August 01, 2017

Go barefoot! An argument for ditching your shoes this summer...

August 01, 2017/ Julie Murray

Last week, I headed out into the Canadian backcountry for a few days of hiking, camping and detoxing (from technology, that is). Our packs were loaded with everything we would need for a few days, and we headed up the trail to a series of lakes that would be our final destination. An hour into the hike, and after a brief discussion about the benefits of walking barefoot, our hiking shoes were off and we found ourselves navigating the trail barefoot (with fully loaded backpacks, I might add).

Now I must admit, when it was first suggested that we hike barefoot, all I could think about were the potential risks. I am, after all, a North American and former outdoor educator who is used to mitigating risk in the outdoors with protection and protocol.

May 07, 2017

Feeling stuck? 5 steps for getting out of a rut.

May 07, 2017/ Julie Murray

Do you ever feel like you are in a rut? Stuck in a pattern that feels old and out of date? The truth is that most of us, at some point in our lifetime, have felt like we are caught in a way of being that has felt limiting or even stifling to us. It can feel like we are in a holding pattern of sorts, a cycle of behaviour or experiences that don’t match the life we imagine for ourselves. We can feel misaligned or detached as aspects of our careers, our relationships, our lifestyle or simply our patterns and behaviours feel out of sync with what truly matters in our lives.

December 13, 2016

Living life on autopilot: How to get yourself back in the driver’s seat

December 13, 2016/ Julie Murray

I have to be honest. I am a little bit freaked out about the advent of the driverless car. Last weekend, I read an article on the projections by most major car makers that driverless (autonomous) cars will be on the market by 2020. Despite the argument that these cars will be safer than cars with drivers, I can’t help but shudder when I think about them. Maybe it is because they feel too futuristic (I mean, even the Jetsons drove their little spaceship), or maybe because I am getting to the age where nostalgia trumps novelty (I hope not!).

November 26, 2016

All work and no play: Are you operating at a play deficit?

November 26, 2016/ Julie Murray

Earlier this month, I read Dr. Stuart Brown's book, Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and invigorates the Soul. Dr. Brown is a psychologist and co-founder of the National Institute of Play and a strong proponent for the importance of play in our busy grown-up lives. He believes that play is essential if we are to keep our minds and hearts open, flexible, healthy and adaptable to our ever-changing world.

A strong argument, a fascinating read and a powerful reminder that I need to play more.

November 18, 2016

What a few cups of tea will teach you: a lesson in perspective

November 18, 2016/ Julie Murray

This fall, I was at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival for an evening of films and photography. The last film of the night was a documentary by Jennifer Jordan called 3,000 Cups of Tea in which Jordan, along with her husband/cinematographer Jeff Rhoads, explored the 2011 allegations about Greg Mortenson’s financial misdeeds and his distortions of the truth.

Like me, you might remember reading the book, Three Cups of Tea. It is an inspirational memoir about Mortenson’s work building schools (primarily for girls) throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan. The book spent 220 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller List and by 2011 donors had contributed more than $70 million to the organization. When the 60 Minutes exposé came out, the world of Greg Mortenson was forever altered. He fell hard and fast.

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