Nancy Love’s Weblog

Donna and I went on a Whale Watching sail the other day. We left the bay at around 3:00 in the afternoon and motored north. The Biologist on board, Jeff, was great. He had all the facts about whales and their lives. He answered all of the questions we had and then we began to see the wonderful creatures.

Words cannot describe the feeling you get when a whale shows you his tail. It is somewhere between gratitude and excitement, awe and appreciation. The animals we saw where gigantic. We were lucky enough to witness around 20 whales at the surface. Spouts all around us but in particular two whales traveling together gave us quite a show. They would surface and show their tails for a while and then disappear.

The crew would begin calling them and encouraged us to do the same. Suddenly they appeared at the back of the boat about 20 yards off the stern, showed their backs and then their tails in turn. MAGNIFICENT and a little scary. They were way bigger than the boat.

We were all smiles and joy. The crew said it was the best experience they had had for a long time and they were all feeling like we had our money’s worth when our whales suddenly reappeared at the front of the boat. Could have been two different whales but the tails, which are like fingerprints, looked very much the same. Again they passed so close to the boat you felt you could reach out and touch them. Even the crew were high fiving each other.

What an experience!!

It was a magical time. The crew was excellent. Our fellow travelers were appropriately impressed and the whales were accomodating. They answered the call and they stayed and partied with us. You almost wanted to invite them aboard for one of the delicious Maitais.

If you are of a certain age you automatically sing “do do do do” after you hear “Here Comes the Sun” and “I say…It’s alright.”

The old Beatles classic is a great tune with wonderful lyrics. I was actually working out yesterday with my phone plugged into my ears and my music on when I heard it again for the first time. It felt like home and in this very sunny place it felt like the right song to sing. Lines like “The ice is slowly melting” could mean getting out of the cold or it could mean that you are thawing out after a long time protecting yourself … like in the movie Frozen.

It was a powerful reminder of the power of music in my life and the wonderful emotions that can be triggered by a song. Tears came to my eyes as I felt the meaning of the song. Things are looking up. They are getting better. The sun is coming out and it is alright.

Of course that song was followed by “Fool on the Hill” and I wondered what meaning I should take from that as I stood on a hill looking out over the rolling hills of the Big Island. Keep humble!!

I saw a hoody yesterday at a store here on the Big Island of Hawaii that said “I am LOVE” on the back of it. Unfortunately they didn’t have my size or I would be walking around with my name advertised on my back in big bold letters. I am Love and I do love aloha.

Being back here in January is great. It is beautiful. I am looking out onto a golf course with Cook Pines and BIG wild turkeys and Nene geese that look a lot like Canada geese everywhere. Yesterday the male turkeys put on a fantastic show for us and the hens were chasing each other around. I am not sure what that was about but it looked like they all turned on one for some reason.

Yesterday we drove up to the north shore where the small town of HAWI is. It was about an hour and a half loop and on the way back we were climbing for about 15 miles through ranch land with cattle and horses to a summit of 3456 feet Then the road descended rather rapidly over a five mile stretch back to the town of Waimea. The sun was setting and from that elevation it was quite a show. The VOG in the air from the volcano turned the sun into a red ball in the sky that hung over the rugged lava flows of years gone by. It was other worldly.

I might have to actually turn on the TV and see what’s going on with the volcano. It is hazy already this morning. This is the same volcano, Kilauea, who chased away the hurricanes this summer when I was here with the girls. Two hurricanes and two earth quakes in one week and it didn’t seem to faze anyone. After all we were still in paradise.

What makes this island so special is the diversity. From the volcano in the south and cattle ranching in the north, white and black sand beaches and moonscapes where the lava from old eruptions cover the earth. The snow on the top of Mauna Kea, which means white mountain in Hawaiian, has ski runs on it which we could see from our vantage point on the west coast yesterday and yet it was 27 degrees where we were.

The sun is shining and it promises to be another warm sunny day. Take care everyone.

I am back in Hawaii. I love it here. The weather is perfect. The food is good. Everything is good. It is truly paradise.

I figured out that I have been coming here at least once a year since 2003. In fact I was here a year ago and in August this year. It is not my second home but I am becoming quite familiar with all there is to know about the Big Island. Tonight we were at Roy’s for dinner. Wow. Always excellent food and great service.

WE also took a drive to HAWI at the north end of the island and drove back over the mountain through Parker Ranch territory. A little adventure to keep things interesting is often necessary. WE shopped at my favourite store … Tommy Bahamas and spent sometime at the pool.. All in all a great day.

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.