I'm sure you remember the thrill of satisfaction that comes when you are in a bump car and you actually get bumped. It was always a favorite activity for me at the annual Canadian National Exhibition. There's a lovely little bubble fear/delight that wells up in your gut and wobbles upward until it is released in a major belly laugh.
Just as Yahia Lababidi says our direction is often determined through collisions. I remember very well a collision that took place 37 years ago in a bar in Regina, Saskatchewan. It happened some time in March. At the time I was doing political commentary with CBC radio.
My 'collider' was a brainy, brash and beautiful Australian woman named Helen McFarland who held a senior position with the provincial government. A group of us sat in a hotel lounge relaxing after a day of vicious meetings regarding urban land use and its effects on society. In the midst of lively, idealistic talk, Helen turned to me and said " You do know you're a coward don't you?"
Now in those days of my intense and idealistic youth those words were a serious slap. Our companions grew very quiet and waited to see what was going to happen. Helen and I are not lacking in physical stature, punishingly articulate and fierce as Valkyries. Helen rose from her seat and stood to her full height, just shy of 6'. She said " You hide behind words. You hide behind your journalistic commentary. You don't create change with that mind of yours, you just observe." With that she strode over to the bar.
I was shocked - never before had I been called to task for cowardice. What about the risks I took to get the stories? What about the risks I took in making public statements that challenged the status quo? Did she know what it cost me to do the things I did?
Helen came back from the bar with two glasses of white wine and her personal blank check with my name on it. "Get going girl. Incorporate a business and use your brilliant mind to create change. Get out of the bloody stands and into the game." We clicked our glasses and downed the wine. No more was said between us that day.
It was three more months before I spent that cheque and incorporated my business. When I gave Helen a copy of my incorporation certificate, her only comment was "What took ya?"
That was almost four decades ago and the business lives on still influencing change. I lost track of Helen when she moved back to Australia and settled herself in what she described as a dinky little place. Wherever you are Helen, thanks for the collision.
Just as Yahia Lababidi says our direction is often determined through collisions. I remember very well a collision that took place 37 years ago in a bar in Regina, Saskatchewan. It happened some time in March. At the time I was doing political commentary with CBC radio.
My 'collider' was a brainy, brash and beautiful Australian woman named Helen McFarland who held a senior position with the provincial government. A group of us sat in a hotel lounge relaxing after a day of vicious meetings regarding urban land use and its effects on society. In the midst of lively, idealistic talk, Helen turned to me and said " You do know you're a coward don't you?"
Now in those days of my intense and idealistic youth those words were a serious slap. Our companions grew very quiet and waited to see what was going to happen. Helen and I are not lacking in physical stature, punishingly articulate and fierce as Valkyries. Helen rose from her seat and stood to her full height, just shy of 6'. She said " You hide behind words. You hide behind your journalistic commentary. You don't create change with that mind of yours, you just observe." With that she strode over to the bar.
I was shocked - never before had I been called to task for cowardice. What about the risks I took to get the stories? What about the risks I took in making public statements that challenged the status quo? Did she know what it cost me to do the things I did?
Helen came back from the bar with two glasses of white wine and her personal blank check with my name on it. "Get going girl. Incorporate a business and use your brilliant mind to create change. Get out of the bloody stands and into the game." We clicked our glasses and downed the wine. No more was said between us that day.
It was three more months before I spent that cheque and incorporated my business. When I gave Helen a copy of my incorporation certificate, her only comment was "What took ya?"
That was almost four decades ago and the business lives on still influencing change. I lost track of Helen when she moved back to Australia and settled herself in what she described as a dinky little place. Wherever you are Helen, thanks for the collision.
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