Who Says I Can't?

This is the title of a memoir written by Catherine DeVrye (Bantam, 2005) that I've just finished reading.

Whilst the first half of the book covers her growing up in Canada, adoption, death of parents and first years in Australia with many traumatic twists and turns, it's the latter parts that resonated with me.

CDV deals in common sense, helping others help themselves, whilst remaining fallible. Some comments that hit home for me:

~ from an early age we're conditioned to play safe...yet playing safe is sometimes the riskiest thing we can do.

~ what's the point of having a goal if you know you're going to make it. What's the challenge in that? (from a conversation with Sir Edmund Hillary)

~ we are all products of our past but don't need to remain slaves to it.

It's an inspirational read because it helps you realise that no-one is perfect and we must change to fit our circumstances and there's nothing wrong with that.

Further I got some lovely wisdom from good friend this week that ties in nicely. In a nutshell: every good boat master plots a course to meet needs and avoid obstacles but doesn't fault changing course if hazards or additional information presents eg the effects of weather may mean changing course is necessary.

So your course maybe a zig zag - enjoy the journey!

Best wishes to you all for a peaceful, joy-filled and healthy 2009!