I had to pull over into the Northfield rest stop to write this, I was desperate to find a restroom, just off the ferry in Nanaimo and once I'd stopped, and rested, I pulled out my blog with the following extruding out of the end of my pen,  so inspired I was to write it. I had the good fortune to spend some quality time with a dear friend last night. All the way here from Iqaluit, Deb is one of those amazing people its an honour to know, an honour to be able to call her a sister-by-choice.Debbie has worked as a voice for those who can't speak for themselves, for many years in the furthest reaches of Canada, namely, women in poverty and women escaping from violence. She is wise beyond her years. She was a single mother for years, overcame her own demons to go on to make a huge difference in any community she touches.As usual, our conversation wandered around where we were in each other's lives - and we got to talking about CEDRIC, the blog, core beliefs and how we both dealt with our rascally drill sergeants.We were in Deb's downtown Vancouver hotel suite, pulling open the couch to turn it into my bed and Deb says "the trick is to take those surviving skills and turn them into thriving skills." Sometimes she comes up with such simple sentiments that are so ultimately dead on. Then she pointed out that she couldn't help noticing how my recent soul searching and subsequent life changes has had paid off and how I was now, like her, thriving. (more…)