Kerri On Down The Road

 I received a notification in my inbox the other day that helped me set an intention for the new year.  It was from the Waking Up app, and simply stated:     "The chief prevention against getting old is to remain astonished"  Kevin Kelly I found it to be both simple and beautiful in its simplicity, offering a potent reminder of how easy it can be to incorporate wonder into our days.  Astonishment can feel like a big, dramatic word to describe only the most unique or unexpected experiences that life has to offer.  Perhaps that is why we don't hear it included in conversations more often.  Much like the good china or best crystal we store away for that one day when it is appropriate to enjoy, astonishment feels like the emotion or experience we would rather hold onto for a truly extraordinary happening.   But what would happen if we allowed ourselves to enjoy smaller, everyday experiences on a grander scale?  What if we acted more lik...

This past year has been one of transition and shifting perspectives, of welcoming in changes both big and small and being open to where these new and undiscovered paths may lead.  This is not to say that all of these changes have come easily; many moments of doubt, second-guessing, and fear have accompanied many of the uncertain steps I have taken.  One of the biggest shifts that has taken place in my life has been my relationship to being in nature and becoming an observer of the world. January 28, 2024, was a turning point for me, marking my first foray into the frigid waters of Lake Ontario.  With those first steps into the water came a newfound appreciation and realization of the vastness of the world outside my door that I had been hastily ignoring and passing over in my day-to-day whirl of life.  Coming to the lake with my community of fellow cold dippers brought me back to a space of wonder and humbled me on more than one occasion.  Witnessing first-hand ...

My therapist once told me, "Life does not need to be a make-work project." I remember hearing those words and feeling a bit surprised. Really? If that is the case, why am I feeling so compelled to read book after book dedicated to self-help? Aren't I investing in my well-being by submerging myself deep in the waters of self-discovery? And what if I miss something by not reading these books, listening to these podcasts, and following these gurus? In my social psychology course, we learned that humans want to find the causes of happenings in our world.  We look for the reasons behind our behaviour, and the behaviour of others, desperate to unravel the meaning behind the whys.  I can attest to this tendency, as I have often found myself caught in a swirl of questions and assumptions when life has thrown me a curve ball.  Inevitably, this exercise has led to exhaustion and frustration because more often than not, there is no clear-cut answer to the question that we are asking...

 As we head into the last weeks of the year, we are often faced with a litany of to-dos and overly full calendars.  Finding time to reflect and absorb what the previous days, weeks, and months have brought us, and what we have accomplished since we turned the first page of this calendar year can feel difficult or like just another task to complete.  Despite feeling like added work, taking the time to reflect for a few minutes a day over the next few weeks can help bring a fresh perspective to the year ahead. I started this practice two years ago on a whim, and although I felt like the year had not been a particularly memorable one, I found myself recalling big and small events and moments that I had all but forgotten.  I decided to focus on six areas of my life: Physical, Educational, Creative, Emotional, Spiritual, and Professional, and began to add items as they came to me.  Some headings had many entries while others were sparse, and that's okay.  There ...

I spent yesterday at my gym participating in a weightlifting event. It wasn't a contest, per se, as we weren't competing against each other. Instead, it was an opportunity for us to each determine our one-rep maximum lift potential for three different basic lifts: the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift.  When the event was announced, I jumped at the chance to participate - I had never tried something like this before and was curious to see what it would be like.  As the day grew closer, I started to feel nervous and unsure of how I would fare.  Would I manage to exceed the previous best lifts I had achieved in the days and weeks leading up to the event, or would I crumble under pressure and feel disappointed in my performance?  Only one way to find out! What struck me during the event was the fact that in life we aren't often provided with moments where we can really push our limits, lean into our edges, and see where that line between success and failure actua...