Vulnerability, Personal

2020-08-19

Aunt Liz & Uncle Ken’s 60th wedding anniversary

In February my Aunt Liz and Uncle Ken celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in Calgary. 60 years! Liz is my Mom’s sister. I was nervous about attending as I hadn’t seen some of that side of the family in a very long time. As soon as I walked in the door my Aunt Liz and cousin-in-law Kathy came and each gave me a big hug! I instantly felt welcomed and truly enjoyed the celebration.

Double floatation therapy session

I truly enjoyed, loved and am grateful for each of these events and experiences. “6 Peaks Lake Louise” was the fourth annual bipolar disorder awareness and fundraising hike that friends and I did on Sep 12. It was an epic day! We raised $1920 which was split 50/50 between the International Bipolar Foundation and underfunded, deserving athletes at Banff Community High School. Click here to watch live videos that were shot that day (they are all titled 2018 – 6 Peaks Lake Louise). For the second year in a row I did “Gratitude on Tunnel”. During the month of November I hiked Tunnel Mountain here in Banff daily with friends or on my own. I also posted daily on Facebook about something that I’m grateful for. This year I managed to hike it successfully each day! Last year I was sick and missed three days… I’ve combined the “Gratitude on Tunnel” posts into blog post recaps which you can read here, here and here. On Dec 22 I organized “You Are Not Alone”, my first depression awareness event. This was an open-house style event at the Canmore Nordic Centre. I’m so grateful for both the honest sharing in person and on video for the friends of mine who attended. I’m also very grateful to have had media attention both locally and provincially for “6 Peaks Lake Louise” and “You Are Not Alone”.

Lowlight-cancelling Universal Sphere classes
There were various classes that I had intended to teach in Banff, Calgary, Canmore and Vancouver. Unfortunately I had to cancel these classes due to having nobody sign up. Very disappointing and so many lessons. One of the biggest being to spread the word in various ways both earlier and more often. Onward and upward!

Trip to Vancouver/Squamish

This was such a wonderful week with sunny warm weather the whole time! I stayed with my good friend Klaus and his family in Burnaby for 2/3 of the time. I’m grateful to have caught up with different friends in the Vancouver area as well as meeting two “virtual” friends for the first time in person. During my time in Squamish I hiked up the Chief for the first time and took it easy on my own.

Celebrating various milestones
Mar 31: 6 years alcohol-free
Aug 31: 8 years psychiatric medication-free
Dec 1: 9 months being vegetarian

Using and creating the “Lift Me Up Toolkit”


This summer I had an idea to create an easy-to-use, inspiring, and not overwhelming resource to help me feel better when I’m feeling down. A “toolkit” of various resources that I’ve used in the past to lift my mood. I am grateful and fortunate to not have major depression anymore. That being said I do have bad days and/or feel mildly depressed from time to time, as do many people. During the summer and fall I used this toolkit many times personally, especially during the two “lowlights” mentioned above. This first version was completed in December and I anticipate having the second version come out in 2019. If this resonates with you, click here to receive your copy of the Lift Me Up Toolkit!

Thank you
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post I greatly appreciate it! I’m truly grateful to have had these and other highlights during 2018, and that I increasingly choose to embrace my lowlights. Setting the intention that 2019 will be my best year yet filled with vibrant health, an abundance of love, incredible relationships, travel adventures and financial prosperity. Holding these same intentions for you as well 🙂