Kerri On Down The Road

 I was heading to the gym the other morning when I saw what sheer determination looks like.  It wasn't part of an ad on a billboard, nor was it being displayed by a runner completing endless hill repeats before work.  It was right there on the face of a young girl riding her bike on the sidewalk, flanked by her dad riding his bike on the road.  I have passed this family on several occasions, crossing the same bridge; Dad riding a retrofitted bike that carries his young brood to their daytime destinations.  But not today.  Today was different.  As I made my way towards the peak of the hill, I saw Dad riding on the road and noticed a tall, pink bike flag poking up over the horizon.  More and more of the flag came into view, as did the rest of the bike, and its rider.  What struck me as she came into view was the look on her face - pure determination.  She was holding her line, pedalling smoothly and steadily and she WAS going to make it up...

 It will probably come as no surprise that I am not the type of person who tends to identify with the main characters of fairy tales.  Despite years of hearing these stories and internalizing their messages, I have never seen myself as a fairy princess in need of rescue by a knight on a stallion.  What I have come to realize this week, though, is that Goldilocks and I appear to have some things in common. Although I have not found myself breaking and entering into strangers' homes, eating their food, trying out their chairs, and ultimately falling asleep in their beds, I do identify with her struggle around finding what feels "just right".  Her search to find a perfect balance between too much and too little feels very much like where I am in my life these days. This past semester at school has been a catalyst for me, forcing me to take a closer look at where balance exists (and doesn't exist), and find ways to tip the scales towards equilibrium.  Much of what t...

 It's a funny time of year; as we enjoy days of heat and endless sunshine, we find ourselves entering the second half of the calendar, with more days behind us than ahead this year.  This past week, we also had the full Buck moon to celebrate, bringing with it energetic qualities around determination, progress, and purposeful growth.  It is the perfect time to reflect on how far we have come and to regroup, determining our path for the remainder of the year. As I stood in the lake this morning, being gently rocked by the waves and sung to by the gulls, I received a clear message: "I am ready".  Those three words repeated themselves in my mind as I continued to sway in the water and contemplate their meaning.  Ready for what?  Without a doubt, that was the next thought that entered my head.  And just as I asked, a cascade of answers came forward:               - ready to forgive         ...

 I will admit it.  I am an avid step-counter.  I am often curious about how many steps I've taken through the course of my day, and am motivated by those metrics to sometimes take an extra walk around the block to reach a target number.  There are worse things I could be (and have been) compelled towards pursuing, so I see this as a small way of gamifying my overall health and well-being.  What I find interesting is how the overall number is what stands out to me.  Not the many activities during my day that have contributed to that number, just the overall goal itself.  I find this same thinking is mirrored in many of the larger pursuits I take on in life.  Being goal-oriented is what has helped me to achieve and follow through on the many challenges I have put in front of myself: running marathons, riding long distances on my bike, returning to school to earn my BA, not to mention the various hobbies and interests that I have dabbled in over the ...