• Home
  • About
    • Elizabeth: Personally
    • Education Certifications Affiliations
  • Coaching
    • Educational Coaching
    • Non-Profit Coaching
    • Executive Coaching
    • Leadership Coaching
    • Group/Team Coaching >
      • Sample Workshops
    • One-to-One Coaching
  • Testimonials
  • Media
  • Africa Project
  • Blog
Critchley Coaching
Contact Elizabeth
403.256.4164
​critche@telus.net

Are We Nuts?

12/19/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
One of my favourite activities of this Fall and Winter seasons has been my weekly hikes in the mountains.  Blessed to live less than an hour from the first range of the Rocky Mountains, I’ve been exploring this incredible landscape at least once, and often twice each week.  I’ve embraced each chance I’ve had to wander these lands.

Each Tuesday morning, backpack packed and layered up, I leave home just before the sun is up and head west.  By the time I arrive at our agreed upon trailhead, morning has broken.  For absolutely no reason I can think of, after all this year hasn’t exactly blessed any of us with four-leafed clovers, Tuesdays have all dawned sunny and relatively warm.  When you live in part of the country where temperatures in the mid minus twenties are common, to be able to hike in December is not something to be taken lightly.  Week after week, my hiking partner, Brenda, and I, have been amazed that we have been able to continue our ritual. 

I love the physical challenge of the hikes.  I love the feeling of a sore, worn-out, well-used (all in a good way) body at the end of each hike.  I also love the feeling of peace that comes over me as we walk along.  Most often this season, our weekly hikes have been in the range of ten to thirteen kilometres.  They take a full morning to complete, as we climb on the outbound route and carefully descend on the return.  This past Tuesday, the morning was crisp but due to warm up.  Brenda and I arrived at one of the parking lots we have sometimes used.  It was Brenda’s week to choose the hike and she had a few for us to pick from.  She offered that we ‘just do nine or ten’ if that’s what I felt like.  Alternatively, she’d found one that looked to be about sixteen kilometres.  It didn’t take me long to sign up for the longer hike.  The more I have on my mind, the more miles I need to walk through it!

As we headed up the first trail, which would eventually meet with a second one, Brenda asked, “Are we nuts?”  Without a second’s hesitation, I replied, “No!”  And so, we marched on.  The question wasn’t without merit.  This was a long distance.  We had covered this length of hike before, but not in the winter, and not in snow covered conditions.  There were no tracks to follow, and the trail, while easy to follow in some places, was not marked at all in others.

The trail took us up over double the elevation we have been used to and we were both puffing as we climbed one hill after the other.  Three times Brenda asked, “Are we nuts?”  Three times came my easy, “No!”  It was only on the fourth time being questioned, that while I still gave my same, truthful, reply, did I start to wonder if we might be.  It was two o’clock and we still had at least seven kilometres to cover.  Dark comes early in Alberta.  We needed to be off the trail by around four o’clock.  It was completely doable, and neither of us were worried, but we had no window for dilly dallying, taking pictures, or for mis-reading our map.

Here is the truth.  Most people I know do think I’m nuts for doing things like this.  I don’t know anyone else who thinks this is fun.  Neither do I know anyone who thinks my biking trips with Rhonda sound like fun.  Sometimes people tell us to our faces, “You guys are nuts!”  Other times they smile and nod, and I’m sure later say to someone else, “They must be nuts!”

I got this same reaction when I was long distance running.  Most people think marathoners are nuts.  The same thoughts are had when I tell a group of young teenagers that they and I might be able to build some classrooms in Kenya.   I must be nuts.  When our dance group, in non-Covid years, dresses up in wacky costumes to perform for seniors, we get looks letting us know others think we are nuts.  But the seniors never do.  And we love being nuts together.

Finally, finally, I have hit a place in life when I’m really quite delighted with being nuts.  It’s a wonderful part of my life.  No life should be without some nuts.

When we are nuts, we are doing things that speak to our own souls.  These are things that matter to us individually.  Nuts things make us feel alive.  They are often a bit off the beaten path for others.  Nuts things are the things we will remember long into our twilight years.  I’m not concerned about being nuts, I’m worried I won’t have enough years left to do all the nuts things I want.

This Christmas will not look like any of the others we have had, nor will it feel normal.  I’m hoping despite that, we will find some ways to go nuts with those we love.  Our family can’t have Christmas dinner together like we had hoped, but we will figure out a way to somehow be connected on this special day.  I hope we can figure out something to do that will have others asking, “Are you nuts?”

May each of you too, find things to do that will have you asking yourselves, “Are we nuts?’

My inquiry for you this week is, “Are we nuts?”

Merry Christmas.
​
Elizabeth is a certified professional Leadership Coach, and the owner of Critchley Coaching.  She is the founder and president of the Canadian charity, RDL Building Hope Society.   She works with corporations, non-profits and the public sector, providing leadership coaching.  She creates and facilitates custom workshops for all sizes of groups. She has particular expertise in facilitating Strategic Plans for organizations. Contact Elizabeth to learn how to be nuts in your workplace, in your home and in your heart.
 
 
 
 

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Sign up below to have my blog delivered to your inbox weekly.

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    RSS Feed

    Author

    Elizabeth Critchley (CPCC, ACC) is an accredited, certified, Professional Life Coach who excels at helping motivated clients clearly define and work toward their goals, dreams and purpose.  She believes it takes the same amount of energy to create a big dream as it does to create a little dream.  She encourages her clients to dare to dream big.

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015

    Categories

    All

©2018 Elizabeth Critchley