But Pierre started talking and I started listening.
I already knew more or less about the Grand Défi Pierre Lavoie; an amazing organization that aims to engage Quebec schools in supporting physical activity, healthy eating and promoting school retention. I had heard about how this three-time Hawaii Ironman champion had launched a challenge in the late ‘90s to raise awareness in his region about lactic acidosis.
But what I didn’t know was that this dreadful disease had taken two of his children, while he stood by, unable to do a damn thing! What I didn’t understand, until I heard it come out of his very own mouth, was that this was – at its core-- the story of a father who had been dealt a terrible blow in life, who managed to take that pain and transform it into hope.
“Losing a child is like freefalling without ever touching the ground. You lose all your reference points and you hurt everywhere.”
Those are heartbreaking words. Grief can bring you to your knees. It can start a self-defeating spiral of “why me?” and “this isn’t fair” unless you nip it in the bud, and fast. “It’s not about aptitude; it’s about attitude,” Pierre said, while discussing his athletic career. But what made his speech so powerful was the knowledge that everyone in that room knew he wasn’t talking about sports. We don’t get to choose what happens to us, but we do get to choose how we react to it.
Thanks to his foundation’s efforts, the gene responsible for lactic acidosis was finally found in 2003, and a screening test was developed, giving hope to other parents. The tireless competitor continues to rally schoolchildren to be more active, and because of his actions thousands of Quebec kids complete the challenge every year, and hopefully, become addicted to how wonderful fit can feel. You can shake your head and call it corny, but the truth remains; one person can make a difference.
“The quality of your life will come down to the quality of your contributions.” Those actually aren’t Pierre’s words. They belong to a Nepalese Sherpa who summited Mount Everest and then… paraglided all the way down. (What have you done lately?)
Grief can bring you to your knees. It can start a self-defeating spiral of “why me?” and “this isn’t fair” unless you nip it in the bud, and fast. -
As dumb luck would have it, after attending Lavoie’s conference, I had tickets that very same night for the Banff Mountain Film Festival at UQAM, screening six short films about people performing some of the most extreme sports and jaw-dropping challenges I’ve ever seen.
These international shorts showcased people summiting mountains, white-water kayaking crocodile-infested rivers in Africa, slacklining over canyons without any safety ropes (or any clothes on, for that matter), freestyle skiing off cliffs, etc…
Nikos Kazantzakis (the author of Zorba) wrote: “A man needs a little craziness or else he never dares cut the ropes and be free” and the word “crazy” certainly applies to some of what I saw that night on the big screen. It defies logic and the self-preservation instinct to stare death in the face like that for no other apparent reason than to be allowed to truly feel alive, but there’s also a certain magic in it all. A feeling that we can be so much more than we allow ourselves to be every day… A feeling that we are so much more, if, as Pierre Lavoie said during his speech, we just make the decision to “turn on the switch.”
To learn more about the Pierre Lavoie challenge, you can log on to: http://legdpl.com
For more on the Banff Mountain Film Festival (Montreal screenings are sold out, but tickets still remain for the Feb. 6th screening in Longueuil), log on to: http://www.espaces.ca/page/evenements/festival-du-film-de-montagne-de-banff/presentation
