The courage to start...

Feeling the sand under my feet for the past 2 weeks was a constant reminder to me to "have the courage to start".

Not to finish, necessarily...but to simply have the courage to try...to start something...to dream...and to dare to take that first step.

Here are some of my 50 dreams, wants and wishes...in random order, written just from my heart and without censoring what I'm writing.

Some of Crystal’s Dreams, Wants and Wishes...in random order
1. Learn Spanish
2. Learn to play the guitar well
3. Learn to sing
4. Call each family member/niece/nephew 2x/month
5. Get my little Tin Of Wisdom and all 7 themes out to the marketplace in 2010
6. Coordinate 2 DIVA Retreats/year
7. Go to the Pritiken Center for 2 weeks by the end of 2011
8. Discover my healing modality...not sure what it is...but something to help others on a one-one basis...like reflexology or something like this
9. Fine tune my speaking business direction/path/message/purpose
10. Continue with our 100km ultra-marathon for the next 10 years with my friends (Steph, Linda, Alison and Nicole and I ...who started it 5 years ago)
11. Give $ to charity every year
12. Slow down and make a little more space in my life for my family and friends...not work or travel so much
13. Become a better listener
14. Read the bible once
15. Read one book/month
16. Make a positive difference in the world – in a big way – however that may be/look
17. Be debt free by the time I am 45 years old
18. Adopt a village somewhere in Central / South America (that is Spanish) and spend one month/year there – starting in 2010
19. Finish de-cluttering my house and garage
20. Write my book “A Secret Dream” in 2010
21. Have long hair once
22. Complete the sale of my condo in Edmonton and move in to my house in Caseloma by July 1st, 2010
23. Have a 6-pack in 2010
24. Complete 30 IM races in my lifetime
25. Complete 2 more IM races (IMCanada and the Hawaii IM) in 2010
26. Meet the man of my dreams
27. Get married and create the most wonderful life/relationship together
28. Have 3 kids
29. Help eradicate the use of plastic bags in retail stores
30. Continue writing my blog for my mom
31. Focus on my nutrition and health much more, making it my #1 priority
32. Be healthy until I’m 90
33. Write a book about owning and running a hostel – for other hostel owners and write about lessons learned/stories/metaphors for living a great life
34. Fine tune The 90 Day Challenge and get it to the marketplace
35. Be invited to be on the Oprah show
36. Publish an inspirational coffee table book with my photography
37. Hold a fund-raiser at The Rotten Grape to raise funds for Room To Read in 2010
38. Plant my own vegetables every year / grow a garden
39. Invite my mom to come out to Kelowna when I have the new house and ask her to teach me how to make jam
40. Have a family get-together in kelowna with Gwen and invite any family/nieces/nephews to come and visit every summer
41. Sponsor a family at Christmas every year with the hostel
42. Own the very best hostel – cleanest, safest, friendliest hostel on the planet
43. Celebrate “this” moment and be fully present, every hour of every day – as much as humanly possible
44. Be an inspiration to those around me – to help them discover their gifts and talents and share them with the world
45. Continue to learn and strengthen my faith in God
46. To be completely comfortable in my own skin
47. Learn to play the piano
48. Have dinner parties / a bunch of friends over once/month for dinner, laughter, connection and fun
49. Become the best friend, sister, child...that I can possibly be
50. Have the courage to take the first step towards these dreams and countless more in my heart and life.

Mom, another dream, want or wish for me would be to live my life as you have always lived yours...with grace, truth, strength, humility and love.
I love you.
Crystal