Friday, August 20, 2010
Motorcycle Mama!
It seemed the time had come for me to learn to drive on two wheels. I dutifully went down to Motor Vehicles and got my “Learn to Ride” manual. Two weeks later I was the proud recipient of my learner’s permit, and two weeks after that, I was standing in front of a Honda Nighthawk 250 with 4 other people, ready to take on learning to ride these machines. We had already completed 2 evenings of classroom learning, where I not only reviewed the rules of the road, I began to deal with a lot of noise in my head that sounded a lot like “OMG, what am I doing here? This is WAY TOO DANGEROUS for me!” Because this was a safety course, there was a lot of emphasis on risk management, and how to avoid potential dangerous situations. This meant there was a lot of discussion of dangerous situations! No wonder I was beginning to have a minor freak-out. Each night after class I would drive home, keenly aware of signs, lines and potential hazards. I was beginning to drive like a biker.
On the actual riding days, we began in an enclosed parking lot. Nothing but some painted lines, some chalk drawings and a few pylons. Seemed safe enough. We began with learning how to get on a bike. Strange though it seemed at the time, there is a way, and then there is a safe way. I was beginning to see the pattern here. From mounting the bikes, we learned how to work the clutch and throttle together, slowly moving the bikes around the lot. From there it was figure 8’s and u-turns, all in first gear, all going very, very slowly. Meanwhile the noise in my head was getting louder and louder, and the pressure to get it right became so unbearable at one point, I stopped the bike, took off my helmet and burst into tears in front of my instructor. A short break, a coaching conversation by email with a good friend, some food and water, and I went back to the bike with a new attitude. This was supposed to be fun, and I wasn’t giving myself any room to experience the thrill of learning to ride. I had been too focused on getting it all perfect because of our impending trip. Inside of the coaching I received, I saw that I was afraid of disappointing Marc - if I didn’t learn enough in the course, we wouldn’t be doing a bike tour. I also saw how ridiculous that was, because really, if I wasn’t confident enough to take on a ride like we planned, I needed to be able to say that without fear of repercussion. Ultimately I knew Marc wanted me safe and alive, not lying in a ditch somewhere because I hadn’t successfully navigated a corner or something else. What I also saw was that we could still have our holiday, it would just be on 4 wheels instead of 2 and it would still be great. With a deep breath, I got back on the bike, and spent the remainder of the day focused on the instruction and putting it all together. By the end of the afternoon I was successfully making tight u-turns, gearing up and down and practicing emergency stops
Midway through Day 2, we had our ICBC Skills Assessment test. This involved riding through a course of pylons set up for slow riding, u-turns, zigzagging (so much fun!), 90 degree corners and emergency stops in 2nd gear. Although I didn’t score a perfect mark (what is that about perfection??), I did pass the first time through. My second test was now complete; all that remained was the road test.
That afternoon we went out riding on the road. Along the coastline and through the city we navigated tourists, pedestrians, buses and construction. We went around blind corners and up and down big hills. We merged onto the highway and used the off ramps. We took turns leading the group, and riding in other positions of staggered formation. Just when I was feeling super confident, I was involved in one very short moment of terror. Thank goodness for me I was the only one involved, but it was enough to have my confidence shaken, and again, have to deal with that dreaded voice (which was beginning to sound more and more like my mom every time!). A short moment to breathe, my riding buddy and I assessed the situation and got back out on the road, riding to catch up with our group. I finished the ride, but when we got back to the parking lot where we had started, I was done for the day. And when I got home, I burst into tears, allowing the shock of the incident to hit me. Talking it out with Marc, letting the tears flow, I figured I was over it. Not quite. Two days later, after a couple of sleepless nights, I was overcome with tightness in my chest and a strong urge to cry off and on throughout my workday.
Now I know that in the past, that would have been it. I would have called it quits and shut down any possibility of even riding a motorbike again. I would have blamed Marc, there would have been a fight, and I would have effectively put a wedge in my relationship, driving us apart. This time, however, I called another coach, one who drives a motorbike. He gave me an exercise to do, a meditation that would allow me to dissipate the charge of the situation. When I was finished with the exercise, I tested it by talking to Marc about it – no tightness, no tears, no charge. Later in the evening a conversation with another rider (and coach) got me to see that stuff like that happens on bikes, and it wasn’t about me or my riding skills. I woke up this morning filled with a sense of freedom and joy, and astonishment that I had actually really truly learned how to ride. What there was for me to do now was practice! Reframing my incident from “scary” to “a story to share with other riders over beer” has not only taken 95% of the charge from the incident, it has given me a new and healthy respect for motorcycles, as well as a reminder to never take my safety for granted.
So here I am - a hot, wild and powerful motorcycle mama and I have the scarf to prove it! Ride on!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Creating a Life Dreamline
I had a realization earlier this week that my sense of adventure had gone to sleep, I had become an “armchair dreamer” and I was living life in the safe lane again. This actually really distressed me as I thought I had really taken big steps forward in being powerful in life and no longer letting fear dictate what I do and don’t do. And when I reflect on what I have accomplished in the past 2 or 3 years, I can see that I really HAVE taken some pretty big steps forward. I recently completed a Masters Degree in a program I have been wanting to take for almost 15 years, I have created an amazing and wonderful relationship with the man of my dreams (and that was NOT going that way), we bought our dream home over a year ago, and I’ve taken trips to New York, the Bahamas, and Mexico. I’m also currently working on getting my motorcycle license, buying a motorbike and planning a road trip (on our bikes) throughout BC in September.
But, (there’s that word again!), it kind of occurs like those accomplishments are just business as usual for me, and I know there are things that are important to me that I have NOT done. A few days ago I had a conversation with my friend Rita about my sleepy sense of adventure and she asked if I had a written list of what I wanted out of life. You know, a bucket list. I remember starting one a couple of years ago, but after diligently writing out a short list, it got shelved and forgotten about. That’s not to say I haven’t been thinking about those things that I want out of life, I had, but I just hadn’t written them down. Funny thing is, I always think I will remember what it is I want so I don’t need to write it down (just like I thought I would remember all those sweet moments I had with my children!). Yet, when it comes time to putting pen to paper, I am hard-pressed to recall my dreams.
Rita, being someone who is a dream supporter (and someone who is always working on her own list), requested that I immediately begin writing out a list. Her instructions were just write everything down on a piece of paper, and then later, get a journal just for the list. So I did, I started writing out the list. And, true to form, I couldn’t remember all those things I knew I had said I wanted to do in my life. However, knowing I had shared some of it with Rita, I asked her to remind me of those things. (PS. this is another reason for writing your own list ongoingly. One shouldn’t rely on others to remember your own dreams!) The goal is to hit 100 items, and then while you are crossing things off, keep adding to the bottom.
So now I have my journal, and I am calling this my “Life Dreamline.” I found the original list I started a while back and transferred those dreams into the new book. I’m up to 40 items, and without realizing, I had already accomplished 4 of those things and can cross them off. I climbed the Empire State Building and attended a play on Broadway in October 2008. I got my MA in Leadership earlier this year. I started a blog. And there are 36 more items (and counting) to take on.
This is actually really fun and I’m excited to keep adding to my list. The journal travels everywhere with me, ready to be added to at a moment’s notice. Just this morning I wrote down “See the Northern Lights in Alaska.” And now that I’ve been bitten by the dreamline bug, I’d love to know, what is on your dreamline? Go ahead, write it down. Write it down and then make it happen.
PS. If you want to read about some of Rita’s list, have a look at her blog here: http://cinderitaadventures.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Return to the heat
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
I jumped...and lost (this time)
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Creating Energy
By investing the time into completing unfinished tasks, I get energized. Sounds kind of funny, doesn't it? Usually people tell me how exhausted they get just thinking about tackling all those unfinished bits of work. The truth of the matter is, it's those unfinished tasks that drain us of our energy.
I have an exercise that I learned a few years ago that helps me reduce the amount of energy suckers in my life. I make up a list of "things to complete" as the first step. Then I tackle the list. As someone who gets a secret thrill from crossing things off lists (kind of my own way of giving me a gold star), I always add a couple of items that might only take a couple of minutes to complete. Sometimes I even write down a couple of things I just completed! Check, check, check! Yup, it feels good!
The list is usually longer that I have time to finish, but I get enough accomplished (and checked off) that I am inspired to start a new list that I can tackle in the coming weeks. (No, the irony of an incomplete list isn't lost on me, and I admit to struggling with how long to make my list, but that is another story for another day...) If you struggle with lack of energy and time to take on something important in your life you should give the list a try. You might at first be dismayed at how long your list is but I promise you'll be amazed at the amount of energy you have when it'd done to spend on fun stuff.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Eating little and often
Over the past few months, I’ve been working on changing my lifetime eating habit of 3 square meals a day to eating 5-6 small meals. There’s a lot of good scientific reasoning behind my change. Eating little and often keeps your blood sugar levels stable, it’s easier for your body to process smaller amounts of food, smaller amounts going into the system means more food goes into being used as energy and less gets stored as fat, and really, it just makes good sense. If you want your car to run, you’ve got to have fuel in the tank at all times, right? Your body is no different, except that perhaps your gas tank is smaller and it needs refuelling more often.
But, trying to break a habit that is 40+ years old is difficult. I still want to serve myself large portions, and then eat everything on my plate. I still view dinner as my main meal of the day (and therefore my biggest). I noticed recently as well that I still want to skimp on breakfast (and save the calories for dinner). And honestly, eating 6 meals a day takes some serious planning time, not to mention having to deal with my co-workers teasing about the amount of dishes I wash every day at the office.
However, I am beginning to notice some good things from eating little and often. I no longer have to deal with blood sugar crashes and the accompanying tired and cranky demon that I become (for which my family is grateful!). I have more variety of tastes in my diet (I’m not one to repeat the same meal twice in one day if I can avoid it). I’m also spending more time looking at recipes and doing actual meal planning, which, surprise, surprise, is actually a lot of fun and more importantly, a big stress relief. Knowing what I am going to cook each day, and having the recipe and ingredients on hand just makes my life easier, and it wasn’t something that I did when I was eating in my old pattern.
Lately I’ve become aware of something else. I really like to eat every couple of hours, starting at about 7 am and finishing by 6. I used to stress about getting through to my next meal (how long until I can eat again??) And if I eat well during the day, the evening is no longer occupied with thoughts of food. My body has been well fuelled throughout the active part of my day, and so the after-dinner hours get spent doing something more productive than searching the cupboards for that little something I think I want.
Interrupting old habits and patterns takes awareness and a commitment. It’s not always easy to stick to the small portion sizes, or even to remember that it is time to eat. But, I know in the end, my body is happier when I eat this way, and when my body is happy, life is good!