I’m out of sorts this week. Not crabby, not sick, just unsettled. I suspect many Canadians are feeling the same. Powerless isn’t a feeling I often seek. Truth be told, I never seek it. No matter what the situation, I always find some way to stand in at least a small piece of power. This week though, the whiplash of the news cycle is happening so quickly, it’s difficult not to feel dizzy, and somewhat powerless. That alone would be plenty to manage, but for many of us, there is the additional challenge of feeling betrayed by a lifelong friend.
No wonder I’m off.
Over the past weeks, I’ve read quite a few articles written by economic experts, and current and former politicians of all stripes. A common theme seems to be that we do have power. The big moves, of course, need to be left for those in elected office. But we have little pebbles we can throw. We can choose to buy Canadian, choose our holiday destinations differently, and knowing that most of us share that ‘off’ feeling, we can choose kindness. These are our pebbles. And pebbles make ripples and ripples change things.
This Tuesday, our hiking group was finally able to get back on the trails after missing the entire month of February. The weather had been so cold, it was simply too dangerous to consider heading outside for any length of time longer than a few minutes. We’ve missed those Tuesdays. We miss the exercise and the incredible beauty we are fortunate to walk in, but we’ve also missed being together. We miss our talks, we miss catching up on each other’s lives, we miss supporting one another. Each of us have busy lives and families, and none escape the regular ups and downs of life. We love that as we walk we can share our joys and sorrows, our win and our losses, our challenges and our accomplishments.
Sometimes we arrive at a trailhead holding what feels like a boulder but before too many kilometres are underfoot, the boulder shrinks, and shrinks some more, until we are upright again. We each know how lucky we are. We do not take our time together for granted.
This past week we were in a quandary about where to hike. There are enough hiking trails within a two- hour drive of our homes to last us a lifetime, even if we never repeated any. However, at this time of year we need to choose carefully. Some trailheads are not available to us due to winter road closures, so obviously we weren’t considering those this past week. However, the ones closer to home had just received some a covering of slushy snow, and that, along with last weeks spring like conditions were no doubt going to be an exercise in dodging ankle deep slush and mud puddles, so we chose to avoid those too. The ones higher up in the mountains, sit in places of deep snow. This is avalanche time, so those too are off our list for a while. We landed on a beautiful little hike near Canmore to fill us with mountains, keep us safe, and keep our feet dry.
The Grassi Lakes hike is short but spectacular. At the top are two small lakes, surrounded by mountains. This alone is beautiful. However, the real beauty of the lakes is created by the minerals found in the waters. These paint the waters with emerald green and blues, and even to the naked eye, they look like priceless paintings. I was surprised the lake had open water. Despite the warmth of the past week, we’d just come off a week of frigid weather and most lakes are still ice-covered. But luckily for us, these were not and the colours were in full splendour.
There were very few hikers there on Tuesday. And none who were compelled to throw pebbles into the water to see the ripples. I was glad, since when the water is glass-like the reflection of the mountains is breathtaking. As we made our way around the lake to the far side a small breeze came up. The smooth lake was affected, and little ripples began to form. On this side of the lake there happened to be final bit of winter’s ice along the edge, about two metres in width. As I watched the ripples come across the lake, I thought to myself that the ripples would be stopped when they reached that ice. Since I’d also been thinking about the ripples we were trying to make with our ‘buy Canadian’ movement, I felt a bit badly that the ripples would stop. I’d been taught that when you throw a pebble in a lake, it makes ripples, and they go on and on and on. We were taught that we never know how far our actions will reach. But here I was at Grassi Lakes, about to have those old teachings disproven. Sure enough, the ripples reached the edge of the ice and stopped. They didn’t bounce back out toward the middle of the lake, they just stopped.
For just a minute.
As I watched, the ripples that couldn’t move the ice from the edge, must have weaseled their way underneath, and soon little bits of water bubbled up in various spots on top of the ice. As more ripples came, more tiny bits of water appeared. The ice was not flooded over, the whole mass of it did not shift, but the ice absolutely felt the effect of those tiny ripples. Such relief. Those ripples do make a difference.
There are so many ways to make ripples in our lives. Most of them cost nothing, take very little time, and can move even the most rigid objects. I, like most Canadians, am committed to making ripples by my choice in purchases, by standing up for my country, and by wearing my little red maple leaf pin. But there are so many other ways we can make ripples. We can remember that this is a difficult time for everyone. We can ask how a cashier is doing, we can invite a friend for a coffee or a walk, we can make a phone call, say hi to a stranger, sing in the car, offer to help with a project, sit quietly with someone who needs us, and in the case of our hiking group, go on a hike and share our pictures. We can watch our words when we talk about our American neighbours, after all, it is not the American people who are responsible for the mess. We might only see the beginnings of the ripples, but I know for sure that sometimes, those tiny little ripples cause changes in even the hardest of objects.
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 make ripples.
No wonder I’m off.
Over the past weeks, I’ve read quite a few articles written by economic experts, and current and former politicians of all stripes. A common theme seems to be that we do have power. The big moves, of course, need to be left for those in elected office. But we have little pebbles we can throw. We can choose to buy Canadian, choose our holiday destinations differently, and knowing that most of us share that ‘off’ feeling, we can choose kindness. These are our pebbles. And pebbles make ripples and ripples change things.
This Tuesday, our hiking group was finally able to get back on the trails after missing the entire month of February. The weather had been so cold, it was simply too dangerous to consider heading outside for any length of time longer than a few minutes. We’ve missed those Tuesdays. We miss the exercise and the incredible beauty we are fortunate to walk in, but we’ve also missed being together. We miss our talks, we miss catching up on each other’s lives, we miss supporting one another. Each of us have busy lives and families, and none escape the regular ups and downs of life. We love that as we walk we can share our joys and sorrows, our win and our losses, our challenges and our accomplishments.
Sometimes we arrive at a trailhead holding what feels like a boulder but before too many kilometres are underfoot, the boulder shrinks, and shrinks some more, until we are upright again. We each know how lucky we are. We do not take our time together for granted.
This past week we were in a quandary about where to hike. There are enough hiking trails within a two- hour drive of our homes to last us a lifetime, even if we never repeated any. However, at this time of year we need to choose carefully. Some trailheads are not available to us due to winter road closures, so obviously we weren’t considering those this past week. However, the ones closer to home had just received some a covering of slushy snow, and that, along with last weeks spring like conditions were no doubt going to be an exercise in dodging ankle deep slush and mud puddles, so we chose to avoid those too. The ones higher up in the mountains, sit in places of deep snow. This is avalanche time, so those too are off our list for a while. We landed on a beautiful little hike near Canmore to fill us with mountains, keep us safe, and keep our feet dry.
The Grassi Lakes hike is short but spectacular. At the top are two small lakes, surrounded by mountains. This alone is beautiful. However, the real beauty of the lakes is created by the minerals found in the waters. These paint the waters with emerald green and blues, and even to the naked eye, they look like priceless paintings. I was surprised the lake had open water. Despite the warmth of the past week, we’d just come off a week of frigid weather and most lakes are still ice-covered. But luckily for us, these were not and the colours were in full splendour.
There were very few hikers there on Tuesday. And none who were compelled to throw pebbles into the water to see the ripples. I was glad, since when the water is glass-like the reflection of the mountains is breathtaking. As we made our way around the lake to the far side a small breeze came up. The smooth lake was affected, and little ripples began to form. On this side of the lake there happened to be final bit of winter’s ice along the edge, about two metres in width. As I watched the ripples come across the lake, I thought to myself that the ripples would be stopped when they reached that ice. Since I’d also been thinking about the ripples we were trying to make with our ‘buy Canadian’ movement, I felt a bit badly that the ripples would stop. I’d been taught that when you throw a pebble in a lake, it makes ripples, and they go on and on and on. We were taught that we never know how far our actions will reach. But here I was at Grassi Lakes, about to have those old teachings disproven. Sure enough, the ripples reached the edge of the ice and stopped. They didn’t bounce back out toward the middle of the lake, they just stopped.
For just a minute.
As I watched, the ripples that couldn’t move the ice from the edge, must have weaseled their way underneath, and soon little bits of water bubbled up in various spots on top of the ice. As more ripples came, more tiny bits of water appeared. The ice was not flooded over, the whole mass of it did not shift, but the ice absolutely felt the effect of those tiny ripples. Such relief. Those ripples do make a difference.
There are so many ways to make ripples in our lives. Most of them cost nothing, take very little time, and can move even the most rigid objects. I, like most Canadians, am committed to making ripples by my choice in purchases, by standing up for my country, and by wearing my little red maple leaf pin. But there are so many other ways we can make ripples. We can remember that this is a difficult time for everyone. We can ask how a cashier is doing, we can invite a friend for a coffee or a walk, we can make a phone call, say hi to a stranger, sing in the car, offer to help with a project, sit quietly with someone who needs us, and in the case of our hiking group, go on a hike and share our pictures. We can watch our words when we talk about our American neighbours, after all, it is not the American people who are responsible for the mess. We might only see the beginnings of the ripples, but I know for sure that sometimes, those tiny little ripples cause changes in even the hardest of objects.
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 make ripples.
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