Nancy Love’s Weblog

In one hour it will be 2015. Happy New Years everyone.

There is a song on the radio these days that has a line I love…”Every new beginning was an old beginning’s end.”

Here’s to new beginnings, to new places and people to get to know and here’s to ends as well. Endings are difficult. Although we sometimes say ” I thought it would never end!” or “Is it over yet?” we all know that the end of something signals sadness, regret perhaps as well as possible celebration. It signals the beginning of something else. Change is what happenings while you are waiting.

I can’t even really write about 2014. It was difficult for me. There was sadness and some regret. Starting over can be exciting I guess but it is never easy. Will 2015 be better? I certainly hope so. I hope to spend more time with family … starting tomorrow. I hope to complete some projects that got set aside in 2014. I hope to make new friends and reconnect with old ones. I hope to travel and visit new places and familiar ones. I hope to balance alone time with together time and spend most of my time Happy, Healthy, Grounded, Positive and enjoying life.

I wish the same for you … a year to remember. May you have endings and beginnings that are well timed and that work for you. May your dreams come true and your life be good, beautiful and truthful.

It’s a beautiful day in St Albert. The snow is falling like on a Christmas Card. The kids are tobogganing down the hill and earlier the church bells at the Mission were ringing. Life is good. Spending time with friends and family and in the kitchen always reminds you of how could it feels to do things for others.

Merry Christmas everyone.

I had lunch with a friend yesterday and as I described how life is for me right now she said “It’s like you are on “pause.” It was an interesting thought. Not stuck or hung in limbo but on pause. I like how that sounds. It explains things well. I find myself waiting for other people to do things that will allow me to move forward.

Have you ever been in that situation? Have you ever been waiting for your lap top to come back from repair and the lamp shades you ordered to be brought into the local store because the movers lost the first ones and the furniture store to have time to take your brand new dining room set back to change out the pedestal and fix the one damaged chair. These are the minor inconveniences. It just seems like everything I try to do needs some stars somewhere else to line up first.

I AM on PAUSE. Every now and then I get to take a step forward, sometimes even two but then another someone somewhere has to get the address corrected or the password sorted out or … AND if I don’t stay on top of things as I wait I run the risk of being forgotten or pushed to the back of an imaginary line of people waiting for services from the same people I need to do their one little piece of something so that my life can go on.

I know I am not alone. Many of you experience the hurry up and wait of modern life. WE make lists … not of what we need to do but of what we need to follow up on.

Be Patient on Pause. That will have to be my motto for now. I can hardly wait to press RESUME and get back in the game. Until then …. (sigh)

Tomorrow morning at 10:00 am MST I will be hosting a webinar on adobe connect to commemorate the passing of PULSE. I have had wonderful notes from many people expressing their gratitude for the learnings shared through PULSE and some of indicated that they will work toward attending the webinar. It would be quite a testament to have people from around the world say a few words over the body of PULSE.

I will do the eulogy. I will talk about the beginnings of an idea for a training and development company, the opportunity to work with MTI, the travels and exploits, the growing number of professionals armed with the tools of conversation and the eventual fade of a once strong PULSE as time and circumstance took its toal. In recent years there was a renewal of sorts and we thought the patient had a chance at regaining its strength and vigor but unfortunately that burst of energy was short lived.

I hope you can come to say goodbye.

http://pulseinstitute.adobeconnect.com/flatline/

Thursday, December 4th at 10:00 am.

Gentle, honest, open, specific talk. This is the protocol that I use when speaking to others. It is also the protocol for successful conversations and sustainable outcomes that I have taught to more than 1000 people over the years some of whom have taught others and so on and so on.

It goes like this: Speak Gently so that others can keep listening and can hear what you have to say. Speak Honestly so that others can hear your truth. Without honesty no agreement or decision is sustainable because you are not psychologically prepared to move on, to let go of the past. Speak openly, say what you are thinking. Holding back your thoughts can be dangerous and is disrespectful of the other persons ability to hear it and respond. Speak specifically. Solve one issue at a time and give examples for clarity. Strip away the qualifiers and share the specifics of the issue at hand. Talk and keep talking until you have a resolution. No problem is truly solved in your own head. No conversation equals no solution.

There is a protocol of POWER listening and another for the gift of listening with HEART as well and a conversation map, PULSE for navigating difficult conversations.

These are pieces of the PULSE puzzle which I hope will endure, the legacy that PULSE leaves behind, the intellectual property developed and shared since 2002 when PULSE began. GHOST, HEART, POWER and PULSE – the aids to daily conversation that have proved again and again the power of deliberateness and intention in our relationship with others. I have used all of these skills in very personal ways over the last year to manage difficult conversations of my own.

After more than a year of trying to revive The PULSE Institute I have decided to let it go … to pull the plug and let it die a natural death. You will notice it weaken and fade into the background over the next few months. The final newsletter will be published this weekend and the final webinar will be broadcast next Thursday the 4th of December.

As for me …. well, although I will be mourning another loss in my life, I remain alive and kicking.

I am back in Saint Albert where I live on St Joseph Street and work on St Thomas Street and where on Sunday the down town restaurants and business are still closed. Those who don’t live downtown might not notice and I guess until there are more people who do, things won’t really change.

I also spend time at Lac Saint Ann which is a lake with a religious and spiritual history of healing. Saints are everywhere in the place names where I spend time.

In Barbados it was the same. Most of the Anglican parishes are named for Saints. Saint Andrew, Saint Michael, Saint Lucie, Saint Paul, Saint John, Saint Phillip to name a few. Saint Thomas and Saint Joseph were also there.

Those people got around. I hadn’t thought much about it before but when the contrast between Barbados and Alberta are so stark and yet the names of the places are the same that tells us something about the long arm of European civilization as it colonized the rest of the world.

Light thoughts this morning.(smile) It is good to be home.

Back to Canada and half way home. We are at the airport, the Toronto Pearson. I have memories here. A seven hour wait for weather to clear on the way to Nova Scotia. A full out run to catch a flight to Paris and another for New York. A quiet beer on a layover to or from anywhere. AND a memorable encounter with a TSA guy who withdrew my request for my annual renewal of my TN1 because my degree was in Philosophy not business. But that is another story … one many of you know already.

I also like Pearson airport because it reminds me of the man… Lester B. I was very young when he was prime minister. I lived in Ottawa then and I remember how proud I was to be a Canadian. Good things were happening in Government. Our reputation around the world as peace keepers was solid. Those years were golden for Canada.

It has been difficult to watch the dismantling of that Canada, the Canada of Mike Pearson, under this Harper Government. It makes me sad. I am anxiously awaiting Mel Hurtig’s new book not because it is good news but because it may actually wake people up to the true dismantling of our reputation in the world and our country at home.

I also read a novel called “24 Sussex Drive” that portrayed a diabolic PM who was being handled by what I call the right wing world mafia. In the book he manipulates the Governor General and the people of Canada in evil despicable ways that even those of us who have been involved can only begin to imagine.

Am I getting old? Have “the good old days” arrived for me? I am sure the world before mass media and mass transportation had its limitations and reminiscing about simpler times might be a function of having spend 10 days at sea. It’s never to late to have a happy childhood.

Thanks for the pride and the memories Mike.

Today was a perfect day. The weather cooperated and we were on the beach at Mayreau for the champagne and caviar splash. Pictures to follow. The water was warm and soothing. We swam to the float which at first glance I deemed to be well beyond a distance that matched my capabilities as a swimmer. Three of us headed off with our noodles and quite easily reached our destination. Then we climbed a moving ladder to get aboard the trampoline like contraption. Someone had promised us champagne if we actually made it but our cries for recognition and more champagne were met with waves of acknowledgement and cameras taking our picture.

Then two more brave souls took the plunge and this after a few glasses of champagne and a fabulous lunch buffet that seemed to appear out of no where. Everyone was in the water and then everyone was at lunch all the while enjoying the sounds of the steel drum band.

As we played like children I noticed that one of our trusty noodles had taken flight and was heading toward the ship and beyond. It showed us the strength of the current beyond where we were on the float. We let it go and then shared the two noodles among the three of us for the float back to shore. It was a great adventure which really taught me that going beyond your perceived limitations can be invigorating and good for your self confidence. I enjoyed the challenge and the successful completion of it.

Tomorrow we leave friends and new acquaintances to return to our individual lives but we take with us the memories of good times and good people.

Thank you hardly does it but there it is….. Thank you Sea Dream.

Tomorrow we dock in Barbados again. Today we visit another small uninhabited island with a gorgeous beach. Three mornings in a row we have anchored off small islands. In fact yesterday we could see the island that Jack Sparrow spent time on in the film Pirates of the Caribbean. We couldn’t find the right tree to pace odd where we might find his stash of rum but then we had a ship full of such provisions so we survived. The little island we visited was delightful complete with locals grilling lobsters and just the right amount of ‘souvenirs’ for sale.

The staff is wonderful aboard ship. I asked for a Caesar which is the Canadian version of a Bloody Mary. For two days there was no Clamatoe juice to be found but it miraculously appeared and I have had a Caesar before dinner ever since. Make your wishes known and they bend over backwards to accommodate. It is impressive.

Last night after a tasting menu that included Chateaubriand, Foie Gras and Kaluha soufflé, we were entertained by one f the stewardesses as she sang Barbara Streisand for us. Then some of the talented guests also entertained us with their renditions of some great and memorable songs. Mandy of the guests were also on the Crossing that the ship made from Spain just before we boarded in Barbados and so they have become good friends with each other and the staff. It is a small ship with lots of opportunity to get to know each other.

Today we do the Champagne splash. At this next beach island we will be served champagne and caviar from a surf board in the ocean. It is a bright sunny day with a little cloud forming on the horizon. Most mornings have been like this.

I like to sit on the top deck in the morning with coffee and journal or just think as I watch the ship pull into the next place. It is peaceful and glorious. the staff is swabbing the deck and setting tables for breakfast. I take my cup of coffee and sit with the sea breezes on my face and in my hair and soak up as much sunshine as I can store. I’m thinking about installing solar panels so that I can release the extra energy at a later date like mid December in Edmonton when we have five hours of day light.

I will be sad to leave tomorrow never really knowing when or if I might have another opportunity like this to spend time on Sea Dream. I am so grateful to have this dream to call on when I need to know that the world is right when there is only sea and sun and sand.

Thanks for listening….

Today we stopped at Grenada. It is a beautiful little country and quite impressive. There is no crime even though there is a high rate of unemployment. These people are unionized and proud. they look after each other. They are grateful for the support they have received from Canada over the years and to the USA for their support during the invasion.

Fort St George is a pretty little port and so far I liked this port the best. The Star Flyer docked behind us today. It is an older four master. It was quite the sight as it pulled out at sunset, jib sails full of wind.

We have had a couple of sunny days with time at the pool and in the sea. There was little to do in Charlotteville yesterday and today we were back on board before noon so bagging rays by the pool is the order of business. it is also a chance to meet and get to know your fellow passengers which is always interesting.

That’s all for today. The next couple of days we are in the Grenadines. I will let you know how that goes. Happy Remembrance Day. Kiss a veteran or at least thank them.