^{View from the top of Minotaur Peak, June 2023}

"How long before I can run?" 

"It will be 6-12 months before you can resume any of your activities."

What?! Tears welled up in my eyes. 

"You athletes are so impatient. In your case, your age is working against you." 

This is the conversation I had with my surgeon the night before he put a plate an...

As the years go by, I am continually reminded that the way forward is never a straight line. Getting projects done, learning something new, overcoming an obstacle or achieving a new challenge always involve a few starts and stops, mistakes and redirection.  

The most valuable perspective I’ve learned is to remember that we get to begin again. Ever...

• I’m not sure.

• I don’t know

• I’ll wait and see

• I’m not ready yet.

• What if I’m wrong?

• What if I change my mind?

Sound familiar? The sounds of inaction. Being stuck. Immobile. 

We’ve all used these phrases at one time or another and yes, sometimes it is wise to be cautious. More often, however, comments such as the ones above are a r...

^{Photo: Carol Ward with her partner David and her daughters Nicole and Kayla (graduating)} 

Everyone has moments when they want to stop moving forward. On a run, at work, hitting a learning curve with a new skill, after a discouraging turn of events. Sometimes we take these challenges in stride. Other times we feel our resolve drain away like melted...

Stacy Eldridge worked in cybersecurity for the FBI for many years, scouring devices for evidence of criminal activity. The job was a great fit for a long time but it was an opportunity she hadn't considered pursuing until a moment of uncertainty shook her out of her comfort zone. 

You Just Need The Next Step 

 While working on her bachelor’s degr...

^{Photo: Rachel (left) and Mandy enjoying a happy moment during class.} 

"I wanted to be an RMT forever...I thought I wasn't smart enough." 

Interview and writing by Lyndsay Barrett

When Rachel McLelland enrolled in the Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) program at a college in British Columbia, she knew she was taking a huge step in her life. It w...

^{Photo credits: Debra Lee, Peter Paradise and Aria Michaels}

"In dance you have to hold your own space, but you have to know what’s going on behind you, beside you, and be graceful about it."

Shirronda Almeida, Director of the Mel King Institute in Boston Massachusetts, came to belly dance through a desire to move her body. Her passion for playful ...

When we hold too tightly to our beliefs, it’s often because we are afraid. We become defensive and resist opening our minds to new ideas or perceptions. Beliefs make a ‘known’ of the unknown. Beliefs make presumptions about what is yet to come, how it will be, what it will mean and how it will affect us. Beliefs are a way of creating order for what...

"Anything can create a positive ripple if we let it."

Life changed for Laura Beauparlant when she was hit by an impaired driver at 18, but it didn’t stop. The head-on collision shattered Laura’s femur and required 18 pins and a metal plate in her leg, as well as nine surgeries to heal. She was told the effects of the accident on her body would be ...

Gillian Chow: “I am strong. I am brave. I am free.”

This is a story about trust, learning to dance in the unknown, taking on really big goals and what’s possible with focus and determination.

“Hey Laurie! I have a favour to ask. I’m planning my Big Dance 56km run through the Bruce Trail on November 18 and I’m wondering if you’d crew for me? I’...