A New Lease on Life!

I’m beginning a new chapter in my life and I’m really excited about it!  When I started this blog last year, I intended it to be a place to talk about my work as an instructional designer; starting a business; and the ups and downs of running a business. 

Me, February 2013

But, things change, and last year I accepted a new job that sounded like a good growth opportunity.  Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent to me that the new company's culture, work-style, and values were very different than mine, and though  I tried to adapt, some things are just not "meant to be!" I'd gained 10+ lbs. (not good on my 5'0" frame), my normally healthy 110/70 blood pressure increased to 139/90, my arthritis was flaring up regularly, something affected my circulation and caused my calves and legs to ache all of the time; and sometimes my feet would go numb.  I’m usually pretty laid-back, but I had become chronically irritable, and my fuse became very short. I dreaded going to work, and realized I had to make a change.

 

In January, I quit my job and enrolled in a health and wellness coach training program at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN).  I immediately found an active and supportive community of women and men who were passionate about many of the same things I am passionate about, and who know that together, we can help people learn to live more healthily, happily, and harmoniously with themselves and their world. We know that by living holistically and making lifestyle changes like improving our nutrition, incorporating the right kinds of exercise into our lives, listening to our bodies and learning to trust ourselves to know what is right for us; we can learn to balance what has become what has become unbalanced. By spreading the word, and helping others to do the same, we can fix our broken healthcare system, help people live happier, healthier, fuller lives, and ultimately, change the world! 

Me, April 2013

Since I started on my new path, I have lost almost 10 lbs. and my blood pressure is back to normal.  Re-incorporating regular exercise, meditation and stretching into my daily routine has reduced my arthritis noticeably, and I’m beginning to rediscover the “real me!”  Most days, I wake up feeling happy and energized, looking forward to my day instead of dreading it.   And oh, I’m still doing instructional design work, but I’m finding a whole new way of doing it, and it’s getting to be fun again!

 

This is going to be a great journey, and I’m looking forward to it!

Through the Looking Glass

This morning I felt a bit like Alice gazing down the rabbit-hole, wondering what was there, just before leaping into the unknown.  Now, I am falling rapidly into another world - for, my Friends, I have entered a strange new world, the world of MOOCs - specifically one titled "Elearning and Digital Cultures," and things are getting "curiouser and curiouser!"  Up until a year or so ago, I didn't even know what a MOOC was,  although of course I knew that there are a lot of "really big classes offered on the internet."   And, a few months ago at a professional meeting, I heard how MOOCs are affecting universities that charge for their courses, and how universities plan to identify and address the challenges.  Never mind that most MOOCs are offered by faculty who actually work at "for pay" universities - which seems to be a moot point - but I digress.

I've been an eLearning designer for years, and have counted myself as "reasonably" technically competent and "reasonably" with the times for quite awhile.  I  have and use all of the things most people in our fast-moving world have and use - a laptop, a smartphone, several portable media players, social media sites I like to visit.  I have participated in RPG's, and was actually one of the "early pioneers" in MMORPG's - developing adult education courses in SecondLife (even back in the Stone Age, before it had audio chat!).  But, I am not "immersed" in digital culture, because, frankly, I have other things to do with my time; like going for walks, working in my garden, quilting, reading actual books, watching birds, making wine and beer, cooking, and socializing with actual live people face-to-face!   Why did I sign up for this MOOC class?  It was free; it sounded interesting; I've never participated in one before, and because I'm an eLearning designer, and I should probably have a better understanding of these things!

But, now I'm beginning to feel like a hopelessly out of touch Luddite, or a Neanderthal!  Why?  Because in Day 1 of this course, I was confronted with a world of hashtags (which are apparently strings of characters linked to a "number"sign that sends whatever I say or do to lots of other people simultaneously), mashups (no idea what that is), tweets (know what it is; don't use Twitter), blogs, clouds, and something called "Synchtube" (allows you to watch a movie on YouTube with other people and comment on it in real-time), and expected to know how to use them.  I'm that person who takes my cell phone with me when I'm outside taking a walk for emergencies, to tell the time, and in case I need the GPS.  I really do prefer to enjoy Nature:  listen to the sounds of birds, look at the trees, feel the warmth of the sun on my body, and the earth beneath my feet; watch for lizards, squirrels, and other wildlife; ponder the mysteries of the universe; and even (gasp) say hello to other people and their dogs when I meet them on the trail.  And when my "Millennial generation" kids text me on my phone, I prefer to call them, rather than fumbling with a tiny little touch pad that is nearly impossible to use.  So sue me - I like to hear their voices, and share things with them "live" in real time!

But these modern times will apparently require me to understand a bit more about the technology, so down the rabbit hole I go!

The Dragon Dream

The other night I dreamed of four dragons rising up from their Elements to take back and heal the World.    

Green, brown, and gold Earth came because we have raped her, drilling and blasting deep into her caves, polluting her soil, poisoning her seeds and trees.  Blue and green Water rose to protest the dead oceans, rivers and lakes we have poisoned, and the things we have dumped into her, killing and maiming her creatures.  Silver, purple and blue Air, came for the smoke, smog, and filth we have put into his skies; and golden and red Fire, for all the years we have prevented his natural occurrence in the interest of “protecting valuable real estate.”  The four dragons rose up in clouds of dirt and rock; water and foam; wisp and vapor; smoke and fire.  They spoke of the terrible damage and evil humans have done to them, and their rage brought earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and walls of flames.

I rode silently on the back of Earth for a time, for it is she, and her sister, Water, which I know the best and connect with most.  Earth flowed through rocks and caves, traveling beneath the surface of our planet, and when we surfaced, I mounted the back of Water, who plunged me into the icy cold fluid’s dark and surrounding depths.  

Others  I knew rode the backs of Fire and Air, and were told as I was told, “Look what you’ve done to our World.  We birthed you, we nurtured you, we helped you to grow, we cared for and sustained you, and you returned our care by forgetting, abusing, and neglecting us.  Instead of love and gratitude you have turned your backs on us, and become as a cancer, spreading your poison in all of the Realms.  What right do you have, thinking you own us; thinking you control us; thinking you can to do us as you please?  What right do you have to your arrogance, believing in your supremacy, caring not for your home, using and destroying and with no thought for the consequences?   We dragons have remained silent for more than a thousand years, but we can do so no longer.  We must live, free and natural as we are, and you humans must learn to live within our boundaries, and not the other way!  Your religions, your governments, your intolerance, selfishness and self-interest have destroyed so much; and your failure to understand, and your hatred of ‘others’ has killed millions upon millions of our creatures and threatens our World; your home. Have you become so apart from your Mothers and Fathers that we have become irrelevant?  Do you care at all?  And if you do not, why should we continue to care for you, let along tolerate you?  Earth and Air and Fire and Water are forever and will exist long after your kind is gone.  You need us far more than we need you, and we have had enough!  And now it is time for you to answer a question:

“Will you find a balance and learn to work with us, or must we purge you?

And then they were gone.