My personal growth has meant learning to stop playing it small. That means learning to put myself out into the world, to stop holding myself back. But my wings are not capable yet, they are still growing. Sometimes it feels like an unscalable mountain. But, there is no starting line and finishing line for Personal Growth, is there? And each new hurdle comes with challenges and risks that stir up fears.
Starting a blog was a scary thing for me to do. Learning to put myself out there into the world in a whole new way. What I didn’t expect was how many lessons I would learn from blogging and the entire process. Sharing my thoughts and growth with you over the last year has been so rewarding! It has come with many, many challenges but I love it more now than I ever could have imagined. It has become a part of my identity and self expression.
When your baby is born you count their fingers and toes. You stare at their perfection for hours on end. Lying under the unexplainable weight of a sleeping 3mnth old you enjoy that feeling of sinking beneath the trust and love that they embody. We become fully tuned in to that new presence, that new life. A pure, mindful moment.
There is something magical in that time when they are so small, so vulnerable, and so pure. When I think about what mindfulness means to me, this is what it is. Being so present in the moment and experiencing it so fully that you feel overcome with love and emotions. This is the reward of mindfulness. Like a warm embrace it brings comfort and a sense of belonging.
Yes, that’s what I said. Question Everything. Don’t take anything for granted, don’t assume, don’t nod and just say yes. Question the status quo! We all have different perspectives, goals and purposes in this life, for us to find our own way in life we need to question everything.
We need to take our blinkers off and start questioning our lives and how we are living them. This post may seem in your face, may raise the hairs on the back of your neck, or it may make you think more carefully about what you have accepted as ‘just the way it is’. My purpose is just to get you to not take everything at face value, but to think about your life, maybe from a different perspective, and figure out if you are living life or if it is living you! Figuring this out starts by questioning the status quo.
There is something about being in your 40’s that seems to make the clock tick faster. Instead of going down a rabbit hole of identifying all the parts of me that don’t look the way they used to I’ve decided to do something constructive! I’m going to work on my bucket list goals!
There is a whole chapter of your life, when your kids are still really young, that just seems to blow by way too fast. You are hyper busy while also being hyper tired all the time! Then, they get to a good age where you can reclaim some of your time and start looking at what lights you up again. This chapter of my life has resulted in this blog, and the perfect time for a bucket list. So, what are some bucket list ideas? Well, this is how I see it:
There are a million thoughts and words that swirl through my head every day. But, finding the right ones to describe how much I value my Mother are almost impossible. So, this blog is an acknowledgement of my incredible Mother as well as all the others out there. Those that have dedicated their lives to being our provider, our biggest supporter and our rock through all that life throws at us. You deserve so much more than one day! This is for you!
When inspiration seems lacking and you find yourself staring at a blank page, how do you find your way back to your flow?
This, right here, is me in the process. Connecting to my flow, my inner guide, my intuition. My WORDS. I find my flow by getting started. By putting that first word down on the page. For me, flow means to write. For you it may look like inspiration to paint using a different medium to what you are used to. It might look like trying out every recipe you can find until you get the perfect apple pie or playing guitar until the sun comes up. For me, it is trusting the words as they find their way onto the page. It is tuning in to that self-expression that is more than the surface ‘self’. More like expression of the true self. It is like freedom and clarity and love all at once. It’s deeply personal, like pure surrender.
As parents there are a 1000 lessons we need to teach our kids about life. But, as humans, there are only a handful of lessons that we impart upon our little humans that set them up for life. I’m talking about those lessons that make them who they are, our legacy that we hand down to them. The wisdom that we impart to them that will stay on in their heart long after we are gone.
I’ve broken it down to 6 main life lessons that we need to share with our children. These are the foundations for a good life and what a legacy of love looks like to me. With these foundations we can raise happy, well balanced children. They are:
When I was growing up these books were called Self Help Books. If you’re anything like me and my generation Self Help is a dirty word. Who needs Self Help? Admitting you need ‘help’ is admitting weakness. Well, middle finger to that, I say! And, I also say that calling it Self Help is not quite accurate either. I mean, yes you are helping yourself, but it’s more Self Development than ‘help’.
Reading these books sets you apart from those that settle for life as it is! Reading these books means you know your worth and you know you deserve more. To me, reading Self Help Books means you’ve got your head screwed on right, so good on you! And these books are Personal Growth for women and by women, the best kind of ‘self help’ you can ask for!
So, I have chosen 3 books that I simply have to share with you. They are impactful and a must read in my eyes. Here goes:
That’s a big statement, I know, but I really believe it. I’d like to talk about how journaling can be a path to self-discovery. Many years ago I was gifted a book called The Artists Way by Julia Cameron and this book really got me started in a big way in journaling. It is an inspiring read, dedicated to the artist that is within all of us and it is designed to get those creative juices flowing.
The book isn’t only about the benefits of journaling. She also talks about other ways to connect to ourselves, like what she calls ‘Artist Dates’. That is where you take time out with yourself to explore something that inspires you, like an art gallery or an indie movie for example. But, for me, the journaling stuck.
Journaling is not a new thing, it usually begins as a childhood ‘Dear Diary’ but it can evolve into an extension of ourselves, a bosom buddy of sorts. It can be there for us when nobody else can. It can store secrets and feelings too. For me, though, the essence of the journal is the coming home to yourself. And, it is this that gives journaling its power as a path to self-discovery. You can break down all walls and take down all masks with a journal. You can discover things about yourself and help yourself grow, heal or mourn. A journal is a best friend and a keeper of secrets.
