 With 2013 drawing to a close and 2014 about to spring into life, I am once again pondering my word of the year.
What is a word of the year? Well put quite simply it is a word that you aspire to be more of, to become, to guide you, a word to live by. I started choosing my word of the year in 2012, back then I was a bit lost, didn’t know my direction in life, in love, in family, in pretty much everything. I guess I was a big bobble head bouncing ever way I seemed to be pulled to. I was lacking focus, drive and discipline, but most of all I was lacking that zest for life. I recall sitting and thinking okay pick a good word, wealth sounds good, I like wealth, lol what about happiness? That is a good word, who doesn’t want happiness? I hummed and hawed for sometime, every time I thought of a word, it just didn’t feel right, so I left it alone, who needs a word of the year anyways? I am not sure when my word came to me, I just know when it popped in my mind, there was no doubt that one word would be my compass for the year. My word for 2012 was ‘ clarity ‘ I know, I know, clarity? Boring word, but it was the word I needed, every time I was at a crossroads in 2012, I thought to myself, which direction will give you more clarity? And then I would go the direction. My year started out in a fog of confusion, but by the end of the year every thing was crystal clear. The same held true for 2013, my word for the year was ‘ fearless ‘ Any time I felt that knot in my stomach of something that would scare me like riding down a scary section of trail mountain biking, making big business decisions, riding my horse with confidence to my first barrel in a competition, etc. any time I felt fear, I would revert to my word of the year and say to myself “ be fearless” and wow, did it make a huge difference in my year, events happened that I could of never imagined. I threw it out there and let the chips fall as they wish. I said I am going to ride my bike down this hill, I will go for big film projects, I am going ride my horse like I am competing in the Calgary Stampede. So did I ride down that steep hill? Did I land a huge contract? Did I win a barrel race? Well yes I did, but that is not what matters, what matters to me is while I was at the top, sitting on my bike looking down, I chose to look fear in the face and said, “ get lost” . Having a word of the year is a fantastic way to give yourself a personal compass, to guide yourself when you are lost. It can be any word you want, fun, happiness, strength, health, you will know when you have chosen the right word, it will just feel right, your word is just for you, only you have to know it and when you hit that crossroad, think of your word and choose your path from there. So what is my word for 2014? It actually came to me in a phone conversation with a friend, I knew it was my word right away, if felt good to say it. I can wait to see where this word will guide me. My word for 2014 is Limitless
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BE THE CHANGE
I recently did a video about a local Veterinarian and her plight to raise awareness and help save starving horses. I normally try to steer clear of volunteering my time to ‘ sad’ stories. I feel negative breeds negative and positive breeds positive, but in this particular case my gut was screaming at me to find a way to make this a positive. I had no idea how I was going to take such a sad story and turn it into a positive, but thankfully it came to me. The best way I knew how to tell this story was to shine a light on the woman who was inspiring change. It truly only take the actions of one person to start a wave of change and change is happening all the time, we have fantastic people out there, we just do not see it, most times because it is hidden with negative. News reports always seem to favor doom and gloom. I do have to admit that seeing the condition of the horses was hard, they were beyond skinny, but even in their discomfort, they still took the time to nicker a thank you to the staff at the veterinary clinic every time they walked by. I met Lisa, a fantastic looking young mare, so tall, so regal, even in her condition, she stood as tall as she could, she knew the staff was helping her, she wants to live and is tolerating all the poking and prodding from the staff. I think they know when someone is trying to help, animals know the difference between kindness and cruelty. I also meet Spunky, a curious George type of horse, the whole time I was filming, he was trying to snoop and see what I was up to, many times his nostrils were right on my lens, he had a spark in his eyes, he didn’t hide who he was, when you looked into his eyes, he allowed you too see who he was, I felt I had known him my whole life in just one glance. I am heart broken at his loss. Just two days after I filmed him, he passed away. He fought hard, but his time had come. I have not been able to watch the video again since. I know it sounds ridiculous after only spending an hour with him, but there was something so true in his eyes, so recognizable. The plight continues, Jennifer continues to raise awareness, as she said to me, “ when you are true to yourself, really true to yourself, good things happen “ she is being true to her and her gut is telling her to follow this through till the end, to start a rescue foundation, to educate the public and to give back. Her initiative is inspiring a wave of change. I really believe that we all can start a wave of change, it doesn’t have to be a huge, something as simple as picking up a piece of garbage and tossing it into the trash can make a difference. Imagine if someone sees you picking up that trash and thinks to themselves, what a great thing to do, they in turn now feel great and offer to pay for the coffee of the person behind them in line of the drive through, that person is then inspired and goes home early to spend more time with their kids. The kids are feeling great the next day at school and tell their teacher, how much they love being in her class, she is now on a high and spends more time with a child that is having a hard time reading, the parent of this child is so thankful that he offers to help re build the school play ground. You see where I am going with this, nothing is too small, Nothing. I also believe each of us has a unique gift to give, mine is video. I am blessed with being able to truly connect people with a video, only you know what your gift is, and if you do not know what it is yet, well what lights your fire? That is where you should start to look and then simply follow the crumbs. I was honored to have met Spunky, perhaps his gift was opening our hearts I was blessed to show this story for the inspiration that it is, for the hope, the love and the power of one person to make a difference. I was honored to share humanity making a turn for the better. I invite all of you to carry on the wave of change. Be The Change Monique |
AuthorAdventures in videography, some of the highs and lows of what it is really like to film Archives
February 2014
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