Nancy Love’s Weblog

This morning we found ourselves anchored of Rodney Bay. It was pouring rain. Breakfast was served below deck in the dining room rather than at the top of the yacht. It was pouring. We along with a few other brave souls, took umbrellas and boarded the tender for town. The rain was torrential. We got to town and were lead down a road through puddles and across raging rivers to a shopping mall. We bought a few trinket including dry shoes. And took a taxi back. The taxi headed the wrong way and then promptly turned around in the middle of a very busy road when we suggested he was going the wrong way. Apparently we didn’t want the cruise ship we wanted the marina. We had forgotten that we were “Yachting not Cruising”.

It was pouring rain still. We waited for the tender under or now less than effective umbrellas. The wind had come up so the rain was coming in sideways. Safely back aboard Sea Dream I, we had a nice lunch. Our fellow travelers asked what we had seen in Rodney Bay. My honest answer was my wet feet and the inside of my umbrella and a few cars as they passed us on the road. We sailed at 3:00 along the island to Soufriere where we are now.

Last night’s meal was spectacular and I’m sure it will be tonight as well. Afterward we sang at the piano bar which was tons of fun. There at people from 11 countries on board. Among them are 19 Canadians. Some, like me, are wearing their poppies. I hope to meet them all before we are finished.

Tomorrow we head south …. Again. Take care everyone.

Friendly, fresh and French. Warm sea, lush mountains and beautiful beaches. We had a walk down the beach, beers with the locals and did some shopping.

I loved the opportunity to speak French.

Yesterday was our first day aboard ship and it was great. Sea Dream 1 is a replica of Sea Dream 11 or the other way around. The ship was familiar although the crew was not. We enjoyed a welcome aboard drink of champagne, cocktails and then dinner in the dining room after our sail away. I love that part where you leave the port to sail to the next. The overnight sail reminded me of the dark and stormy nights of poetry from a long time ago. It was stormy and rough.

This morning as people got into the water to swim off the back of the boat the surface current had taken some relatively strong swimmers away from the boat. The zodiac had to go and get them. It was a little tense because meanwhile some others had left and swam the other direction and also had to be helped back to the boat. I am sure the zodiac driver was stressed although the swimmers I talked to after didn’t seem to be too bothered. They were experienced and knew to stay calm and wait for help.

Tonight we have been invited to dine with the ship’s doctor. It should be fun. I bought a new fancy dress for the occassion. Talk to you tomorrow.

What a great place. The Bajans are friendly and the island is beuatiful. The sand is like powder and the sea is BLUE. Island life at its best. We are staying at a great hotel and will board our ship tomorrow to visit other islands in the region. On the plane from Toronto we meet a Bajan who was a very proud ambassador for his country even though he lives in Winnipeg and has for many years. He taught us a lot about the island, what to expect and what to be aware of. I was struck by how the way he differentiated his country from other islands was by using the same criteria and distinctions as I had heard used in Jamaica and St Thomas and St Croix. ” Our water is good.” “We invented Rum.” “Ours is the best fish.” ” Our people are friendlier and they love tourists.” ” Our beaches are for everyone.” It struck me how I do the same thing boasting about what makes Canada canadian and wondered if those same claims made other countries unique … if you know what I mean.

We had dinner with friends tonight, friends I have traveled with before on the Sea Dream. It was a nice evening in the moonlight on the beach. Good food and drink and conversation. Tomorrow we get to unpack for a while. I used to live out of a suitcase for weeks at a time but now after only two days I desperately want to hang things up and sort them in drawers to see what I actually brought. Did I tell you that I bought a bigger suitcase in the end to get everything in.

More insight tomorrow. And as the Bajans say … Good night! (smile)

Today is a day to give thanks. Thanks Giving is a verb and the cool thing about it is if you give you often get back in return. Reciprocity is one of my favourite words. We get back what we give. Sometimes we think we are getting stuff we don’t want from others because they are mean or rude or something else less than pleasant but often we have treated them or someone else like that. What goes around comes around as they say. Although we may have inadvertently taken rather than given in a conversation or a social exchange and we may not have intentionally cut someone off when they were speaking, or allowed our thoughts to wander instead of listening to someone else’s story, that kind of behaviour gets returned to us just as surely as gratitude comes back to us when we give it away.

Today is a reminder to think about how we treat others, who we might be taking for granted and to also notice who thanks you for being a part of their life and how you may have earned that thanks. Get into the act of thanks giving and you will be amazed what comes back to you. Give the gift of listening. Offer a space to be heard. Provide a shoulder to cry on or an ear to be bent. It’s always worth the time it takes for you and for them. Give thanks for the opportunity to be there for someone. Who knows … one day you may need the reciprocal services you provide today.

Smile and listen deeply. There are no better gifts.

Today I had a call from someone interested in taking our PULSE level 2 course.  It is the second 40 hours of mediation training using the PULSE Frame.  We haven’t had much call to offer it lately so it is exciting to see some renewed interest.  Anyone with a basic mediation course could register and if we get enough interest we will offer it sometime in late November.There is some flexibility for us to set up the first 2 days as an online program though Jig saw box and have participants come to the St Albert Office for the 3 day intensive practice sessions.

Please send an email to me at nancylove@pulseinstitute.com if you are interested.

I find myself looking for ways to help individuals get what they need lately.  Coaching and one on one teaching and training conversations provide me with the kind of opportunities to share ways to improve social exchanges in real time.  Our society is moving that way.  Everything is on demand.  Why not training?  I like it.  Individualized learning is not new.  Tell me what you need to learn and I will help you.  If you are working toward credentialing as a coach or mediator, I can help you with that.  If you want to improve your leadership skills I can help you with that.  If you want to improve relationships and conversations at home or at work I can help you with that.  If you want to become a well rounded confident, courageous, competent, compassionate person I can help you with that.  If you and I can’t figure out how to get you to where you are going then I will help you find someone who can.

Teachers have been providing individualized programs for students for years.  Always a teacher, I am moving toward providing that service to my grown up clients.  It’s exciting and practical.  Client directed learning. Contact me today!!!!

Good friends. Cousins. Good food. Great music. Home.

I am sure that most people have a place that they go to where they immediately feel at home. For me it is here in the Maritimes. Of course I was born and mostly raised here so it is familiar, but there is more than that. It’s the salt air. It’s the friendly chatter at the Walmart. It’s the cadence of the language and the stories in the songs. It’s the laughter and the smiles and the people that share them with each other.

I had a chance to attend a show at the Tidnish Community Hall this week. “The Elderly Brothers” was a story and concert performed by local musicians and actors worthy of the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton. The Everley Brothers would have been proud of the harmonized vocals, the guitar riffs and the gently told story of their life.

Everywhere in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI talented people play to small audiences on a regular basis. For twenty dollars you can be thoroughly entertained. For another twenty you can have an absolutely magnificent lobster meal, chowder and all you can eat muscles and salad bar and a medium sized lobster. Don’t forget dessert. Pies and crumbles to die for.

Today it is time to go home, back to Alberta, back to my family. I am taking with me wonderful memories that will sustain me until next time. When I return it will be familiar again. Not much changes here and I am glad it doesn’t. The ocean waves, the wind in the trees will be here forever calling those of us who have had the experience back for more.

The Territory is more, much more than the Map.

My girls and I are back on the big island for our mother daughter trip. It is beautiful here. It is relaxing and each time I come I feel more at home. My goal is to learn a few more hawaiian words this trip.

We head home today. Those of you following my girls on face book know we had a great time. WE hunkered down for Iselle but aside from a little wind and rain this side of the Island was spared any damaging impact. It wasn’t so bad. I learned a new card game.

It isn’t just the beauty of Hawaii that calls me back. it is the feeling in the air. The negative ions I have written about before. It has the right recipe for relaxation … equal parts sunshine, salt water and air, palm trees and a sprinkling of birds.

This week provided a stark reminder of what might happen if the weather changes. The south side of Hawaii got hit. It reminded me of last year in Calgary. People without power or water living in shelters. I wish a shorter recovery time for the Hawaiians. I know that many people in southern Alberta are still licking their wounds even a year later.

Sending Aloha to everyone.