My "Walk in the Snow"

Pierre Trudeau was one of Canada's greatest prime ministers--a man of huge intellect and intelligence. Although I never voted for his party, I respect much of what he stood for and did for our country.

In February 1984, seeing his standing in the polls dropping, Trudeau took what he called his "walk in the snow" and made a decision to leave politics. He continued nevertheless to be a formidable force in Canadian politics until his death in 2000.

Even vaguely comparing myself to Pierre Trudeau is ridiculous, but today I took a walk that I hope will turn out to be my very own "walk in the snow".

I thought a lot about my physical limitations and how frustrated I feel with my efforts to become as healthy as possible. I thought about how trying to fight against obstacles that cannot be changed is actually counter-productive for my health--both physical and mental.

I thought about having the strength to change what I can and having the intelligence to accept what I cannot change. And then I reviewed the "cans" and the "cannots" in my life.

And I actually found one "can" that I really want to do and know I can do, as long as I put my mind to it.

Sorry, I'm not ready to talk about the details of this decision. All I can say is that it's something that's central to my philosophy of respecting myself, accepting my choices and saying "yes" instead of "no". I know this perhaps sounds melodramatic, but I believe that if I can really implement this decision, it will take a weight off my shoulders, literally and figuratively.

Once I make this a real habit, I'll talk about it and tell you about the results...