Author: Lauren Carter

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A November Project Legacy

07.15.13 – 09.07.20 (YEG)

For anyone who didn’t know the history of November Project Ottawa, it was birthed through November Project Canada (Edmonton- the first Canadian NP city). This Monday, Jen and Nadim stepped down from leadership, after 7 + years of Monday, Wednesday, Friday workouts, that’s 1118 workouts later. This community has been a big influence on what we have modeled our community after. We are so grateful for their guidance, and steady consistency, keeping things simple, remembering the importance of community. They always asked us “Is this what is best for our city and our community?” and helped us filter the decisions that way. We are grateful for you, Jen and Nadim, and know you are never far away. read more

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Questions (Ottawa)

  • In a recent town hall meeting with November Project Co-leaders, we split into breakout rooms and brainstormed some questions:

    1. What should NP do more of?
    2. What should NP stop doing?
    3. What are NPs biggest roadblocks?
    4. What do our members want?

    We wanted to share these with you and have you reflect on your thoughts. Whether you started coming on the last workout before Covid, have only done virtual workouts, came to the very first Work it Yow workout, or if you haven’t been in years. We have given each of these questions thoughts, and hearing from other cities around the world also helps us to figure out the direction moving forward, and potential culture shifts that may need to take place. read more

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Why we keep writing (Ottawa)

Look at the strength here, it’s undeniable

This morning started with a campfire “roses and thorns” and we got to hear from some of the highs and lows of the last week or two. If you didn’t get a chance to share, perhaps it’s something you can reflect on. We can have a grateful spirit while still acknowledging some of the tougher feelings we are experiencing. read more

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Who is here for you? (Ottawa)

  • The answer to this question is we, Liz and Lauren, are, NP HQ is, your fellow NP members and the NP community in Ottawa. There is a lot we don’t know, a lot we are learning, a lot we are figuring out, but we never feel we are doing this alone. And what we are confident in, is that we can always listen. This doesn’t mean we will have an immediate answer or solution, but we can always be a listening ear for you to lean into, even in these virtual times. Perhaps there is less we can observe and pick up on than usual in person times and nuances, but even then, we don’t always know what may be happening, or that you may be struggling with. read more

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What to expect (Ottawa)

As we hear about provinces and countries beginning to open back up and move into new phases maybe you have asked when are we going to resume in person workouts? Hold the high speed internet connection cause Zoom has been bringing us together for the past four months now and we’re quite not ready to drop that connection just yet. However, it is certainly on our minds too and we are really excited to see all of you in person.  read more

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Ongoing Culture Shift (Ottawa)

As we continue to share with you changes and shifts that have and are taking place, we thought it would be good to revisit this culture shift:

We have had some further conversations with individuals in the community who have been able to express their feelings around the hugging culture at November Project. We want to encourage people at November Project to step outside your comfort zone, and create a safe place to do this, and will continue to strive for this. However, we are not the ones to determine your comfort zone. Everyone’s comfort zone is different and if you are consistent, you will have the choice when you want to take those steps. It’s a good reminder for everyone to show up, to be listening and respecting those boundaries.  read more

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Why we do not use the word “tribe” (Ottawa)

If you are new to the blog, or November Project, it may be because you heard about it through word of mouth, or social media, saw a random post, have been encouraged to give it a try. Depending on who you are talking to, you may get to hear about someone’s individual experience. We don’t always know if this is a positive one or a negative one. Sometimes we don’t ever get to learn from the people who may have had a negative experience because they make the decision, rightly so, not to show up again, and nothing really changes. Sometimes, we are lucky to get to share discussions with some people who truly love the community, and want to see it grow, develop and change. It is important that we are open to those conversations, and in sharing transparently with you in the community, as you make up the heart of who we are at November Project Ottawa.  read more

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This week we are listening (Ottawa)

The challenge this week is to listen to what’s out there. Be open to what others are sharing and create a safe space for those voices. 

There is more on that to come and what we can do as a community to be better. 

Here’s to bringing “Soles” together, 

Liz and Lauren 

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What’s up for this week? A challenge (Ottawa)

  • So, time for reflections during this period of unique times. We have learned about what zoom workouts mean. It’s been honestly better than we thought it would be! We get to share the morning with the beautiful faces of NP Ottawa. We are missing your hugs, but we are looking for the good that appears on the screen at 6:29am. But can we do better? What is the most important thing to make sure the 31 minutes we have together? read more

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The light keeps changing and we keep showing up (Ottawa)

  • Do you remember when we started these zoom workouts, it was still dark outside? The sun wouldn’t come up until about half way through the workout. Or perhaps we captured the beautiful sunrise. Now we start the morning with the sun up, either shining through your window, peaking through the basement window, through the garage door, in the park nearby, or on your driveway, porch or lawn. Have you had any neighbours join you from afar? or mostly funny looks? Well, in typical times, we get weird looks every time a dog walker passes us during our Lansdowne workouts, or pedestrians on the bridge, or cyclist on the bike path. There’s nothing new there. Doesn’t it kinda feel good to be doing something different, something you know is unique, has a new challenge, and that the norm questions? And anyone can join the weird anytime they want! read more