Only Love Defies Impossiblity

Loosey & Ruth

It is about time for me to tell you about my furry associate who has been one of my greatest gifts, Loosey.

The death-defying scream punctures the early morning quiet in my condo, as the chill of the concrete tiles invade my spine. Thinking this was merely another 5:00am episode of vomiting, I yell for my partner to come once I hear Loosey shrieking. As I fumble to find the 24 hour vet number, thoughts were careening through my mind, was she having a stroke, a heart attack, or ... what? The vet gave me little guidance other that if she was having an epileptic seizure, to be very calm and quiet around her, and to know that she would be rather disoriented when she revived.

Having had some distance from the acuteness of the situation, seeing blood sprayed across the white enamel of the bathtub, my heart dropped. What else had happened? I looked into the deep dark brown eyes of my partner to see the ache of helplessness right at the surface. Now standing in the lukewarm 1 cm of urine, we could see that Loosey was forlorn and certainly disoriented.

"Where is the blood from?" I blurted out. I had not seen my partner holding his right hand in the air as he was squeezing his right thumb. The thumb that was caught in Loosey's mouth while she seizured.

"Okay then", I check in with myself, "truly, now what?"

Nine grand mal epileptic seizures, fourteen vets, copious time spent on the internet, much well-meaning but useless advice, and many tearful moments later my partner, Loosey, and I have discovered that truly only 'love defies impossibility'. The various vets had told me that only 1% of dogs have grand mal seizures, and it was impossible to deal with grand mal seizure in dogs without medication. Knowing that medication would certainly yield other complications, I was committed to finding another route. It has now been 1 year since Loosey has had an episode (considering she had had 9 grand mals in 17 months before she was 3 years old) we are feeling rather fortunate.

Loosey is my assistant during coaching sessions, and I knew it was essential to find a 'different' way through this. Although challenging, consuming and upsetting, I know now that it has been a gift beyond measure in learning to trust my intuition and call on support in a way I have not ever allowed myself. If I had listened to the 'experts' my sense of what was possible would be a lot smaller. Our gifts come in different shapes, mine just happened to come wrapped in a bundle of fur.

Life Coaching with Ruth
http://lifecoachingwithruth.blogspot.com/
randermatt09@gmail.com

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Making Decisions

We are all faced with decisions, some easier to make than others. But regardless of who we are, we tend to have a certain style of decision making (whether it works for us or not).

Anticipating the 'fork in the road', we can often struggle with making the 'right' decision. We tend to compound the pressure of the process of decision making by turning it into a success or failure outcome. When we are making a decision, we certainly do not approach it with the thought, "Oh I sure hope I make a lousy decision". We need to remind ourselves that with the information available and to the best of our ability, we attempt to make 'good' decisions for ourselves and the ones we love.

If you could allow yourself to consider that there are no bad decisions ... only the decisions that we have made that 'no longer work for us'. It is only a bad decision when we know it no longer serves us and we carry on out of fear. This is when it is critical to make adjustments or get the necessary help to make the changes (no matter how intimidated we are in the process).

Life is not a series of successes and failures, it is about experience, learning, and expanding our wisdom. The universe desperately needs you to be all that you are ... consider for a moment that you are fully supported ... Can your next decision making process actually be fun for you?


Life Coaching with Ruth
http://lifecoachingwithruth.blogspot.com/
randermatt09@gmail.com

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Spring is in the air

Spring is evident every where you turn in Vancouver. The seemingly effortless arrival of this burst of colour is enchanting and inspiring. What has evaporated from our minds is the planting of last fall, typically on a mucky damp day in October. After the long, dark, rainy winter in Vancouver, the arrival of colour and fragrance onto the scene is a delicious treat.

Provided you don't care what 'pops up in your life garden', then allow yourself to haphazardly plant the 'bulbs'. Like life, intentional planting bulbs does take you in the direction you dream of!

Life Coaching with Ruth
http://lifecoachingwithruth.blogspot.com/
randermatt09@gmail.com

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Can you feel the energy in the air!!!

Energy Orbs at BWB's Talent Show March 2010

Have you ever had one of those moments when you are in a room and the 'life' in the room is breath-taking?! I had the delight of experiencing this last Saturday night while I emceed our talent show. The choir I am in, Burstin with Broadway wwwburstinwithbroadway.com/, had a talent night and the 'energy' in the room was so robust, I could nearly taste it. We had multiple performers during the evening, some stepping out for the very first time, and others merely stretching into new areas of performing. The theme was evident, the audience was thrilled to be supporting the expansion of all the performers, and as the performers were delighting in stretching themselves beyond what they had comprehended was possible. All in all, love was in the air.

Part way through the 2nd Act, I could no longer contain myself. I took my camera up onto the stage and took pictures of the audience. I was sure they thought I was going to do a silly "Oscar night" type skit but my actions were truly self-serving. I wanted to capture this energy ... even if all I caught were their radiant :) The bubbles you see seemingly floating through the photo are not bubbles, not the reflection of the glitter ball, but rather energy orbs.

(energy orbs: when the spirit is moving http://theshadowlands.net/ghost/orbs.htm).

Next time you are in a situation and the energy feels so delicious, allow yourself to drink it in ... or perhaps even take a few photos.

Life Coaching with Ruth
http://lifecoachingwithruth.blogspot.com/
randermatt09@gmail.com

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A Diamond in the rough

Today I had the pleasure to visit Canada's Northern House in Vancouver, one of the many locations featured during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. It was a rich and thought provoking display from the north ... but what caught my eye today was "Truly Jenuine". During a 15 minute talk on diamonds of the North, Jen, of Truly Jenuine, was able to help me to grasp the meaning of the age old saying 'a diamond in the rough'.

She spoke of the intricate process of 'brillianteering' of the diamond for market. Where a slight mistake or oversight could devalue the diamond by thousands of dollars, so being mindful and aware is fundamental in her profession. It made me think of us as humans and how we are on the lifetime quest of ''brillianteering". How, if we are remiss in being attentive to our 'brillianteering', we can devalue our preciousness on our journey.

We are all diamonds in the rough; it merely depends on how we choose to 'brillianteer' ourselves.

Jen of "Truly Jenuine"displays a

brillianteered diamond & a diamond in the rough

Life Coaching with Ruth
http://lifecoachingwithruth.blogspot.com/
randermatt09@gmail.com

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Creating Inspiring Goals

Why is it important to set goals? Because what we focus on is what expands in our life. Setting goals that we do not achieve actually undermines us. When we create goals that we are interested in achieving, makes the process happen virtually effortlessly.

A few keys to creating inspiring goals:
· Be clear and specific as to what you want to achieve
· Believe it is truly possible
· Passionately desire it
· Written down with specifics
· We must be willing to make the necessary changes
· Review the goals on a regular basis

It is said that the definition of insanity is ‘doing things the same old way hoping for new results’. If we want to achieve something new in our life or improve on past results, we need to be clear about our root intent of this goal and then realize we must make changes in order to create this in our life.

When I worked in the corporate community we had a running joke of “great another program where we Ready, Fire, Aim rather than Ready, Aim, Fire” the steps are straightforward, but if we do not implement them in the appropriate order, the likelihood of achieving the goal is minimized.

Your goal is important to you, take a moment to consider what your goal is, why this is important to you before you begin beating yourself up for attempting to achieve a goal that is not in synch with who you are. Setting goals that inspire us is an art and a discipline. We need to be mindful to create goals that assist us in focusing, but not at the expense of eliminating our capacity to see the entire picture. Aim for the heart of the matter.

Life Coaching with Ruth
http://lifecoachingwithruth.blogspot.com/

randermatt09@gmail.com

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Gratitude: Thanking my lucky stars

After attending two funerals in one week, the last thing I wanted to deal with was my broken dryer. There were many other things I could imagine doing that would lift up my heart after the funerals, but there were clothes that needed drying. Who would have thought that getting a dryer repaired could be the highlight of my week?!

It was a dreary day filled with more rain than I cared to see, and yet the sun shone in my place when the dryer repairman arrived. The dryer repairman was prompt, thorough, fair priced and most magical of all an absolute delight. I thought I was getting my dryer fixed, but what he did for me was open my heart and mind with quotes like this:

“As the island of knowledge grows, so grows the shoreline of the unknown ... life is better spent at the beach!” Don Broatch

I realize that life takes a little observation, sometimes the observation deck just doesn’t seem to be where I anticipate it to be. Reflecting on the week, I thank my lucky stars that my dryer broke down and I could meet this amazing man.

Life Coaching with Ruth
http://lifecoachingwithruth.blogspot.com/
randermatt09@gmail.com

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Making March Marvellous: The Way You Feel Is Everything

Long before getting to the start of their event, the Olympic athletes had to figure out how to ‘feel good’ in order to access their ‘gold medal’ performance within them. One of the most outstanding insights I heard at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games was when a doctor commented on what he believed to be the biggest contributor to performance over the past 20 years. I thought he was going to say, equipment, or coaching, or training, or dedication but what he said was nutrition. He believes the single most contributing factor in Olympic performance has been nutrition. Now this made me pause, ‘hey I can do that, but do I?’

Most of us know what does not work well for our bodies, and yet refuse or pretend not to listen. You do not have to be attempting to climb to the top of the podium to want to feel your best. While you are running your own life-marathon tomorrow, consider how you choose to fuel your body. If in doubt, there are a multitude of support mechanisms available to assist you, it is your choice whether you utilize them or not. You are worth it!!!

“Whether you think you can or your can’t, either way you are right”

Henry Ford 1863 to 1947

We have a choice,

which dog would you like to be?

Life Coaching with Ruth
http://lifecoachingwithruth.blogspot.com/

randermatt09@gmail.com

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If I only had the courage...

“There would be nothing that would hold me back, I would start that diet, I would quit my job, I would get married ...” I have heard this countless times, and it makes me smile that we think courage is something we pick up at the store. Courage comes at the most opportune and inopportune times.

As stated in Wikipedia, “Courage, also known as bravery, fortitude, will, and intrepidity, is the ability to confront fear, pain, risk/danger, uncertainty, or intimidation.” Confronting does not necessarily mean winning, it means to ‘take-on, deal with, face up to” whatever seems to be preventing you from going to where you can imagine.

I love the quote by Anais Nin, “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage”. We all harbour dreams and we tend to ‘wait’ for the courage to come. I recall taking a voice workshop and feeling terrified to step out in front of the group to sing my solo. I kept trying to muster up the courage to do this ... the instructor saw me hesitating and he said, “The courage won’t ever come when we wait, it only comes once we step out and sing.” So, I stepped out and sang, and yes moments of courage did come. What I discovered was that the next time I had to step out in front of the group, I felt no more courageous, but I did believe that the courage would come if I stepped out.

What would you attempt if you had the courage?

Life Coaching with Ruth
http://lifecoachingwithruth.blogspot.com/
randermatt09@gmail.com

I would be interested to know your thoughts on this blog please take a moment and click on the comment box to leave me a message.

The beauty of 20/20 hindsight

As we bask in the afterglow of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, it is easy to see the powerful positive impact the games has had on our country, communities and our citizens. When I reflect on the vote that was held to hold the games over 40% of the vote came back ‘NO’. Imagine what we would have been saying ‘NO’ to. We would have said no to the spontaneous combustion of enthusiasm that swelled in our hearts.

The beauty of 20/20 hindsight is that we can see the details laid out in front of us, and how obvious the decision making path is. We as humans tend to say no immediately from a place of fear, before we allow ourselves to consider the possibility that perhaps this could be the time something delightful will blossom rather than immediately manufacturing the worst scenario.

When faced with your next decision, consider for a moment that perhaps the best case scenario could work out ... will you allow yourself to say Yes?!

Just one drop of water can change the way we look at things...

Life Coaching with Ruth

http://lifecoachingwithruth.blogspot.com/
randermatt09@gmail.com

I would be interested to know your thoughts on this blog please take a moment and click on the comment box to leave me a message.

The Power of the Human Heart ... I Believe

Who could have ever predicted the sea of red & white that Vancouver & Whistler would have become. Although the Olympic brand may be the most powerful marketing machine in the world, it cannot manufacture real, raw emotion like we have experienced at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee did it by having a clear unwavering vision, attending to the details with tenacity, and staying true to their vision in a disciplined manner (even in the face of so many nay-sayers loudly expressing their opinions of the certain demise of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games). The Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee believed with every fibre of their being and they set the stage for all Canadians to open their hearts and believe.

Regardless of results, the people of Canada came to understand the value of 24.4 seconds, when at the end of the Gold medal men’s hockey game the United States scored to tie the game, and the hopes of a gold medal seemed to evaporate. When faced with only having a minute, remember that is where it starts ... be clear on what you want to achieve and unify your focus, mentally, physically, nutritionally and spiritually and move in the direction of your dreams.

Joannie Rochette’s ability to stay focused only days after her mum’s death, demonstrated to the world that finding the courage and strength is possible when we believe. Joannie Rochette said that on her final jump her legs had nothing left, but she managed to do the jump because she could feel her mum lifting her. Defining moments occur for each of us, our defining moments may not be on the grand stage of the Olympics, but they are there, allow yourself to be a part of them.

The full thrust of the human heart is what propels us ... listen to your heart and live by it as we have seen demonstrated by all the Olympians in the past 17 days at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. Anything is possible, what is it you want to create in your life in 2010?!

I believe!!!

Life Coaching with Ruth
http://lifecoachingwithruth.blogspot.com/
randermatt09@gmail.com