How Did I Not Notice That?

 Main Street

Thanksgiving is always a good time to travel home and spend a little time with friends and family. This year, as always, I returned to my hometown for Thanksgiving but brought a friend with me who had never been out West. Since I have been living away from home for three years, I didn't realize how much had really changed until my friend pointed out things that I had never noticed myself, even after living there for 18 years!    

For the weekend, I acted like a tourist doing all the touristy things in order to show my friend the ins and outs of my precious hometown. We talked about a lot of things from the mountains, to the shops and even the house that I grew up in. What I did not realize until this weekend was that I have been using selective perception to see what I thought was important. The things I talked about and showed my friend are original landmarks that have been there since I was born. I completed ignored some of the new and big attractions because I had no direct connection to them and unconsciously passed by them. The first time I realized I was doing this was when we passed a gigantic recreation centre that had been build in the last year. I had never been inside it nor heard much about it (although it turned out to be the talk of the town) so apparently I decided that it was not considered "important".

After this day (and this revelation), I decided to try to look for these little things that my selective perception had skipped over. This particular day, we were taking a gondola up a mountain for lunch, something I have done a dozen times in my life. Instead of acting like a tour guide, I got my friend to point out things she thought was interesting and it turns out, half of what she pointed out i had never really seen or noticed myself. I thought to myself "how have I never noticed that" but realized I have based all of my visits on the first couple trips I had made up the mountain and my eyes just strayed to the things I knew best.

 

Three Sisters Mountains

Something else I noticed while at home was how calming and relaxing the scenery was. After living in the city, going home always feels
like such a relaxing vacation. While out for a walk one evening, I started to pay attention to the color of the water and the shape of the mountains and how happy it made me. Something I had never considered before was how the colors of nature created that relaxed feeling I always get while at home. Everything is green and blue, never bright. The sounds of birds chirping and the smell of spruce trees reach both my sight and smell receptors. Thinking more and more as to why being at home in the mountains was so relaxing made me see all the little aspects that give off that perception. The sounds and smell of nature are those similar to the sounds and smells found at a spa or somewhere that relaxation is trying to be created. So lucky me, I realized that simply being back home gives off natural effects that create a calming a relaxing environment.

Do You Know What Drives You?

The summer of 2013 was one of the hardest times of my life. For anyone affected by the Alberta floods of 2013, you know what I am talking about. I remember waking up the morning of June 19th while working out in Kananaskis. Getting to work that day was treacherous because the rain was coming down in buckets. By the time I had finished work for the day, I remember seeing mud slide warnings and trying to get back to my residence to settle in for the night and stay dry. As I went to bed that night, I never thought about the disaster I was going to wake up to in the morning.  

When I woke up on June 20th, I remember checking my phone to see my mom had left me a massage saying she had been evacuated at 3am due to the high level of water in the creek. This came as a complete shock because the creek behind my house was dry eleven months of the year. I immediately called her to find out information but at this point the rain just simply wouldn't stop and the water levels kept rising. As the morning began, the rain in Kananaskis hadn't stopped either and along with multiple mud slides along the road out, our bridge had been washed out. I was stuck in Kananaskis watching my house in Canmore begin to wash away on the news.

Cougar Creek, Canmore AB 2013

I don't think time could have gone by any slower on the day. My Facebook feed filled up with photos and I kept seeing the damage get worse and worse. Despite the horrific sights I was seeing, I someone managed to still go to work and help everyone however possible. At this point we had lost all power and water, so the hotel I worked at was pure chaos.

Looking back on this particular day, I wonder where my motivation to keep working and help everyone else came from. Everyone kept telling me to go back to my room and relax, but how was I supposed to relax with such extreme issues occurring around me. My motivational strength appeared stronger than ever and I was able to relate to all the guests who were terrified about what was happening. I was running around doing everything from placing sandbags, to helping families cope with the situation, to setting up extra beds in conference rooms and helping cook when I could. My goal during this time was to help calm everyone down (including the situation) because I think I was hoping that if things settled down where I was, the same would happen back in Canmore.

As time passed, so did the weather. It took a couple days for me to get out of there but I wasn't even able to go to Canmore because the highway had been washed out. At this point I was so focused on making sure both my family and myself was safe, focusing on my need for safety as explained in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This need to find shelter and get out of a dangerous situation was a biogenitic need. Having this goal to work towards was what fueled my motivational strength during the longest three days of my life.

Today, thanks to the many volunteers and the Canadian Red Cross, my family was able to rebuild our house and settle back into a normal life. Having to deal with such an extreme situation really demonstrated to me how I can react in a serious situation and what will motive me to keep going. I feel good to know I was able to keep myself motivated despite such horrific times.