This weekend I am away from home and missing it so but the work I was doing was important for me to go. Yes I’ve just finished writing a long email message as a poem so if I get in that habit again it’s the way my brain is working, bear with me please.
In December, I joined the National Cancer Leadership Forum (NCLF) and was very blessed and honored to be elected to the Leadership Team of the NCLF who’s mandate is to the create awareness of the necessity of the “Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control” ultimately leading to its implementation. Since December, I have been spending a considerable amount of time, both personal and professional time, contributing to the evolution of this team and our business plan to deliver on our mission.
This weekend, I was in Burlington for a retreat, it was one great weekend that was filled with connectivity and personal growth. And just to top off the exceptional weekend I happened to get a very special ticket from my friend, Pat, to go see His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Sky Dome this afternoon.
The unfortunate part was that His Holiness wasn’t schedule to start until 3:30 pm and my flight left at 6:30 pm. I figured I would risk it and take in as much of the event as possible. It was a cold rainy day in Toronto and we stood in the rain for about 40 minutes before we ultimately got inside to see the show which started 30 minutes late. As we settled in our seats, Justin Trudeau took the stage to introduce the special guest and I focused myself to absorb what I could.
The energy in Sky Dome was something in itself and the message was simple and from the heart. I did have to duck out after 30 minutes or so but the highlights for me are listed below…
– happiness is the way, it’s the “thing” we all want
– stuff is not important
– education is
– and so is commitment
The Dalai Lama openly explained that he knows little about geography or history but I feel that that is not the kind of education he was talking about.
I left the Sky Dome early to ensure I made my flight. I had a great cab driver take me to the airport, who flew down side streets to avoid the bumper to bumper highways. I arrived with 40 minutes to spare, or so I thought. Air Canada had oversold the flight by 20 people. I waited and got down to the final three as 17 others made the jump to the flight, it wasn’t in the cards for me. So while I did catch His Holiness the Dalai Lama, I missed Air Canada…a pretty good swap if you ask me!
Speaking of education, I spent some time in schools this week. Before I left for this amazing weekend I did some significant work of my own as we have made the first formal steps to bring RealTime Cancer to the rest of the country. We have started with Nova Scotia this past week. I spoke to a high school, the DAL Med School, and a collection of hospital and cancer professionals. I have this vision for RTC to take over the country…in a caring compassionate kind of way and there are about ten steps in this process I feel. This past week we’ve begun the first one. We were received with great energy and open hearts and minds which is so encouraging. To clarify again “taking over the country” it really is my mission to ensure that everyone young Canadian (15-30) knows where to reach us should they ever feel the need in the face of a cancer challenge, either as a patient or a patient supporter.
I have so many profound thoughts running through my head, but perhaps they are clouded by my lack of sleep and low energy. I’m off to rest and wait for my much later flight but will bring back my focus with some rest. Count on hearing from me again soon.
Hearing those words from His Holiness the Dalai Lama has lead to my thinking of what makes me happy. What makes you happy?
Back soon.
Always… Live life. Love life.
Geoff
