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It was a bit of a shock to the system but there really is nothing more that I need since it will be an intensive week with little time spent in my room.

A major challenge was put out to the class of 25 students that we find the time to journal our learnings along the way.  I’ve decided to make use of this format to do so.  I reserve the right to remove posts in the future of course if I feel they are a bit too revealing but I have committed to coming into this program by embracing the concepts of openness and full disclosure.  I hope that doing this will not only reinforce the learning but also be cathartic.  I experienced several ‘Ah, ha!’ moments today (and it’s still just the first day!).

Near the start of the day we were all asked to select a photo from a pile on a table and introduce ourselves to the entire group along with an explanation of why we chose that photo.  I was immediately drawn to a photo of Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach, Oregon.

As soon as I saw the image I was immediately flooded with a wonderful emotional memory of a road trip that Jana and I took down the Oregon coast about 3 years ago.  While this is a major tourist destination in Oregon it wasn’t overrun with tacky souvenir shops and general simulacrum.

It was an amazing trip and this was one of a few spots that really stuck out.  When you first walk out onto the beach you can’t help but be struck by the incredible vastness and beauty of the ocean and the massive tract of sand in either direction.  Eventually the outline of Haystack Rock comes into view and, for a stretch, dominates the ‘skyline’.  Looking back toward inland you see something significant about the initial row of trees that line the shore.  They are all stretching backward as though in a permanent windstorm even when the air barely shifts in the gentle breeze.

We watched as the waves crashed in on the rocky outcropping and rolled in along the sand.  I specifically remember a starfish that had been flipped on its back by a family of rather disrespectful tourists.  With each successive wave it worked with the current to eventually get itself righted; using the tools at its disposal to return to its natural place.  It was an intensely beautiful thing to watch.

Recalling the story that this picture brought back for me was an amazing process.  I recounted how I had sat on the beach and just watched wave after wave crash in around this rock.  All around that symbol of permanence was a seemingly similar ebb and flow of salt-water.  And yet, upon closer inspection, there was little similar about each wave other than its saline contents.  The juxtaposition of that which is always new wrapping around something that has remained essentially the same for an eternity was a powerful image and seemed a fitting metaphor for this educational pursuit.

The connection to coaching is perhaps a bit of a stretch but I believe that there is very little about us that we can or will ever change.  The core of who we are is very permanent, much like Haystack Rock, but around us is constant newness.  It’s this newness that we need to be able to manage and ensure that any erosion of the core is controlled and for the better.  The ever different waves represent the newness here and, much like our lives, there are countless opportunities to support others through our action, like with that starfish or just to express beauty.

I love taking slightly calculated risks.  I thrive on mixing things up and managing through change but this is major.  This is a year that I will look back at with fondness, thanks and envy.  A year when so much was possible and so much that is life altering was achieved.  At least that is how I envision it, and it is that vision that I will need to pull me through.  There will be overwhelming moments and moments of serenity and beauty that will require that the world slows down just long enough for me to form the lifelong memories.

I’ve had transitional years before like the year I decided to pack up my car and move from Toronto to Vancouver without knowing anyone or anything in the city – at least I had a retail job lined up.  That year I began to really understand who I am and forge a life out of my post-university fumble.  It is also the year that I met Jana and everything started to fall into place.  It was the year that my self-imposed 2-year exile became a new life.

That was 10 years ago in 2000.

There is nothing intentional about the 10 year period or the year signifying the start of a new decade.  It’s purely coincidental but it certainly fits into a nice little package.

In 1990 I set in motion a plan to participate in an exchange program with another 15 year old in France.  That experience formed a great deal of the context around who I am.  Then I was just a kid from a tiny high school in a rural town of 3100 .  I got to experience life with a family in a different country and attend school in a foreign language for 3 months.  This was a powerful experience.  I could point to other transitions that I went through during that decade but that was the biggest one.  It is with me always and helped me to become more open and embracing and it solidified my strength of curiosity.

I guess if I really thought about it 1980 was probably a big year too.  After all, I did start kindergarten!  I’ve been a student ever since.

But that brings me back to the process that has brought me to this moment when I am sitting down and reflecting on the start of this soon to be amazing and pivotal year.  These memories of other past transitions add to the excitement of the future.  This year I get to:

• Lay the foundation of a successful business with Jana
• Move into a ‘home’
• Become a dad
• Move my career closer to my dreams and purpose

I am so very thankful for the opportunities that are laid out before me and commit to embracing wherever they go.

1. Tumblr is too stripped down and doesn’t have a lot of plug-ins available (such as auto-detect for mobile browsers).  The community is bigger at WordPress and there is more support.

2. It will be more useful to play around with this blog so that I am not screwing up anything permanent on the Wink Photography Blog.  That would be devastating.

So what the heck is “eudaimonicmotives” (and what the heck was “gallimaufries” for that matter)?

Eudaimonia is the ultimate virtue according to Aristotle.  It means Happiness.  This is a slightly more broadly defined term than simply having a smile on your face.  It’s much more all encompassing than that.  Having a degree in Philosophy (I know, where did that get me… I’m sure there’s a counselling opportunity there) I read the Nicomachean Ethics very early on and have continued to identify most closely with Aristotle’s ideas since.  My general take on decisions and actions is that they should be guided by the principle of promoting or acheiving happiness; hence Eudaimonic Motives.

The next step in this move will be to attempt to export my blog from Tumblr to WordPress.  Wish me luck…

Keywords:  vancouver wedding photographer

Result: Page 32

Keywords:  vancouver wedding photography

Result: Page 34 (barely)

Keywords:  vancouver wedding photography blog

Result: Page 1!

Keywords:  vancouver wedding photographer blog

Result: Page 1, #6

Keywords:  wedding photos vancouver

Result: Page 28

Unfortunately the addition of the keyword “blog” has only led to 4 hits to the site over the past month.  This suggests to me that people don’t actually use this as a search term.  Perhaps these aren’t the golden keywords I’m looking for but they seem the most likely that a bride (or groom!) would enter.

The search – pardon the pun – will continue for more SEO wisdom.  On a positive note.  A quick search for keywords wink photography put us at the number 1 spot despite the fact that there are several other Wink Photographys in the world.

PS:  all of these searches were done using Google.  I just did a quick search of vancouver wedding photographer on Bing and we came up on page 11.  With the elimination of Yahoo! from the search engine fray today, I’m quite sure that Bing will become more and more relevant; possibly even eating away a bit at Google’s market share.  There are significant differences in the way that Google and Bing search clearly and it would be too difficult to focus on both.  Will focusing on Google or Bing result in greater success? Who knows!

First of all, a recession either is or is not.  There is no such thing as a “technical recession” although I’m sure it sounded good to him and his aides at the time.  A recession is defined as three or more periods (quarters) of negative growth.  So if GDP drops for 3 quarters then we’re in recession.  This was already the case when Flaherty denied it.  The only thing that can end a recession is if GDP rises, as it did last quarter.  While there are a number of economic indicators that continue to struggle, – jobless rate, stock market instability, etc. – we are no longer in a recession.  The only thing that matters with term ‘recession’ is GDP and that grew last quarter.

The economy is still weak and unpredictable but Flaherty is using the term incorrectly in an attempt to show the Canadian public that he ‘gets it’.  The problem is that he is either being manipulative and dishonest or he’s an idiot.  Either way, it’s difficult to have much confidence in him managing our money.  The worst part is that his boss is famed economist Stephen Harper!  They’ve both got to go.  We may be recovering from our slump but it is in spite of them, not because of them.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gdJSs0YAjBnj14D1jdsFH251gG_g

Sadly it might be the first time I have to admit that Stockwell Day is right – although I’m sure not for the right reasons.

Now I understand why Catholics don’t want women or homosexuals to be in the clergy.  No one should out fabulous dear Benedict.

Looking west at ominous clouds from Leg in Boot Square on the Vancouver Seawall.

Jana with our nephew Cian