First, a thank you..
Here we are in Dubrovnik.
Croatia, is just beautiful and the highlight has been a small courtyard in the small Fortress of the 16th Century Croatian Poet, Petar Hektorovic, in the tiny town of Stari Grad on the Island of Hvar, two hours by Ferry out of Split. Jo and I spread some of Jenny's ashes there and it was one of the most peaceful places (*) I have experienced and his words (*) seem quite relevant and profound.
We feel privileged and lucky to have the ability to make and have these experiences.
Caitlin, Lisa, Jo, Kaizer and myself have just competed at the 11th World DB Champs with the 2013 Australian Auroras Squad. It was a great event and we have some amazing memories.
The Hungarians have shown the world how to host a modern World Dragon Boat Championships, which have become carnival like because of their size.
It was also great to paddle on a course so rich in paddling history.
The highlight of the championships for me was watching Jo, carry the Australian Flag and leading the whole Australian Squad at the Opening Ceremony.
Joanne, Jenny would be so proud of you as we all are. A tribute (*) to Joanne and those those have supported her in paddling and life will follow the presentation.
On behalf of Caitlin, Lisa, Jo, Kaizer and myself, we thank you all for supporting us in paddling and life. Pacific Dragons provides the home and base which nurtures us as paddlers and people.
A little about Jenny now ..
Jenny said to me towards the end, when the destination of her disease became more real, that she would miss the travel adventures with us - no doubt in travels and in life.
It is just over 4 years ago that she said those words and it would be a few short months later she left this world.
She did not feel sorry for herself in saying those words. She always had a strong sense of reality about her life, her cancer and her purpose in life.
This was one of the inspiring traits I would take from her and one we can all take from her as we face the uncertainties which will become the certainties of our lives.
When she did die, I had already decided that I should live on in her "Afterglow". This was much easier to say than do and for a long time I thought my life purpose had been served and honoured.
Those early days were the hardest of my life and it would take a long time to find my confidence, to start living my life again. That there was a purpose. All I could really do was paddle. In some ways, it was during those days I found myself.
Jenny loved travel, a globe and atlas and it was no surprise that geography was her favourite class. Had she been born in earlier times, she would have a been great explorer - and without doubt, Captain Petterson, as I would call her, would have been an important name in our history books and classes, along with Columbus and Cook.
So, whenever we decided to travel, she was also the navigator, along with Jo, of course. With a sheet of paper and pen in hand, they would thumb through the atlas and rotate the globe charting our path and planning our itinerary.
Croatia was Jenny's choice for our Europe 2009 trip following the World DB Champs in Prague. However, she would not make it here, passing away 9 weeks before the Worlds.
We did not travel to Croatia in 2009. In the haze of grief and bereavement, I can't remember why now.
So for this 2013 Hungary Campaign, we decided that Croatia would be our first stop, in order to honour Jenny's wishes.
As it is with everything now, I feel a sense of guilt that I am alive and experiencing life and Jenny is not. That I am experiencing this trip, Szeged and in particular the Croatian coast and our current port Dubrovnik.
However, these feelings of guilt are balanced with the thought that she inspires us to continue our lives to the full, including creating these experiences. It is what she would want us to do.
Maybe in some ways I feel that when we meet again, I can tell her all the great things we have done.
So while there are feelings of guilt, I balance them with those of inspiration, intention, innocence, naviety and awe. In this way, a perspective on life can be found and along with a sense of empathy, it can give your life a solid foundation even during the toughest moments.
I talk about this because I have come to realise that others have or will have these moments and this is just one way, my way at least, to respond. This is life.
So to the 2013 Inspire Award ..
A common word used in all the presentations over years is the word "Belief". It seems to pop up all the time.
Last year I spoke a little about belief, in the sense that inspiring people seem to have a belief in themselves - we call it self-belief.
So I started to think about where does self belief come from?
I would find an answer a month after, via a blog post by Spencer Lum, a New York based wedding photographer, of all people. His words made it crystal clear to me. He wrote:
[..] if you’re willing to take a gamble, I’ll bet on you. If you’re willing to put it out there, if you’re willing to fail, if you’re willing to let go of it all, thumb your nose at the world, and do it your way, I’ll believe in you. [..]"I’ll believe in you." Spencer wrote. There it was. The answer was so simple - self belief first comes from others who believe in you.
Often it takes some time to have the confidence to believe in one self. Initially, more often than not, the belief comes from others. Those who support and love you for who you are.
It is only with time, experience and the support of those others who believe in you, that you can find your own self belief and you start say things to yourself like
- yes, I can do that,
- you start finding reasons why you can, rather than you can't, and
- when you question yourself with "why?", you are able to say "well ,why not!"
As time goes by, you become stronger, more independent and not afraid to give things a go, even if it means making mistakes and / or failing. You know that the risk is worth the reward of at least trying, whatever the outcome.
So what does this have to do with the 2013 Inspire Award?
The recipient of this award realised her own self-belief this year, initially through the support of her coaches and those that have paddled with her since joining the club.
Something happened this year for her. She had been making changes and steady improvements over the years, but she realised she needed to start believing in herself. It was a natural progression.
I was lucky enough to sit next her one week night dragon boat training session going into CNY. She trained strongly and between sets we chatted briefly. She told me that she needed to start believing in herself and that she was almost there. I was impressed. This is the stuff I had been thinking about.
The next weekend she made this very visible to her coaches, paddling buddies and most importantly, herself, by performing a stunning 4km OC1 time trial out of Dobroyd Point. This was the turning point, the starting point to self belief.
It was fantastic to witness that very moment.
I have seen it time and time again in our club. Coaches and others believing, paddlers changing and then suddenly something remarkable happens. They start believing in themselves. It is the great thing about our club and it is what I love about PDs.
So the 5th and 2013 recipient of the Inspire Award in the Memory of Jenny Petterson is Cath Gale.
A big congratulations to you Cath from Jo and myself. You are an inspiration.
Have a great night all. We will be thinking of you all and we look forward to getting back into it all on our return in late August.
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