Somehow, when I have to take that advice myself it gets a lot harder! I was invited today to speak at TEDxYYC.  I’m honoured, excited but mostly nervous!  This talk will be an amazing opportunity to share positive news with a new group of people and to honour those who participated in Worldviews Project. There’s a part of me though that still always feels scared.  What if no one is interested?  What if I mess it up?

I guess I’m also nervous that I’ll be branded as “Positive Story Girl” instead of Kate. I’m not positive all the time.  Sometimes I’m angry and I want to punch people or yell or scream.  I just try to work really hard to control those feelings and act in a better way.  I’m scared that somehow giving this talk will make people think I have it all figured out, which I don’t.  I’m just trying to be brave enough to say that my intention is to be positive.

I’m not so different from my students, taking that first step and staring that obstacle in the face is hard.  I’m determined to do it though.  I want to be the kind of person who approaches these kinds of challenges with courage rather than fear.

I will need all of you supporting me in this journey.  I need to know when I step on that stage on June 14th that there is a community of people behind me cheering me on.  Because, ultimately it’s not about me at all.  I’m giving this TED talk because I believe that we need to share positive news.  So even if I’m not the perfect ambassador for this message I’m going to give it my best shot.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!  Or better yet, buy a ticket and come be a friendly face in the audience!

We partnered with Calgary 2012 GIGYYC and Danielle Nerman from CBC Radio to be able to create 16 podcasts! We will be sharing each of these stories this Thursday, April 11, 2013 at Alice Jamieson Girls’ Academy at 7pm.  We look forward to seeing you there!

I created this playlist for those days when everything seems to go wrong.  Sometimes we all just need a little pick-me-up or something that will help us smile when we really don’t feel like it. So many songs out there just talk about what we’re missing in life or all the difficulty.   So, I wanted to put a playlist out there of some of my favourite artists (and those shared by many of you) that remind us why life’s good too. Enjoy!

Click here to link to the playlist.

I’d ask other women how they kept theirs in place and try and copy their skills!  And we also had to ask how it was possible that some women wore their hair in what looked like a return to Prascilla Elvis’ beehive hair-do.  We’d try to get glimpses as they passed but finally had to ask a friend.  She quickly showed us it was all made possible by a giant “loofa-like” hair clip worn at the crown of the head so that they could wear their scarf just a wee bit further back.  It took the big hair look to a whole new level.

People have asked me if it was strange to wear a head scarf.  Yes in some ways but no in others.  I didn’t view it as a big deal since for me it was just about showing respect for their culture.  But it was also amazing to arrive in Israel and be able to feel the breeze against my skin after being covered up for so long!  Perhaps my favourite perspective on hijab though came from one of my former students who told me “I like wearing a head-scarf because when I’m wearing it I know that I’m not being judged on how I look but rather on what I say and my actions.”  Pretty amazing perspective!

1. All great ideas begin with one step and only succeed if you just keep moving forward, even if it is slowly.  Rather than talking and planning endlessly, just do something. Take one step.
2. Loneliness only lasts as long as it takes for me to start a conversation with someone and take the risk of believing that we all want to connect and we all want to believe in a better world.
3. Just hearing someone’s story is powerful and can bring healing, empowerment and confidence.  Sometimes we just need to listen and bear witness.
4. Giving to others in some small way each day is what brings true happiness and contentment.
5. Humans crave community and we need to create more opportunities to enjoy it whether it is over a meal, making music or sharing conversations.
   
6. To have a spirit of reconciliation we must choose to forgive each day.  I have been inspired by those impacted directly by war who can forgive. I believe if they can choose to live in peace with their former enemies there is no person with whom I cannot find a way to interact with respectfully and peacefully.
7.  Allowing others to share in our process, journey and our experience turns an individual pursuit into a team affair and allows others to come alongside us and help us to persevere through our united strength.
8. When philanthropy merges with business it has the power to turn victims into empowered individuals who can help solve their own problems.
9. Live not in fear but in love.  Do not focus on the fear but choose to focus in those moments on things that are beautiful, good, and lovely.
10. If I can breathe and I have two arms and two legs I can be happy.  It is a choice and one that must be made in each moment to moment.  When I make that choice others will respond to it.  When I am energetic and enthusiastic others will usually respond to me in that way and when I project tiredness or frustration or negativity I will find it bounced right back to me. Even with typhoid I fought hard to remain positive and optimistic, believing that it would help heal my body.
    
11. Smiles, laughter and a spirit of love can transcend cultural and language differences and communicate on a deeper level that we all share.
12. Learning as many words as you can in another person’s language is so important in demonstrating respect and remaining humble in the knowledge that there is always more to learn and always another perspective that I may not have considered.

I heard it scuttling and immediately freaked out jumping on top of my bed, barricading myself inside my bug net while swinging my only weapon, a welcome mat!  I knew in that moment that my reaction was ridiculous but how could I get over my fear of spiders, cockroaches and all creepy crawlies?

Cathy helped me to realize that it wasn’t about the bugs it was about looking for what I wanted to see.  That if I chose to look for the good I wouldn’t see as much of the bad.  So that has been my challenge over the last coupe of months -- to not look for the creepy crawlies, to keep going one step at a time forward in this journey of becoming more courageous in small ways.