KNOWvember: Day Five, Lynn

Due to technical glitch, I had to use my phone for this interview
and unfortunately forgot to take a screenshot  picture of Lynn. 

​​Lynn lives just north of me. About 1, 275 miles or so. In metric, that’s around 20 hrs. in a car…with relatives nagging from the backseat. In other words, she lives in Vancouver, British Columbia but on the opposite side of town from my second cousin who was so kind to introduced me to this crazy intelligent, super soulful human being. 
 
I was happy that Lynn entered our evening conversation with calm and grace. I would say her strong and surefire presence make for a real business card. You see, Lynn is a professional coach. People are her sport. She is helps others to “grow into being their best friend.”  As a dear friend of mine likes to say, “That is worth doing in needlepoint.”  I’m sure Lynn would prefer you stitched it in your heart. I think I'd agree.

Like me, Lynn helps people and all kinds of communities do their best to grow and thrive. This is her passion, her life, her gift to the world. For over a quarter of a century she has traveled the world to help others help themselves. Something I suspect started when Lynn began to learn about herself and her own potential. “Psychotherapy, exercise, and spirituality” have been her holy trinity of sorts that helped her grow to be her best friend. 
 
Having started her career in the travel industry, Lynn's eyes and mind were opened she started to learn more about other people, new cultures, philosophies and spiritual practices. After returning to the university to study anthropology, and then surviving grad school, Lynn began to teach others – reigniting their imaginations and helping them to ask better questions. 

She told me, “Learning is part of our who we are, it’s a spiritual task.” 
 

So here are some things I learned from my new friend. She has been married for 28 years, and they have two adult children. Her eldest is autistic who works on the floor above her. Since COVID hit she and her son have been exercising and running together. The pandemic also inspired her to garden, a joy she had put off in 2003. I mention this because I also learned Lynn is a vegetarian who ate a very savory breakfast this morning (see picture). Believe it or not she’s also shot a crossbow once.  
 
When I asked her who she learned the great lesson of life from, she said her first teacher was her grandmother who just so happened to be a school teacher. “She was the light of my childhood.” The other was a Ukrainian woman named Staffka, who worked with her grandmother and who would later become a close friend and mentor to Lynn. Both of these ladies were coaches of sorts like Lynn –  lovers of learning, and always encouraging.

I didn't get a picture of Lynn, but I do have this
snapshot of her breakfast this morning. 

Her personal story is a “pandora’s box” of drama many of us know too well. It's deeply personal and is most certainly the footing that has helped propelled to where she is today. But Lynn has done the hard self-work and she does not dwell in it. She, like me, doesn’t like to look back. Instead, she lives in the moment working out what will be next for her to achieve; feeding her passions and nurturing her soul in the process. Her mindfulness was present, and she made me feel comfortable getting to know her by getting to know me as well. 
 
As our country is limbo, and unrest is unsettling our nerves, we can choose to look back at our past mistakes, pointing the finger and blaming others. Or we can choose to be more present – both with ourselves and with one another. It’s in this moment we can learn from each other, coach and inspire  one another to be our own best friends.

Who knows, maybe we might become friends with one another in the process. It's just one of the many things that’s I learned tonight from my new friend…Lynn. ​