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Wasn't Expecting That

11/22/2015

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​I heard a wonderful new song this week called, “Wasn’t Expecting That” by Jamie Lawson.  It’s gentle, pop, folksy and it tells a story of a love, from the moment of meeting until the end.  The song brought tears to my eyes.  As I listened I thought about how many times in life I have said, “I wasn’t expecting that.”
 
 I’ve said it when I’ve been anticipating something and been disappointed because it doesn’t turn out the way I envisioned.
 
But I’ve also said it, many more times, about something that turned out so much better than anything I could have possibly dreamed up.
 
The project I’m involved with in Kenya, Africa, building schools, started 5 years ago.  It was the first time I consciously allowed myself to embrace a journey without fear, knowing that I didn’t know what any of the next steps should be.  It has turned into something that I could NEVER have imagined.  This week our new children’s book, written for the project, is even being sent to the publisher.  I sure wasn’t expecting that!
 
The past 2 months I have been working with a group of women from the Tsuu T’ina Nation, a First Nations community on the edge of Calgary.  The broad goal of the program I have created is to help them gain confidence.  I prepared, I planned, I worried, I typed, I created, I revised ...  Finally, I remembered that I didn’t need to know every step and I didn’t need to know how it would turn out.  I just needed to trust that each of us is simply a person, trying to do our best, hoping that we are enough.  And with that I have met and worked with these incredible women who are overcoming life challenges that I have never dealt with.  I am not an expert in their lives, but I am connected to them in the most incredible way.  I accept them exactly as they are, and in turn, they do the same for me.  I teach them about listening to the sage inside of us and they teach me about using smoke from the sage plant to smudge – to clean their eyes so they can see clearly, to clean their ears so they can listen, to clean their mouths so they can speak with wisdom.
 
I’m not sorry I did the detailed planning but I really just needed to show up and be fully present as myself and trust that when a group of good people gather without their masks and with a common goal, magic happens.  Together we are all gaining confidence.  Wasn’t expecting that.
 
I hope that you’ll have a week filled with good things about which you can say, “Wasn’t expecting that”!
 
If you want to hear the song, ‘Wasn’t Expecting That’ go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhB5RaYrMDI
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    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.

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