Well we're at April 14 now and this is really becoming a challenge. It takes me 90 minutes usually to finish the full 7km...I can do 5 in an hour...I can find time for the hour all the time but the next thirty minutes is becoming more of a challenge. For the weekend I managed another 10 k and I'm off to do 7 now. I'll just keep on doing what I do and working the best that I can to complete this goal. Layer upon layer until the finish line is crossed. Living la vida fearless, Jan

8 km yesterday and 5 today put me up to 140 km and I'm proud of myself. I felt very drawn to my little secret place today and really felt like I had no choice but to make my way there. The waves are very strong today and I felt like I was standing at the ocean side not a lake shore. The waves are just so powerful and relentless and I was mesmerized today by their beauty and humility and strength. I am so happy to have found this place: there is something with the energy that I just have to keep going back to. That's a good thing because that makes me do a full 5 km in a return trek....Simple and easy. Going downtown tomorrow so there will be lots of walking through Kensington Market. My daughter, her boyfriend, my son and husband and both my sisters are joining me....promises to be a fun day. Living la vida fearless, Jan

140 km only 860 to go. Oh we got a donation today at the LCCT from somebody who was inspired by the walk and the need to donate to keep their doors open.....Anybody else want to help them? Call them directly, they're online and in the phone book. Lakeshore Corridor Community Team, Mississauga, Ontario.

I completed another 8 km today and I still have some day left to go. That's cool. I went out this morning despite the rain. I have come to realize that it's best to just go when I can find the time and do as much as I can at that time because there's always something that manages to get in the way if I wait. Good lessons to learn. I sat at the secret spot again today. The energy there is quite remarkable: I don't know what it is that makes it special but I can feel that it is. The essence of this place holds some great mystery and magic for me. I feel like there's something in this place for me to explore so I really enjoy centreing myself there half way through the walk. It's a really warm day all of a sudden. I had my jacket and scarf on this morning and was severely over dressed this afternoon. And that's ok with me. The flowers like it very much. That's it for now, living la vida fearless, Jan

April 8. It is just a perfect day to be outside walking. I took the puppy with me, big mistake, as she is now mid way through her first pregnancy. She's tired and doesn't want to go the full 7 km...in fact she was tired after 2km but she held out for 5 in total. We had to stop a lot and rest. But the cool thing was, on one of the stops, I decided to just park myself on the fallen trunk of an old tree that had been hit by lightning and just watch the lake. The smell of pine was very intense and there were all kinds of little chirpy birds around. It just felt like a magical spot to me and there was nobody else around. I am going to make that a destination point from now on: it just feels like home. Ever get that feeling? You're somewhere and you just feel like you belong even if you're new to the area? That's what this felt like although I do have to admit that my brother lived just yards away in an old house when he was in his early twenties so I am familiar with the area. This felt different though and I will go back often. I'm up to 119 km as of today: wohoo. Trying to raise money for the charity is tough though but I'm doing my part. Anyone willing to jump in and support Lakeshore Corridor Community Team? Call Sandy if you are, she needs your help. Me, I'm living la vida fearless today....Jan

Reflecting on Growth

As some of you may have read here I am enrolled in a certification program for my coaching. When I graduate I can officially call myself a certified co-active professional coach under the guidelines set by the International Coaching Federation. (icf)

I had some homework to do this week which caused me to sit and think about what I've learned and how I've learned. It's an interesting method of learning and I'll tell you why.

I have been involved in this program for 19 weeks now. Some days it feels like forever and other days I feel like I've just started and don't know anything at all. This is why it's important to go back and notice what learning has happened during a period of time. I began to realize that, day by day, week by week, I was learning and practising and forwarding my learning in my practise. It's like planting a seed under the ground: you water it, you nurture it, you make sure it's well fed and cared for and then you wait. You're not sure what's going on underneath the surface but suddenly, one day, a sprout appears and then a while later a stem, then a flower/vegetable,(perhaps a yummy parsnip patch) and then voila there it is. Magnificent, glorious and beautifully strong.

Now you could see this happen faster if you had a time machine or if you recorded the process on a camera and then fast forwarded the growth but that's not really how things happen is it? That's what I learned from my reflections. It takes time, you have to sit with things, you have to immerse yourself in the learning and be comfortable with "what is" at that time. I realize now that for a long time I was in the perspective of the "doing" of coaching and now I'm in the "being" of coaching. The "being" piece is much more real for me. I guess I'm kinda like the skin horse in the Velveteen Rabbit....all rubbed off and whiskers missing but real to the core.

As a coach I can see how important it is for people to sit with their learning with no attachment to whether it's good or bad, it just is. Take what you can from the actions and move from there. It's very empowering. I wish that for all of you who read this today. Grow like a sunflower, deepen your roots with nutritious food and self care so that you can steady yourself for the wind and the rain and reach your arms to the sun for warmth and love and GROW.

Thanks for listening. Living la vida fearless, Jan. www.tobeyourbest.net