Nancy Love’s Weblog

Sochi has begun.  Vancouver is fading into the history books.

I was cleaning out some files today and came across a piece of paper with the The Jenn Heil Collection on it.  In Vancouver I bought a necklace with five rings designed by olympian Jenn Heil who is from Spruce Grove not far from here.  There are five different styles and sizes of rings attached to the necklace and each represents something different.  The first ring represents the dream.  It is a soft cloud like texture symbolizing the creation of a dream and it serves to hold that chains that the other rings drop from.

The second ring symbolizes focus.  It looks more like a tiny target representing the precise concentration required to hit the mark.  The third ring is a little bigger and it represents team.  It has a braided design that illustrates the power of many working together as a team.  The next one is a little larger still and represents courage.  It is thicker and stronger to represent the courage it takes to compete.  The last one is the largest.  It has a bubbly design meant to symbolize the feeling of joy that participation brings.

It takes all of these, a dream, focus, team, courage and joy, to create an olympian and an olympic games.  I wish those athletes competing in Sochi and their coaches the very best experience ever.  I also take off my hat to the organizers, the volunteers and the thousands of people who have contributed to these important games in a multitude of ways.

My heart is with the Canadians.  Go Canada go!

When we talk about life after death we are usually talking about our own experiences beyond this life.  Today for me this phrase has new meaning.  It is inviting me to consider what to do now that my mother has gone on. “Gone on” is a Newfoundland saying that my family has used forever. I like it. To me it means they might come back. Who knows if that is true. the after life is a mystery but experiences similar and shared by those who have come back from a near death experience do make you wonder.

Meanwhile back here in the earthly realm we struggle with creating a new normal that doesn’t include our loved one. It’s wierd. Right now its like she left on vacation except that she has left behind all of her expectations for us, reminders to sit up straight and to eat your vegetables and watch your weight and get an education and a good job. You never really are free of the voice in your head …. your mother’s voice.

SHIFT in this post mother world is a little different for me. I am not feeling Sharp or on top of things. I am feeling scattered and fuzzy headed. I am not necessarily Happy. In fact waves of deep sadness catch me unawares from time to time. I am not feeling Independent. I have depended heavily on friends and family in the past week and will continue to for a while. I am not feeling Fit. I have not exercised or eaten properly lately. Although my mother believed in a higher power, I am not feeling Trusting. My world was turned upside down and I need time to understand the wisdom, the necessity of this event right now.

SHIFT happens both ways, up and down the knuckles. I am comforted by the base of understanding it provides in a suddenly unfamiliar place. I am comforted by the knowledge that I have been better and will be again … just not right now.

Thank you to everyone who has sent condolences and thoughts and prayers. I really do appreciate the support.

Last night I went on a Sunset Cruise down the Kona Coast. There was an historian and a guitar player on board. It was magical.

We went to the Captain Cook Monument and heard the story of how he was greeted by the natives and then, upon his return, stabbed and killed there by the same people. The wall behind the monument is full of caves that, legend has it, are full of the bones of the Alii or Royal family. It is a sacred place and as our boat quietly sat in the bay a school of dolphins joined us to play in the waters. It was very humbling and inspiring.

The swells were big last night and the waves were crashing into the lava cliffs all along the shore on the way back. The sun was setting and the wind came up so we donned our hoodies and watched the waters as we listened to the amazing guitar music of LT Smooth. Then a spout … no two …. and then a tail ….. no two … and then the most beautiful full breech of a whale I have ever seen only two or three hundred meters off of the starboard bow. EXCITING. Then the baby tried three or four times. It was awesome. What a show … and all to the stylized mellow songs of Neil Young and U2 and others. MAGICAL.

My friend Donna and I have been meaning to look up the significance of the call of the ocean. She had heard something about the health benefits of being by the sea related to negative ions. This morning I looked it up and found it interesting to learn of the effect on mood and health by the negative charges released by crashing waves and water falls etc. Negative ions are the antidote to free radicals. Who knew? No wonder. The sea calls us to heal us from our modern lifestyles. How nice.

I am fortunate to have been born by the sea and to have an opportunity each year to return to Hawaii for my dose of negative ions. In Alberta we have few places where waves crash or where water falls to create this mood enhancing phenomena. I am not sure how SNOW fits in. It is a form of water which is where the ions come from. Maybe there are also benefits as long as you venture out into it. What I know for sure is that there are a lot of Canadians here right now. In fact we ran into a couple I know from Calgary last night. It was one of those “OMG” moments.

All of us can benefit from water falling, even in the shower. Water can make us whole. It is the first medicine … inside and out. It improves all of our faculties and intelligences and enhances our well being on all of the scales. Use water to RENEW and SHIFT.