• 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
​[email protected]

Breathtaking Moments

4/1/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
We all live for those special moments, the breathtaking ones.   We hear people use phrases like, ‘It was breathtaking!’.   I had my breath taken away last week.  This time, it was not a mountaintop sunrise, not a gift of jewels, nor an epic trip, just pneumonia.  Garden variety pneumonia.  And it really has been breathtaking.  Needless to say, this has given me some time to think.  My mind keeps rolling around this idea of breathtaking.

I understand our common use of this word to mean incredibly beautiful, or exciting or even surprising.  This week, because my view of the world was so biased, I began to think I would be alright without too many breathtaking times in my life.  What I’ve been craving are breath giving, life giving moments. 

Let me give you some background on me.  I’m not exciting.  I love routine.  I struggle with being surprised.  I love to be self-sufficient and competent.  I enjoy hard work.  I’m not the life of the party.  I don’t like crowds but I do love people.  I don’t crave danger and I don’t even like the edge, never mind living on it! And yet I love having my breath taken away.

I’ve been making a mental list of things that take my breath away.  Everyone has such a list. None of ours are exactly the same.  Breathtaking moments are so personal.  Some that make my list are:

 Standing in the silence of nature.

 Listening to a piece of music that makes tears roll down my cheeks.

Listening to Andy count to four this week. Four cows.  Lots of people can count to four.  But knowing he is healthy, and  happy, and achieving normal milestones, is overwhelmingly breathtaking.

Climbing a mountain and standing with our group, not saying a word, but breathing in the friendship, the beauty, and    the unspoken majesty.

Hearing Ben giggle uncontrollably when he hears a funny phrase, exactly the same way his mommy did a lifetime ago.
Singing with my sisters.

Listening to snippets of life stories of others, and understanding the value of the gift of their trust.

Being perfectly in-step with my dancing sisters as we execute one of our long-practiced dances.  Looking down the line  I’m in and catching the eye of another dancer as we joyfully delight in the fact that our bodies can still perform magic.    This is breathtaking.

A perfect moment in a classroom, with everyone focused together, the thoughts and sounds of the outside world silenced but for a moment.

Sitting at a crowded table with our family, sharing laughter and food together.

Crossing the finish line of a race with my son, Greg.

Sitting in a hospital room sharing memories, hopes, dreams and fears.

Sitting with my cousins in my cousin Brians barn.

Watching my children, now adults, enjoy each others company.

Going for a horse drawn sleigh ride in the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Holding a hand.  Sometimes the comfort of Jim’s large hand, sometimes the pure bliss of one much smaller.

A few minutes of conversation with Shirley as we wander around her farm.

Watching Kaitlyn navigate being a mother with such grace.

Biking with my brother.

These are but a few.  For me breathtaking moments have never cost much money.  They aren’t often showy.  Most often, a passerby would not know I was having my breath taken away. 

This week, even though I was resisting having my breath literally taken away from me, I understood why such moments are so important.  It is only when all the breath has been sucked out of our lungs, that the perfect conditions are created to fill them again, to renew us, to breathe in new life, to be filled up.

We were visiting Shirley this week with Ben and Andy.  We always take some cookies to share with the guys working there.  When it’s cookie time, we head to the shop and everyone takes time to have a cookie and visit with Ben and Andy.  As we were leaving, we said goodbye and thank you.  Tiny Andy, not quite two, is learning to string together two, sometimes three, words.  He needs to pause between each word, taking a little breath and making each quiet, little word distinct and important. Codey, who always has time to show Ben the latest project he’s working on, said goodbye.  Andy giving a little wave said, “Bye-bye             Codey”.  Such a sweet and gentle moment between a tiny boy and a kind, kind man.  Breathtaking.

I wish for you breathtaking moments in the upcoming weeks.  I’m going to take next week away from writing to fill my lungs and take time to notice the breathtaking moments in my world.

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 and has expertise in facilitating Strategic Plans for organizations. Contact Elizabeth to learn how to notice breathtaking moments.
 
 
 
 

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

    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    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