The Turning Point: A Journey into Personal Transformation - Stage 2
Stage 2: Contemplation
The second stage of personal transformation is Contemplation, where individuals may develop an awareness of the need for change, driven by a vision of a better future or dissatisfaction with the present. It's an "aha" moment, a realisation of the unsustainability of the current situation. However, individuals may be hesitant, lacking confidence or commitment to make a change. They weigh the pros and cons, considering the negatives of the status quo and the positives of change. Doubt and uncertainty may linger, making them aware of the problem but unsure of how to overcome it, delaying a commitment to action.
Here, I document my experience of Stage 2: Contemplation, as I continue on my six-week adventure to the USA and Canada.
Destination 3: Calgary, Canada
After spending a wonderful few days in New York with my dear friend that I danced with in Paris, followed by the emotionally intense digital storytelling workshop, and inspirational conference in Washington DC, the next stop on my itinerary was Calgary in Canada.
Earlier that year, while I was still in the planning stages of my trip, I was involved with organising an event for the Australian Association of Gerontology in Queensland. A colleague told me about an Australian researcher who was living in Calgary and working on a project that used photography to explore the lived experience of aging in Canada; and she happened to be visiting Australia – so of course I had to meet her!!
Her background was in nursing, and she was working at the University of Calgary as a Lecturer and Researcher. When we met in Australia, we shared many common interests and had lots to talk about. She was explaining how the extreme weather conditions and diverse landscapes in Canada influenced people’s ageing experience, and how important it was for local governments to understand the needs of communities in different environments. Photography provided a powerful way to capture and share the lived experiences of people as they navigated access to support services in different locations. I was absolutely captivated by her stories and when I said that I was planning on visiting the US, she very kindly offered for me to come and visit her in Calgary.
What an adventure that turned out to be! As soon as I arrived, the connection with nature was palpable. We went into the city of Calgary and walked along the Bow River and through the city park and it was absolutely stunning! There were so many birds and wildlife, and the natural surroundings of the river were preserved for all to enjoy. Then we went to her partner’s house, and he had set up the garden to create a natural environment for local wildlife, such as squirrels, birds and bees to enjoy.
Then they took me on a drive up to the Canadian Rockies. The scenery was mind-blowing!! The sheer magnitude of the mountains and trees, and the beautiful colours of the lakes and rivers was so humbling. We saw lots of different wildlife along the way including mountain goats, deer, birds, moose and bears! All the cars driving along the road slowed down to see the “critters” in their natural habitat.
I loved it so much that I booked a two-day tour to Jasper National Park. The tour included visits to Bow Lake, Columbia Icefield (ice explorer/ glacier skywalk), Athabasca Falls, Jasper, Maligne Lake and cruise, Maligne Canyon, Peyto Lake in Banff National Park, and Crowfoot Glacier. If you haven’t been there yet, I would highly recommend it!
My friend also introduced me to several of her colleagues in Calgary who were working in similar fields around health and ageing, and we visited a local assisted living community. We talked a lot about “passion projects” and fanaticised about how fulfilling and rewarding it would be to just focus on working on projects that we were truly passionate about. We talked about how challenging it is to do research in arts and health because of the emphasis on medical research and clinical trials. There is very little funding available to support research that focuses on creativity and social and emotional wellbeing, especially for people as they age.
These deep conversations and reconnecting with nature helped me to put things into perspective. It was definitely an “aha” moment! I finally understood why I was feeling so frustrated and unfilled and recognised why I felt so exhausted, constantly trying to fit into a system that was not designed for what I was passionate about. I needed to find a way to reconnect with what “fills my cup”, which is creativity, nature and spending more time with people who I love and inspire me. The day before I left Calgary, I called my husband and told him that I had decided to leave my job when I returned home. I also suggested that we move back to France.
Destination 4: Seattle
My next stop was Seattle, where I stayed for a few days with my best friend from primary school and her family. We had so much fun together; we chatted and laughed the entire time, much to the annoyance of her late-teen and early-twenty-year-old children!! We have a long history together having been partners in crime, experiencing many “firsts” together, and staying in contact as we travelled through the different stages in our lives, and moved to different countries and cities around the world. We reminisced about the past, caught up on the present, and pondered about the next stage of our lives and what that would look like. We also went on lots of hikes through incredible forests of Giant Sequoia trees, drank lots of wine and ate lots of yummy food!
Laughter is truly the best medicine; it helped to lighten my mood after such an intense period of reflecting and ruminating. While I was sad to say goodbye to my friend once again, and I was still feeling pretty uncertain about the future, I left Seattle feeling much more positive and hopeful.