Catherine Mombourquette

Thank-you so much to all of the people who came out to support me at the Imagine That! Art Show last weekend. Although the show could have been a little busier I am so glad I put myself out there, I met some new people and learned a little bit about life as an artist.

Below are the images I had on display and for sale at the show. If you are interested in any of the images please contact me, paradiseshutterbug@yahoo.com

My life's journey has brought me to so many different places. I would have never thought that I would be currently enrolled in leadership training  through Leadership Waterloo Region, a program that is *designed to help participants acquire both a broader understanding of the critical issues affecting our community and the leadership skills necessary to resolve them.

Over the past year I have been struggling with believing in the notion of "YES I CAN" which to some, might come as a surprise. I have done so many wonderful things and have met so many interesting people that it only makes sense that my path has lead me here. I was so excited, at our opening retreat hosted at the Elmhurst Inn (Ingersoll ON), to start the program . As excited as I was I had no idea what to expect because I had never done anything like this before!

There are a few very important things/moments from that weekend that will stick with me for a long time. I remember sitting down on the first day and listening to my classmates introduce themselves as we went around the table, you had to say your name, what company you were from and your title. As I sat there listening to everyone I could only remember thinking... what the heck am I doing here with all of these amazing people!!! And then asked myself...how do I fit into this?

As the weekend programming progressed, I found myself being forced to think back to all of the experiences I have had in my professional journey and how they have contributed to my life as a professional now. In particular it made me think back to my first job after college working at a spa uptown Waterloo. I spent about five years working in this environment, I met so many different people and worked within a mix of very strong personalities who thrived on interaction and self expression. Leadership was all around me, I didn't see it then, but it was definitely there in my clients, colleagues, mentors, even me. The professional growing I did throughout my time at the spa, I now realize, was one of the most pivotal experiences I have had in my life. It not only transitioned me from student to professional but it gave me the tools I needed to carry on into my next phase of professional development.

I have always been easily inspired by others and love to dream about things that I would like to do one day. Often I get so excited and act on impulse. I'll start signing up for courses or cold calling people for interviews... yada yada yada... and then BOOM completely lose interest or end up frustrated and eventually the thought or idea just passes me by. I am not sure where I get this frustration from but I think its because I start to feel overwhelmed and unsure about the decisions I have made. Sometimes I put other less important things ahead of myself and pour too much energy into them until I have nothing left. One of the facilitators at our workshop shared a little metaphor with our class that gave me a complete a-ha moment regarding these frustrations, she said: "when thinking about your journey think about it as if your about to climb Mount Everest, your standing at the bottom and you know have long way to go but instead of looking up towards the summit just look straight ahead towards your next step". Its simple advice but it spoke so loudly to me, it was exactly what I needed to hear...

There are lots of things I am passionate about. I have found as I grow older that there are things you love to do and things you need to do to survive. What I mean is that I love my job and my team but I need to express myself creatively and feel connected to people and their stories on a deep and personal level. In the past two years I have found photography. I am still learning but feel like I'll never learn enough because I love it so much! It wasn't until I started looking through a "lens" that I discovered how beautiful, quirky, and fascinating people and our planet are. It makes me want to tell everyones story because everyone has a story to tell. At the Leadership Waterloo Opening Retreat we were shown a National Geographic video that talked about photography as a metaphor, looking at things through different "lens" or "angles", how to recognize the creativity and opportunity around you, its always there you just have to believe it.

Now that the retreat is over and our class is started on the program I think about that question "how do I fit into this?" This time I know the answer is that my journey so far has taught me a lot about people and different working environments but now its time to learn a little more about myself and what I have to offer. I think this experience will be another pivotal moment in life for me. I am interested to see how the program and my photography will inspire one another, I am very pleased that I have already made some very good friends and can't wait to find out what will happen next.

* http://www.leadershipwaterlooregion.org/section/view/?fnode=78

2007 was a rough year for my family, after months of coming to terms with a serious family illness I did what I usually thought would have been impossible and whisked my Parents away on a family vacation to the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. Even though the island is very western-ized and modern, the native Hawaiians and Americans who live there still teach and speak about some of the Ancient Hawaiian Culture. I didn't actually discover this until I got back but oneday while researching Hawaiian phrases for my website I came across "Huna", about.com explains Huna as:

"Huna, in Hawaiian, means "secret." Huna, in its purest form is ancient knowledge enabling a person to connect to his or her highest wisdom within. Understanding and utilizing the fundamentals or "seven principles" of Huna is intended to bring about healing and harmony through the power of the mind. This healing art and earth science is spiritual in nature, experiencing its concepts gives us the opportunity to integrate mind, body and spirit. One might acknowledge Huna teachings as one of nature's tools helpful in development of inner knowing and enhancing innate psychic abilities.

There are 7 priciples of Huna:

Seven Principles of Huna

1. IKE -The world is what you think it is
2. KALA -There are no limits, everything is possible
3. MAKIA -Energy flows where attention goes
4. MANAWA -Now is the moment of power
5. ALOHA -To love is to be happy with
6. MANA -All power comes from within
7. PONO -Effectiveness is the measure of truth

In hindsight, I didn't take my family to Hawaii because of the hardships we were going through, I took my family to Hawaii because everything really IS possible... your energy DOES flow where your attention goes... and to teach us that the world IS what you think it is... Its principles like these that guide you on the journeys where moving experiences and lasting memories are created in life...whether they're on an island or not!

Its a wonderful way to think about growth, healing, love, perspective, change, power, and motivation! Enjoy!

Going to Costa Rica for the first time in July of 2008 I had no idea what to expect and was nervous that it was going to rain the whole time as we were going during the countrys "green season". By the time I got there any preconceived idea I did have was quickly forgotten because I was so completely stunned by how extraoridinarily beautiful that country is. I am not as seasoned of a traveler as I would like but I have been a few places and Costa Rica is by far one of the best. The added bonus is that some really good friends live there, they went on vacation there together, fell in love with the country (easy to see why), bought property and set up shop!  They have totally inspired me to "just do it", nothing is impossible and you CAN make it work... such an important and FANTASTIC lesson in life. I want to see as much of the world as possible but would go back to Costa Rica a million times over!

For the last two years one of my best girlfriends, Stacey, has invited a troop of 8 to 12 girls up to her Grandparents cottage on the bay of Lake Nippissing for a weekend of great food, lots of drinks and tons of laughs! I have been friends with most of these girls for well over 10 years and even though we don't see much of eachother throughout the rest of the year it sure is great to have everyone together for this one long weekend...a tradition that I hope NEVER ends!

Every year, on the Civic long weekend, a group of riff raff are called to do their Civic duty and spend the weekend camping out at Uncle Murrays pond just outside of Shakespeare ON. Hosted by the Lamb family (ne: Jeremy and Anissa), there is compliementary wood, a bbq, and... a pond. This is still a new tradition for me but the veterans of the event have been quick to show me the ropes and now I look forward to it every year!

(Photos by Jeremy Lamb, Laura Thomas, & Catherine Mombourquette)