Category: Be The Best.

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Be The Best.

New Hope, Poem Night and Robert Frost

New Hope is a not for-profit-group in Vernon that was founded by my sister Grace after she suffered the loss of her husband (my brother-in-law) Andy some 15 years ago.  Not one to back away from a challenge, she faced and formed her ‘new normal’ head on and New Hope has helped hundreds of windows and widowers (and their families) over the years.  Now remarried to a fantastic guy Steve, it is a great example of honouring your past and also not giving up on the future…far from it.

Remember ‘giving is a part of grieving’?  There’s a lot of that in Grace.  You can check out more from New Hope here.  I was on their site tonight and they had the poem from Robert Frost called ‘Lodged’ on the home page.  It is similar to Invictus in some regards and when I researched Frost’s personal life I understood why.  Wow.  He had a lot of reasons to be bitter, questioning and angry.  Instead there appears to be a quiet resolve to persevere and explore the future as the Captain of his soul.  This is ‘Lodged’ by Robert Frost.

The rain to the wind said,
'You push and I'll pelt.'
They so smote the garden bed
That the flowers actually knelt,
And lay lodged--though not dead.
I know how the flowers felt.
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Be The Best.

Sunrise

There are only a few weeks in our climate where you could wear shorts and a t-shirt and feel comfortable sitting outside at 5:30am.

Today was one of those days.

In the words of Mr. Bono from U2,

It’s a beautiful day, don’t let it slip away!

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Be The Best.

Mandela

You may have read the blog post about Nelson Mandela and the movie Invictus a few weeks back.

That man was and is amazing.  Twenty-seven years in a prison cell and ready to change the world through peace, communication, trust and respect when he gets out.

I found some direct Mandela quotes that I think are awesome.  Check this out.

  • It always seems impossible until it’s done.
  • I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
  • There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

(via http://www.brainyquote.com/)

There are many parts of this journey that seem somewhat impossible.  How can we make it ‘done’?  The million dollar question.  One thing that just keeps coming back again and again is the continued decision to make decisions.  The continued choice to make choices and move forward.

Ever seen or read documentaries on reaching Mt. Everest?  Those pre-summit steps are agonizingly slow in a high-altitude, sub-zero netherworld.  The only way that mountain is conquered is one step at a time.  I think the difference for us, is there is no real summit.  There will be no point of saying..GREAT..made it, we can now move on to the next challenge as it were.  Mandela talks about courage being the triumph over fear.  We are learning to not fear the future.  I agree completely; that is what courage is all about and we’ve got a ways to go.  He made it 27 years in a prison cell.  I don’t think you get that far thinking about 5 or 10 or 15 years into the future.  The only thing he controlled in that prison was his own reactions and decisions each minute, hour and day.

As he stated from the poem Invictus, ‘I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.’

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Be The Best.

The One Minute Zoo

It’s been a long, sometimes tough (dare I say HOT (I’m not complaining!)) week!

I found these clips from the New Normal San Diego Adventure Weekend a couple of months back with Steve and Meggan and thought it was time for a lighter view of the world tonight.

I am pleased to release, San Diego Zoo in 1 Minute.  A gripping documentary look at 5 tourists interaction with animals (and each other) at this world renowned facility.

With tongue firmly planted in cheek, I give you The One Minute Zoo.

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Be The Best.

#32 in Denver this weekend!

A picture is worth a thousand words.  You’ve heard that before, right here in this blog.  Well take a look at this 1,000 word picture.

Chris learned so much from the Burnaby Mountain Selects program.  Their coaching and admin staff have been incredibly supportive during this time and of course these are the folks (Brent and Jeff) who coach the SFU Lacrosse team.

The news tonight is that the Burnaby Mountain Selects summer program which has teams going all over the place (New York, California, Denver etc) will be wearing the helmet stickers that you see above.  (Thanks Steve Lacoursiere and Brad Haima for rockin the original design)

They are playing in Denver this weekend.  Chris will be with you all in spirit boys!!  Be The Best.

To Joyce, Brent and Jeff, we extend our thanks for the honour of having Chris remembered throughout this season with the Burnaby Mountains Select players.  Extremely cool!

I also want to thank the many players and parents of the BMS program that so generously not only purchased the Chris Friesen lacrosse stick, but made amazing contributions to the fund in his memory.  We can’t thank you enough!!

Boys…go win some lacrosse games.  Better yet, keep learning how you can get better and listen to those coaches ok?  They are the real deal.

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Be The Best.

What is normal?

Straight to vid tonight.

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Be The Best.

Golf. I’ve retired. I’ve unretired. I’ve retired. I’ve unretired.

As many of you know, I retired from golf this year.

I unretired last month to go on a golf trip/social weekend.

I then retired again.

Tomorrow I’m unretiring again to take part in the Drive for the Cure golf tournie.  What a great cause by great people.

There are so many great causes out there.  I only have to think of how many people have supported the Chris Friesen Memorial Fund at SFU.  I received a new total today and we’re over $21,000 WITHOUT the stick funds still to come which should add another $5,000.  (Hoping for sticks to arrive in a couple of weeks…I’ll update ASAP!)

Tomorrow’s cause is all about finding a cure for cancer which is something that touches so many of us.

Congrats to the Lark Group for their leadership on this event and all the money they’ve raised so far.

Now, in the spirit of bad golf, I bring you some ‘highlights’ of our little golf trip last month.  (If low rez doesn’t feel painful enough you can watch in HD)

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Be The Best.

Vuvuzela withdrawl…really?

Ok, it’s the first Sunday in about a month without a soccer match.  That hurts.

I LOVE the World Cup along with a few billion people around the globe.  I think that is one of the big reasons I like it so much.  With American (Happy 4th of July) opinion aside, soccer IS the world’s sport and it’s fantastic to watch.  With a little Dutch and German heritage in our family, we are hoping for a Netherlands/Germany final next Sunday.

I know Ingrid’s Uncle Don is a BIG Dutch supporter and lives in Holland so we may be leaning to the Netherlands and perhaps wearing a little orange if we can get through to the finals this week.

As you’ve seen documented in this blog many times, I love sports.  Sports has also been an amazing help in getting through these first three months without Chris.  Obviously lacrosse was a MAJOR part of our lives in the past 8 years. Being able to go on the emotional ride with the Canucks this Spring and then following the Flyers (Hawks officially omitted from this blog until Canucks beat them in playoffs)  through to the Cup Final, watching Tiger implode on the golf course and off, or following the World Cup of Soccer, it is the ‘guy drama’ that keeps many of us captivated and inspired.  If I was writing a grief book for guys, there would be a chapter in there called, ‘watch sports on TV…it’s good for you’, or something like that!

Anyhoo…back to today…I am missing those vuvuzelas strangely enough.  Hold it.  There’s a BC Lions game on at 4?  Great.  Those CFL horns are a close 2nd.

Have a great week.

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Be The Best.

Fire me up

On this holiday weekend, I hope some of you are able to enjoy a campfire.  With current restrictions on fire size or fires at all, in some ways having a fire isn’t as easy as it used to be.  (yes, that did make me sound old!)

We have an outdoor fireplace with open flame that really feels like the real thing…without the effort of chopping wood.  I love it.  As the weather turns just a bit warmer, there is nothing better than to sit outside on a crisp evening and enjoy the darting flames, odd crackle and wind wisped flickers of light coming from each ribbon of blue and orange.

Here’s my fire tonight.  I often come out here alone and think or take the laptop with me and do anything from music composition editing to email.  I would also come out here a lot with the boys.  When Max and Chris heard me say, ‘let’s go have a fire’, they knew it was code for father/son chat about something!

See guys in particular, don’t care to sit down in a room and talk.  We’d rather be doing stuff.  A fire is a good distraction and gives guys something to look at and in that way you may even have more of a conversation beyond the usual grunting that us males are well known for.

In any event, this outdoor fireplace has been much more than a source of heat.  It’s been a place to think, ponder and connect with my sons.

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Be The Best.

Be The Best – Chaz style

When Chaz was over with the gang the other night, he brought over the Chris Friesen Inspirational plaque that he had won at Brookswood.  As is my nature, I documented with a photo!  This is probably the shortest blog ever, cause you don’t need to really read too much to see what this Be The Best thing is all about.  If you haven’t read Chaz’s story…read it now and then this picture will be like another 1,000 words. Be The Best.  Nice example Chaz.  Cool.  This is what we meant when we said Chris’ passion would fuel us.