Four Minutes and 29 Seconds of Joy

I was reading a friend’s blog today, and came across this video on her site that just blew me away. My first thought was ‘this is hilarious!’ but when the theme of the video began to repeat, and repeat again, I gained a deeper understanding. I found myself totally captivated and smiling from ear to ear because of the simplest of concepts - dancing. It is like laughter: something that unites us as human beings, no matter where we are, what language we speak, or how silly we feel. There is more on this subject to be said and explored, but for now I will just post this video for you all to watch. I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on it, so feel free to post a comment. Join the other 5,843,331 people that have watched the video, and Happy Dancing!

Race for Dignity

I just wanted to bring to everyone’s attention the Race for Dignity going on July 5th, 2008!

The Race for Dignity Challenge is a spin-a-thon to raise funds for people affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa. The proceeds go to Dignitas International, a medical humanitarian organization that each month in Malawi, Africa:

• Starts hundreds of people on life-saving ARV medications
• Tests thousands for HIV
• Reaches thousands with HIV prevention knowledge

My friend, Rachel Slater, is biking for the cause - if you know her or if you don’t, consider sponsoring her efforts! To do so, click here.

For more information, please go to the Dignitas International website.

Ca…ca…ca…

“So, what are you going to do now?” The dreaded phrase comes at me like a pitch fork. Immediately I start thinking about what I can say to give my interrogator the answer he is looking for. While I wish I could give a pat answer, my quest for authenticity in life doesn’t allow me to. And so I begin my explanation.

Usually I’d hear myself say, “I’m just in the process of looking for a job- a stepping stone kind of job. One that will allow me to progress without tying me down in responsibility.” But inevitably a word enters the conversation, threatening to bring it to a sudden stop: ca…ca…ca…career. I can hardly say it.

The word ‘career’ may as well be a curse word to a twenty-something year-old in the 21st century. The word provokes thoughts of torture, and the same reaction one might have to the squealing high-pitched frequency of a microphone when it gets too much feedback. It is archaic in its own way- a modern concept in the grand scheme of things, but already past its prime. It is an invention of the Baby Boomers that has already met its fateful demise.

They say that the average person of my generation will have up to eight different vocations in their lifetime. And while the permanence of ‘career’ is something I cannot swallow, the definition of it is quickly morphing into something far more flexible. For the purpose of this entry we can take career to mean that life-long dedication to advancing one’s employability and value to an industry, no matter how many changes in job or employer along the way.

Some people my age enjoy the comforts of a career. They must live within the boundaries and expectations of their chosen vocation and all that it entails. And while I accept that certain aspects of a career are only a reflection of our society (the concepts of benefits, pension plans, and government-monitored work days), the identification one has with their career is something I want to run away from. It is this identification that most people are drawn to, however. Yes, their career gives them reassurance that they can live and function without worry in our Canadian society, but it also helps to answer that eternal question: who am I? Or perhaps the more accurate question is: how do people see me? I know for myself that my attempt to answer the question “so what are you going to do now?” is intricately linked to the question “who am I?”

Just think about the way we view each other. Bill is a lawyer. John is a carpenter. Sue is a teacher. Matthew is a real estate agent. Brian is a member of parliament. Stacy is the first female CEO of her company. While these are all important functions in life, they often do us a disservice in the way we are classified by them. Which is more essential? Who is better? Who has the higher salary? If you were on Survivor with all of these people, who would you vote off the island?

What, really, does our ‘career’ say about who we are? It might point to certain talents we have or what our interests are, which are both healthy things to acknowledge in other people. But is that always what happens? Next time you are at a dinner party and you are meeting someone you don’t know, notice the dynamics you have with your new acquaintance and the questions you find yourself asking. Likewise, when someone asks you ‘what you do’ (ie. what your ‘career’ is), watch your responses carefully. More and more perhaps you will see what it is I want to run away from. Are we stating our answers simply as fact, or to assert our identities? It is not easy to run away, however. When someone asks me where I work, I find it tempting to state my elaborate job title.

While I will admit I have started on my ‘career’ path, I feel that we should invent a new word. I’d rather call it my offering or my gift or at least something that will better captivate what it is I want to give back to the world and the one who gave me those talents.

I celebrate the choices we have in life, one such being our careers. I was thinking today about the novel, The Giver, in which people are assigned their jobs to eliminate competition and jealousy in their community. And though these are things I would also like to see eliminated, as the novel demonstrates, the result is a very shallow existence. There is a richness in choice and in investing myself in a job that is aligned with my passions. But to take my identity from what I do simply places me, and imprisons me, on the scale of superiority.

My career is my gift. And not only the sum of my gifts and talents, but what I can give back to the community, and the Creator, that nurtures me and allows me to live out many wonderful possibilities.

Tag, You’re It!

The world really has changed. I used to play ‘tag’ as a kid. It’s amazing how long we would spend playing such a simple game. The simplicity of it made it popular, I think. All you needed was a defined space to play in.

Now that defined space has reached whole new limits- the cyber world. I was recently ‘tagged’ by my cousin, who commented on a recent post of mine with a link to her site where I would find her a set of ‘get to know you’ questions begging my answers. She, of course, had answered the questions after being tagged by someone else. I am supposed to tag five people with the same comment, asking them to answer the questions, which they will find on my blog. And so it goes…

Virtual space knows no limits, except if a person chooses not to continue the chain. I, for one, have time right now and can appreciate these things, so I will answer the questions. Enjoy!

What was I doing ten years ago?

Ten years ago, 1998, I was 14 years old. My immediate reaction to that awkward, insecure age is a shudder. My second reaction is slightly sentimental. The innocence of that age, which I am thankful for, is becoming quite rare these days. What was I doing?

1. I was graduating from Junior High at Bridlewood Elementary School.

2. In June of that year, I remember going on a band trip to Toronto with my school where I saw Phantom of the Opera at the Pantages Theatre.

3. I was dancing in my very last dance recital at the Linda Jamieson School of Dance.

4. I was already fretting over a boy who just wouldn’t give me the attention I deserved.

5. I believe we did a family trip to Hilton Head Island in the US that year, and I stayed home while the other women in my family went out and bought about 4 pairs of shoes each.

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today?

1. Make sure my boyfriend is still alive after camping out in the cold last night, and attempting to climb a mountain that has averted us twice already.

2. Finalize the poster design for the Bow Valley-Jasper Servers Against AIDS Day.

3. Read my book.

4. Relax after the shift I worked last night serving a wedding- didn’t get home until 2:30 in the morning!

5. Put my sister’s birthday gift in the mail so that it gets to Ottawa on time.

Five snacks I enjoy:

Being a ’snack person’ over ‘big meals’ this is a difficult question because every meal is a snack- and there are about six or seven of them a day!

1. Home-made guacamole with whole wheat nachos.

2. Texas-style toast with a bit of melted margarine (it must be melted or there will be bloodshed!)

3. Kettle Corn. Whatever kind my mom always buys.

4. Dried mango slices- a more expensive indulgence.

5. One or two squares of dark chocolate-any kind.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Do everything I could to provide sustainable, positive growth in the lives of people who have less, and suffer because of it.

2. Dedicate myself to full-time travel writing.

3. I would create a many new national parks- protected wilderness areas- as I could (see The Big Wild).

4. Only eat organic food because I could afford to buy it from the people I want to, and not through a retail grocery store. I would help to subsidize small Canadian farmers.

5. Buy a small island somewhere in the tropics and build a getaway cottage on the beach.

Places I’ve lived:

1. Kanata, Ontario

2. Kingston, Ontario

3. Bow Lake, Alberta

4. Banff, Alberta

5. Port Sydney, Ontario

Jobs I’ve had:

1. Salesperson for a high-end sports apparel store

2. Window-washer extraordinaire

3. Housekeeper

4. Restaurant server

5. And now…Sales Coordinator for a Destination Management Company

Tag, You’re It!

1. Laura at Laura May.

2. Evelyn at Nurturing Space.

3. A Mindful Individual.

4. Doug at SoulSafari.

5. Tim at Irish Tim’s Rantings.