Do I Dare?

"What I think is that a good life is one hero journey after another. Over and over again, you are called to the realm of adventure, you are called to new horizons. Each time, there is the same problem: do I dare? And then if you do dare, the dangers are there, and the help also, and the fulfillment or the fiasco. There's always the possibility of a fiasco. But there's also the possibility of bliss." - Joseph Campbell, from his book "Pathways to Bliss".

As I start my new job, I'm reminded of how change instigates growth.

I've been at Hep off and on since I was 19. I can remember the day I started too, I was so nervous to have my first real job - in marketing - for a trendy agency - in the Village - all what I wished for.

The early days were amazing. The crew was so tight, we were like family. That brought lifelong characters into my life: John, Kim, the Davids, Sarah, Arnold, Lyn and my sweet Jenni, among other friends. The brainstorming sessions were always so creative and we had so much fun! I was enamored to simply be there. It's what I had wanted in a career.

Then, at 22, I got all geared up to head to the 2007 CMA in Ottawa. It was right when the tulips were blooming and I was staying in a grand hotel and eating sushi on the balcony one night when it hit - I had "achieved" what I had set for myself as a goal with my marketing career. Literally. I loved being in client meetings, writing communications plans and executing. I loved working with a different client every day and growing relationships with these passionate, budding entrepreneurs (who were often hard to handle, but so lovely nonetheless). And I LOVED that I was now at my first conference.

That moment happened right before I met John Wood and heard his story. I've wrote it out a million times so I won't again, but that led me to think there was more to this world than marketing and business. That led me to understand how amazingly blessed I was to be there at such a young age. That moment led me later to Africa, to India and to El Salvador. It led me to work with Little Travellers and Siloam Mission and Habitat for Humanity. It's led me to encourage clients to spend their hard-earned profits on things that matter more or at the very least, to be more socially responsible. And I'm hoping, with this next move, that it will continue to push me into a direction where I can continue to help people and talk each day about those things in life that matter.

My goal for my new career is to learn the skills of being the go-to manager for marketing and communications. For spreading an important message. I hope to learn how to really connect with people, even those I don't understand. I want to learn event management and public speaking and I can't wait to do the community development work with Farming Futures.

And so, I go from one job where I know it inside and out, to another where I will learn so much. This is the start of real change and growth towards a positive career that I feel proud of. This new role will challenge me in a lot of ways, such as how I currently view Canada, the agriculture industry, food systems and ultimately, the way I view the world. Already, my bosses came to Kelowna for a planning meeting and we had a long conversation about GMO's. If you follow my facebook or have read earlier blogs, you'll probably understand my stance on that. But these guys are extraordinary market analysts, farmers with agriculture degrees and have been in farm families for generations. They view the debate from the other side - how do they continue running farm business profitably, struggle against the climate, and feed the growing population without some help from GMO's? It's a debate I'm not yet comfortable with as I know I need to educate myself further, but I was raised to hear both sides of every story and I am just excited to be within this new world talking about it everyday.

As I say Goodbye to the lovely souls and my last chapter at Hep, I am inspired yet again by new beginnings.  I'm reminded that goodbyes aren't permanent or solid endings, they are ongoing.waves in our lives. And after meeting so many quality people from my time here in Kelowna, I know that it's not about the amount of time you spend with a person that cements their lessons and love in your life, it's the mark they make on your life. It can happen in minutes or days, months or years. I say goodbye to my colleagues that have become family and my clients that are friends, yet the lessons and memories will be there forever - it's just the job that is over. And as I sit in on my first company wide meeting this morning with 30 new colleagues, I'm introduced to a whole new whack of souls. For better or for worse, they will all teach me something - I'm sure of it.

"the truth is, something we love is always ending. If we keep in mind that the thing we've lost was itself the child of separation, it's easier to let go. We learn the way through loss to gain, expecting unimaginable delights to be born from every sorrow. It becomes not only possible but delicious to follow Rilke's advice: "Flow into the knowledge that what you are seeking / finishes often at the start, and, with ending, begins." - Martha Beck

Overwhelmingly excited and increasingly anxious, I am now entering (another) new chapter in my life.I will be all over Western Canada for the next two months, presenting marketing plans and making presentations.

Am I ready for this huge change? (Yes!)

Or better yet, do I dare?