Getting inspired

I spent this past weekend out in the country at a lodge with 8 amazing women.  The weekend was pleasure – learning what it is and how to get more of it in our lives.  I know that I definitely enjoyed drinking my morning tea or coffee on the porch watching the sunrise paint the autumn landscape orange.  However, it also got me thinking a bit more about what I want.  I spent most of Saturday night outside alone watching the full(ish) moon light up the sky, feeling the cool breeze and hearing the other women laugh inside as they played games.  I just enjoyed the fresh air and the time in nature.

About a month and a half after moving to Edmonton I have signed up for a number of meetup groups.  Just a couple of weeks ago I found out that Edmonton has an outdoor club, so I signed up for that too.  Tomorrow will be my first event that I actually attend with the Edmonton Outdoor Club – a night of learning about snowshoeing.  The event is actually being held at Camper’s Village (an outdoor store) as part of their winter adventure series.  Tonight I ended up at Camper’s Village to see if they still did ski package deals and determine what it would cost to gear up for cross country skiing.  They invited me to sit down and listen to the lecture tonight – Winter Survival.  The passion of the presenters was contagious!  I noticed when the one guy started talking about search and rescue my reaction was pure excitement.  I have looked at doing search and rescue on and off for years, though each time I look at it I am reminded I am not in good enough shape to do what I want.  The realization came up again tonight – first I am not in the mountains and second, I am not in good enough shape to be in that type of roll.  The giddy passion that coursed through my body is almost at the threshold of giving in to at least working towards being in good enough shape for 2014 recruitment.  There is no guarantee that I will be able to meet all the requirements; however, I have learned that if I don’t start, I will never be where I want to. 

This just added to the fact that lately I really feel nature calling my name – to go and explore the outdoors, to be inquisitive of the environment around me again.  So tonight I learned how to prepare for winter activities and tomorrow I will learn more about snowshoeing and meet other local people interested in doing the same.  

 Really – it is about the small steps!