This past weekend, we spent some time in Montreal Quebec with new friends. It was initially hard to let go of our 4th of July picnic ritual with "old" friends but we were looking for something different.
And different we found!
I had volunteered with the husband (Claude) a couple of years ago at a personal development training. I had briefly met his wife (Chantal) but didn't know her well. Chris had never met either of them. So we were taking a chance when I called up and asked them if they wanted visitors for the weekend.
Knowing Claude's personality, I was pretty sure he would welcome guests - and I was right. They opened their home and we had a blast. While we found out we had so much in common (business owners, like-minded, self development focused, etc.), there were some things they do as activities that we decided to try.
Mini-bowling - Chris is a great bowler and I have some fun but we had never tried anything like mini-bowling. The pins are half-size and the ball is about the size of a bocce ball with no holes for your fingers. When you bowl, you palm the ball and get into a low crouch - like in the sport curling - and release the ball. It was challenging (do 60 lunges and you'll see) and a lot of fun trying something new.
Biking - okay, so this wasn't brand new but it had been a long time since either Chris or I had ridden a bike. Thankfully, it's true - you don't forget. Although our legs were already tired from bowling, we headed down to the St. Lawrence River for some sightseeing.
Montreal Jazz Festival - Rochester has a great Jazz Festival but Montreal's was about 5 times the size of ours. They had three main stages all facing different directions with shows simultaneously. It was great energy, great music, and lots of walking on our already sore legs.
Mini-trampoline - Claude and Chantal are in great shape (if you haven't figured that out by now) and one of their favorite activities is using their mini-trampoline. We tried it and it was fun and quickly tiring on our now jello-like legs.
We got home exhausted but refreshed. New friends, new activities, and with a new mini-trampoline in our living room!!!
Showing posts with label self development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self development. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
So you think you're enlightened?
Years ago, I took several courses through a well known self development company. I was very impressed with the facilitators of the seminars – especially how they handled people who became upset or angry during a process.
They never got triggered or upset themselves. Even when people personally attacked them, they remained calm, present, almost detached. I became so enthralled with one leader in particular, I asked her about this trait they all seemed to possess.
She said to me “Do you know what the difference is between you and these seminar leaders?” I waited for the profound piece of wisdom she was about to impart.
“They get over it faster.”
Get over what? Anything. Upset, anger, fear, guilt, embarrassment. It’s not that they don’t feel any of these things. They are human after all. It’s just that they get over it – fast.
I’ve learned that the path to enlightenment doesn’t necessarily require sitting cross-legged on a mountain top or months spent in an ashram in India. It actually requires living in and among others and learning from every interaction we have.
As many of us know, awareness is the first step to change. So to with enlightenment.
Most of us also know that we first become aware of our “stuff” after the fact. We have an argument and in the heat of battle, we lose our perspective. It’s not until later when we’ve cooled off that we start to see things a little clearer.
Hindsight really is 20/20.
Insight happens in the moment. Just as you’re about to get triggered, you recognize that the conversation you’re having is in a downward spiral, so you choose to change it. You either walk away, take a deep breath, or decide not to react.
Foresight is the ability to see the words, triggers, and hot buttons ahead of time and avoid them. It’s understanding that our emotions come from our thoughts and being able to observe our thoughts from an objective perspective.
Enlightenment (or a large part of it) is possessing insight and foresight. Staying present, an observer of what’s happening, in control of your thoughts.
If you’re just starting to play with this idea of enlightenment – you will most likely begin with developing hindsight – and that’s exactly where you should start.
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They never got triggered or upset themselves. Even when people personally attacked them, they remained calm, present, almost detached. I became so enthralled with one leader in particular, I asked her about this trait they all seemed to possess.
She said to me “Do you know what the difference is between you and these seminar leaders?” I waited for the profound piece of wisdom she was about to impart.
“They get over it faster.”
Get over what? Anything. Upset, anger, fear, guilt, embarrassment. It’s not that they don’t feel any of these things. They are human after all. It’s just that they get over it – fast.
I’ve learned that the path to enlightenment doesn’t necessarily require sitting cross-legged on a mountain top or months spent in an ashram in India. It actually requires living in and among others and learning from every interaction we have.
As many of us know, awareness is the first step to change. So to with enlightenment.
Most of us also know that we first become aware of our “stuff” after the fact. We have an argument and in the heat of battle, we lose our perspective. It’s not until later when we’ve cooled off that we start to see things a little clearer.
Hindsight really is 20/20.
Insight happens in the moment. Just as you’re about to get triggered, you recognize that the conversation you’re having is in a downward spiral, so you choose to change it. You either walk away, take a deep breath, or decide not to react.
Foresight is the ability to see the words, triggers, and hot buttons ahead of time and avoid them. It’s understanding that our emotions come from our thoughts and being able to observe our thoughts from an objective perspective.
Enlightenment (or a large part of it) is possessing insight and foresight. Staying present, an observer of what’s happening, in control of your thoughts.
If you’re just starting to play with this idea of enlightenment – you will most likely begin with developing hindsight – and that’s exactly where you should start.
---
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