Disconnected But Engaged

Can you disconnect but yet still be engaged? Please don’t get me wrong, disconnect for me isn’t laying on the couch stinking but rather more of a leaving the unnecessary busyness of life in the back ground vs. at the forefront taking over and running the show.

I’ve been fortunate to be able to spend the last couple of weekends out in the mountains, my favorite place to be.  Although a weekend alone is a short time, it was made sweet with the leaving of the hustle and bustle and distractions of everyday life. I am finding for myself that a little disconnect is just what is needed for me to stay engaged.  I am very aware that it’s a slippery slope and very individual as to where that line is for each individual, this is where being very aware and in tune is key.

 I have found real growth recently in this perspective.  I have found new and renewed passions and have found myself more engaged and slowed down in individual moments that together are building toward goals I have for myself. With this realization my goals have changed a little and therefore my plans and actions. I’m not exactly sure what all the reasons are to where I find myself, maybe being tired, maybe finding a shift in priorities, maybe the realization that time is going fast and the moments I have in this place at this time are only here for this moment so I need to enjoy and relish each one.  Or maybe it’s the realization that I won’t always be capable of doing everything I am at this time or that the people in my life now are not a guarantee for a million more moments, so spend your time carefully. I have no doubt it’s the combination of all these and more.  I find as I get older with more experiences and lessons under my belt, I am starting to view things differently, maybe at 45 I’m finally starting to grow up and get a little more of this wisdom thing I’ve heard so much about. 

So at this point my disconnecting may appear to others as disengaged but I’d have to argue that that would be only an outside view and a very small picture as to where I am. I believe I am where I am meant to be right now and still moving in a forward motion, with steps back along the way.  More lessons and more growth continuing, the moment you stop learning you stop living.

Alana Regier

  http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

Pictures from last weekend up in Grande Cache, each moment treasured!  Last pic was the only guns I had to fend off the bear, never ran so fast, not sure which one of us ran faster to get away!

Lessons Along The Way

Along each journey there are a number of lessons and opportunities however it is dependent on the attitude and perspective of the person that determines what they walk away with. A bad attitude leads to a distorted perspective which leads to a diminished value of the journey.

This past weekend I had the privilege of witnessing our oldest son go after a goal he had set almost a year ago.  I watched him hit the submit button last November and saw his dedication, hard work and consistency only grow as the day approached.  His goal, actually one of a few, was to complete his first 100 miler in the Sinister 7 race in the Crowsnest pass.  Anyone familiar with this race will know it's not for the faint of heart especially when done solo. He may not have made it to the end of this gruelling 100 miles in 30 hours THIS TIME, but he learned many valuable lessons in the 90km and over 15 hrs he was trudging those mountains, rocks and roots.         

In the year preparing for this past Saturday as well as the day itself, Brandon learned lessons larger than expected. He learned the meaning of progressing wisely after an injury in May. He learnt adaptation, modification and patience in trying to heal and at the same time move in a forward direction. He learnt more about his body, what it needed and when it had had enough. He was given a gift with the opportunity to run and chat with some fellow racers that he has followed , admired and respected for quite some time. All these pieces and more made his journey one worth every ache, pain and lost toenail.     

I am completely inspired and proud at what he did accomplish but what stood out the most this race was the attitude he walked away with. Of course he would have rather been toting around the belt buckle Sunday afternoon, but seeing him make the tough but wise decision as to when he thought his body had been pushed enough, was something new for a young man who is determined, stubborn (a quality probably from his dad) and at this age where he is invincible, makes me so incredibly confident that he will continue to accomplish remarkable and extraordinary things in his life. Not only did he make the call on his own, but he did so with peace and a smile and a kind word of thanks to everyone who was a part of his journey from the volunteers handing out meatballs, the strangers ringing cowbells and to the crew that washed feet, rolled out muscles and changed up bladders and packs. He walked away with no regrets and a heart full of gratitude and to see that only makes me all the prouder. He will be back I have no doubts and I will be there to wash feet, ring bells and push him back in the bush. He has big plans and I will be grateful for every one I am able to be a part of. 

If a person stays aware and in the moment along the way to a goal I believe this is where true success is found.  You can plan, prepare and commit and yet the outcome is still unpredictable.  I can say without any hesitation this was one of the best weekends I've had in a while filled with moments I will never forget! 

Alana Regier

The Seven Best Doctors

I have heard the 7 best doctors are sunshine, fresh air, exercise, water, diet, laughter and rest. 

In looking at this list I can easily cross off sunshine being that’s where I work every day.

 Being outside every day all day allows me the opportunity to take in all the fresh air my lungs can. 

With my job and the activities I do daily I get exercise that flops me in bed every night. 

Working outside, especially in 30 above in chainsaw pants and gear has a girl drinking water till I’m ready to float away.

As for diet, thats always been a no brainer for our family as we know what you put into your body affects your output so we have always been very aware of our food intake (exception being the chocolate chips I steal while hiding in the pantry from time to time, for blood sugar purposes of course).

 I look to laugh at every opportunity I get.

And then there is the rest,  ahhhh…  this is where I fall short.

 As tired as I may be, I am not getting the amount of restful sleep I need.  I know without it my body and mind don’t function to its full capacity and that I am more prone to injury and less likely to heal and recover. So it is with this knowledge and pure exhaustion that I have finally decided it’s not worth putting off the inevitable. I have finally gone in and have a scheduled date for carpal tunnel surgery.  As quick and easy as this procedure is, less than 20 min actually, the recovery time is a bit longer.  I am to do NOTHING for 6 weeks and for other stuff 12 weeks possibly longer.  As the surgeon looked me straight in the eyes with a pulling no punches stare, he asked me point blank “Are you capable of rest and allowing yourself to heal?”  I think my family squealed to him as to my inability to sit down and do nothing, good thing my legs will still work.  I have put this off for a few years now but have finally reached the point that it’s never going to be a good time and I would rather have a better quality of rested life. As frustrating and disappointing as this may be to setting back progress on my goals, I have reached a place of realization that I want to be able to do the things I enjoy until I’m older and ricketier and I want to be able to enjoy each moment of the journey not just surviving through it with little grace and a whack load of pain.  The truth is I’m looking more to longevity in all of my training, activities and work.  Sometimes one must step back a little, get the rest and healing the body is yelling for in order to progress forward and accomplish and enjoy the things that are important to us.

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

 

Picture of the week, taken November 2017 on Brandons and mine road trip to Crowsnest Pass.  Just beautiful, no other words to describe.

Value of Team

|We are not a team because we work together.

We are a team because

We respect,

Trust and care

For each other.

We each joined the year of the I Ho Chuan for our own personal reasons; however, I believe if you were to look closely and compare ones list to another, they would most times be working towards similar goals and directions. Looking around our circle of teammates it is quite obvious that we are a group made up of very different personalities.  It is the combination of all these people put together that have the potential to make a great team with the ability to accomplish fabulous and extraordinary things. Although there are parts of a year in the I Ho Chuan that are quite individual there is a huge part that is team.  This team portion is the part that for some is more difficult than others. Those who may prefer to work it on their own and to focus solely on their own personal goals and ambitions may miss out on a big benefit of what being part of this team has to offer.  As I have found myself in a tough place personally I have been deeply touched by the reaching out of a couple of teammates.  It is the sincere reaching out, honest, respectful, caring actions that have had the power to keep me moving forward even though at a turtle pace. It is the qualities that these individuals have demonstrated that I see as true qualities that make up not only a person worthy of a black belt but one that is a gift to the world they live in.  It is even more incredible to me when the outreach of support and care comes from someone whose balancing of life does not allow them to be present at every class or event however they are more in tune and engaged than what many might recognize.

I really encourage each of us to continue or for some start reading each other’s blogs and for those not blogging, start.  Allow the entire team to be a part of your journey.  Let each member of this team know that someone has their back, that there is a group of people who care, respect and are looking out for them. The moments we believe we are the only ones struggling, the only ones who have ended up detoured, I will guarantee there is at least one of the many who make up this team who has found themselves in a similar place and who may be able to offer help.  Why struggle alone in silence when we have such a wealth of resources at our finger tips? Why not help others from our own lessons learned? 

I am truly grateful to those who have reached out to me at a time that was low and discouraging. You will never know completely how much it meant and the difference it made! You have reminded me how important it is to be aware of, watching out for and caring for those around us, whether they are there in the flesh or from a distance. Thank you thank you thank you!

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

Picture of the week, a slam on the brakes look at that barn moment!

I love old barns, old stuff of all kinds actually. Love to think of the stories they could tell!

Cutting Corners

I’m running down the trail, a long steady hill climb ahead, my feet feel like they have 50lb weights on them, I’m tired and drenched in sweat.  Three steps ahead I spot a hidden path that few use that would obviously be a short cut to my final destination allowing me to avoid the grueling hill, cut my distance to 2/3’s and land me back to the parking lot ½ hour sooner, nobody would be any the wiser.  What path do I take? Will I be okay in my own mind with knowing I took that shortcut? Will there be consequences that I haven’t considered or are not aware of at the present time? Will I regret it?

Life is full of possible shortcuts in every aspect of life, in our jobs, education, training etc etc.  The path we choose is up to us, it may be skewed and altered by others and circumstances, but ultimately we are the ones that will make the choices that will lead to the final outcome. There are those corners that we believe nobody will notice if cut but the truth is the effort and involvement we give will always show to the outside eyes whether we acknowledge that or not; what we put into something will show in the end and will continue to affect not only our immediate progress but our future accomplishments in unlikely places. To be aware of the fact that every corner cut we cheat not only ourselves and those around us is something to consider with every contemplated shortcut.  There is no better feeling than to know with every fiber of your being that you gave all you could and at the same time showed others just what they are capable of.  So one must ask themselves, what am I doing, why and how will this affect and change my life?  Am I on the path I want?

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

 

Picture of the week, looking down toward Grande Cache from powerline.  Love this place and the memories it holds.

The Same Inside and Out

I have found myself in a spot of what I first viewed as a lack of motivation, however, looking at it closer I discovered it has come down to more of a problem of a shortage of time to get done all I want to and a bit of a struggle with prioritizing what I really need to and want to do in order to sleep better at night.  For many people a little chaos in their surroundings isn’t a big deal and does not leave them sleepless at night but for others of us, being able to watch our childrens soccer game or crew our other child in his race, cut the grass, weed the flower beds (with a headlamp if required), walk the dog, clean the house, oh ya and work etc etc etc. has to be done in order to have our minds and bodies at peace. 

With winter hibernation at an end and the added stuff the season brings, my balancing act feels to be falling apart.  My day starts early and I go go go all day and at the end find there are just not enough hours no matter how hard I try, plan and schedule.  In the end I feel like I have been rushing and not getting what I truly should out of some things and not completing others with the quality I want.  No matter how much I tried to foresee what would be reasonable but yet challenging goals for my year, I cannot help but feel like I have bit off more than I can chew.  To say it plain and simple, I’m not doing well with my goals and feel like it’s turning out to be another year of struggling.  Time to reset and change my plan.  Hmmmm… where to start? 

I’m no stranger to the dips and holes and hope every year I can learn a little more to help with future success.  We talk of balance a lot in our group and with this I am constantly striving to balance my whole life, sometimes with little success.  I want the lessons I learn in the kwoon to filter out to my life outside the walls and at the same time allow the lessons I have learned outside in my life to help better what I do in the kwoon.  For me it’s the meshing of my life in and out that will demonstrate whether I’m truly on a path of mastery.  I cannot be one person in the kwoon and give the illusion that I have things all figured out but outside live in a state of chaos or in a manner that does not represent who I really am and what I really care about and believe. So here I am a work in progress, still trying to find another strategy, tool or plan that will help me get back to a place where I can feel like I am making progress and accomplishing all the things I want and need to and doing it as a way of life rather than for just a season. I want those who see me in the kwoon to recognize me as the same person outside.

As I look at my role models, inspirations and motivators, it is to people who I respect and believe live and handle ALL of life with character, integrity and perserverance.  They aren’t people who have it all figured out and all ducks in a row but rather continue to work towards and hold true to what they believe and cherish.  It is in observing and talking to these individuals that I hope to better find and keep the balance I am in so need of finding. Life continues to be full of lessons, the moment we quit learning we die.  So as Sid the sloth said, ‘I choose life.”

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

Picture of the week taken on Brandons and my road trip to Waterton!

 

Feet On Fire

Finally the leaves are starting to emerge, the geese are back and the frogs are going crazy.   With spring finally here the balancing act begins, new routines, shuffling of activities and the dreaded steel toe boots.  Aaaaaaah the steel toe boots, my nemesis.  It seems with the extra amount of time I have to spend in those evil little things my feet are rebelling more than normal.  I have found my plantar fasciitis flaring up to a whole new level again, making my feet feel like they are constantly on fire.  Needless to say I am struggling with some of my goals for the simple fact that my feet will only take so much.  To spend much time on the mats in bare feet is a challenge and to wear my kung fu shoes is causing torqueing on my knees.  My running is taking a bit of a hit, which isn’t sitting too well with me right now and my walks with my furry family member are down to two a day.  I have tried explaining to her my dilemma but she just continues to look at my trying to will me to get my running shoes on.  On a positive note, I am biking wherever and whenever I can which continues to be good for my knees being that the bike was a huge part of my physio last year for my knee.  They aren’t quite the km’s I had planned in my goals but they are what I can do at this moment and I’m working really hard to be okay with that.  I am reminded constantly throughout each day just how connected my body is.  Feet don’t just affect feet alone but affect everything from balance all the way up my body impacting parts you would never have thought connected.

So as the demands increase and the timelines get closer, I continue to take step by step, mostly forward, at a little slower a pace than I’d like but still grateful for what I am able to do.

Alana Regier                                                                                                  

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

 

Picture of the week!  Zip lining in Mexico with the family a couple of years ago.  A fabulous day facing one of my fears, the fear of heights!