a large extent, your virtues define who you are and what your life is like. Your ability to be honest, compassionate and never give up, for example, greatly impact how you interact with the world and how the world interacts with you. Are some virtues more significant than others? I believe one virtue lays…
Let’s say you’re meeting a new friend for coffee. During your visit, how well would you get to know them? Would you talk about the weather, the daily news or would you talk about who they really are and who you really are? Would you let them in to the deeper parts of you? Would…
On August 11th, 2013 my fifteen year old daughter Shannon and I boarded a plane bound for Whitehorse in the Yukon. This was to be the trip of a lifetime – a ten day canoe trip covering over 300 km (185 miles) with eight other people on the Big Salmon River. On Day Five of…
St. John of the Cross, a Spanish priest, made the following statement… “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.” What a thought-provoking declaration. Is there a better way to evaluate our lives than love? I don’t think so. It’s not about how much money we make or how big our…
I believe that all human beings have a need to connect deeply with others. It is essential to our happiness and overall well-being. Connection happens when we are able to see, hear, feel, appreciate or understand another at some level. While connecting with family and friends is imperative to good health, life also presents endless…
Sometimes life feels good, sometimes it feels great and sometimes… life feels hard. That’s just life. How you travel through the good, the great and especially the hard is important. I’ve found that when life gets hard, I have an opportunity to ask myself two very simple, yet powerful questions. These questions help to take…
Louise Hay is known as one of the founders of the self-help movement. More than 50 million copies of her book “You Can Heal Your Life” have been sold throughout the world. She has spent most of her life helping people help themselves to lead richer, fuller lives. She is a master in her field. …
This past week I received news about a friend I knew well from High School. At the age of 52, he died suddenly of a heart attack. His family and friends are in shock. Although he was overweight and could have taken better care of himself, no one expected this. Many of those close to…
Today is Mother’s Day! It’s a day to celebrate motherhood and what it means to be a mother. What do you love most about your mother? What did she teach or give you that you are most grateful for? If you are a mother, what do you think your children value most about you? Here…
I have a very special place in my heart for children who grow up in homes that are lacking in love, caring, attention and affection. These are things all children need to thrive and to be their best. These children grow up feeling alone, scared and broken, sometimes into a million tiny pieces. In adulthood,…
The word “complicated” is defined as difficult, complex, problematic, perplexing, troublesome and hard to make sense of. How complicated is your life? When you look at your various relationships, your career and your time spent outside of work, do certain parts feel perplexing or hard? Are there trouble spots, things that are more difficult than…
In November of 2012 one of my dearest friends, Teri, climbed to an altitude of 5,364 metres to reach base camp Mount Everest in Nepal. She climbed with a group of 15 people led by “Live Out Loud Adventures.” This was her experience. The scenery was truly magnificent – the snow, the waterfalls, the rivers,…
Michael Fishbach is co-founder of the Great Whale Conservancy. He spends two months of each year on the Sea of Cortez photographing and tracking humpback whales. On Valentine’s Day of 2011, he came across a young whale in the water that was almost dead. It had become completely entangled in a nylon fishing net. Michael…
