 So far, soooooo good on The Path today. The shared dream continues (re: the previous blog). Though, choosing to follow your path of most joy is not as easy as it might sound. It often brings up feelings of immense guilt and shame and it is these feelings that tend to keep us stuck on what can feel like the treadmill of life.
One of our initial fears was Does following our joy (i.e. galavanting off around the world from time to time) make us bad mothers? And yet, one of the first things that struck us both was how relaxed and happy we became around the children as we carried this dream in our hearts day-to-day. It seems to be a win-win situation after all :-) :-) It's funny, we don't seem to need to discuss it. We talk about everything else, as usual but The Dream just seems to keep itself alive. Like there's nothing else to say, nothing more to add, it's already complete. Up and running. Launched! The only evidence of anything going on is a cheeky sparkle in our eyes from time to time, knowing all we need do now is show up and enjoy the ride. But isn't that the whole point of life anyway? Do you know what I'm in the mood for most right now? A bit of laundry, making fresh beds and hoovering the house. How strange is that? That's what I call a win-win-win situation. Followed by a cup of tea and a sit down…and then perhaps launching a few more rockets of desire. Much joy and self-love on your own path today :-) :-) :-)
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 I have a secret on The Path today ;-) There is a reason why my steps are light. My friend and I have realised a dream shared is a dream magnified. After many years supporting each other on our individual paths we have realised the unlimited potential of coming together.
It's daring, it's risky, it's blooming outrageous, it's elegantly simple. Between us we have a bachelor's degree in Psychology, have trained in depth psychotherapy, NLP, hypnotherapy, Reconnective Healing®, Realm Reading, Holistic Image Consultancy, Life Skills Coaching, Time-line Therapy®, and are currently studying interior design and intuitive astrology. After a number of years of trying to launch ourselves into some kind of meaningful, heart-centred business we are embracing the simple truth…she loves to shop, I love to write, we both love to travel and, we thrive in each others company. So, why not combine it all? Why not indeed! Well, because we both have children to look after full-time, houses to run and incomes to earn (my friend single-handedly), finances are pretty much always stretched, and well…who do we think we are! It seems gifts are at the heart of our joint ad-venture. She sourcing physical gifts from around the world, me offering my words. I wondered whether creating a separate blog from this one was appropriate but somehow integration is key. It seems the path, is the path, is the path wherever I may be! It feels like entering into a new world of endless possibility. The book I am writing Coming Together: Finding Our Way Back to Ecstasy is about having the courage to surrender to our path of greatest joy as it unfolds moment-by-moment. Beginning with the importance of developing a sense of inner ground, and the final chapter taking us to the threshold across which lies our unlimited potential. Our opportunity to finally lighten up and lift off! The books ends with the words This chapter is, in essence, being written as I write. And so it is! The tickets to our first destination, Marrakech, are booked for September. We are ready for take off. Ready to enter into our dreams one small step at a time. For if not now, then when? As ever I shall be watching this space and all it brings up as we embark on this new path, together…and that includes you :-)) Bon Voyage to us all xx  The Path is a metaphor for Life Itself. A way to access the inherent wisdom of life through our own life. Our True Nature. However, The Path isn't just about physically walking (I just do that for pleasure!) therefore we don't have to be out physically walking to learn form life, we can simply pay attention to whatever is happening around us and inside us, wherever we are.
I awoke the other morning to the sound of three wasps in my bedroom. A little excessive, I thought. A short while later my son informed me there was also a wasp downstairs. Alarm bells very sleepily began to ring. (Black and yellow stripes are used as a warning of danger in both the human and the animal world). Once I'd helped the upstairs wasps make their way out of the window I went downstairs to find a total of four wasps hovering around the living room. It was baffling as all the windows and doors were closed, but eventually we realised they were coming down the chimney stack and out from behind the TV. I'm not overly worried by wasps but all the same I didn't want them in my house especially around the children trying to get ready for school, and they did seem to be growing in numbers. Despite noticing the odd wasp buzzing around outside the house as well, all I could do was open the windows and patiently wait for them to leave, quickly shutting them again once each one was gone. Killing is not normally an option for me but it's interesting, as a mother, how the lioness mentality of protect at all costs kicks in when in the midst of a perceived threat to our children, and so I called Pest Control and they agreed to come before noon. Once the children were safely out of the situation I decided to go against all my survival instincts and open all the windows and doors. It seemed by keeping them closed I was actually containing the wasps in the house which was the reason they were amassing. From that point on, they simply left as quickly as they arrived. Something felt serene about the situation, like the natural cycle of life was being allowed to flow. When the Pest Guy arrived, he checked with me once again You're sure they're wasps because if they're bee's we can't touch them? Yes, I confirmed, absolutely sure I knew the difference. As it turned out they were honey bee's. I felt a sense of relief that there was not going to be mass genocide in my home after all but also a sense of Damn, now what! The Pest Guy informed me I needed a beekeeper who would taken them away and re-house them (though I'm sure he didn't use those exact words) but, he said, if the Queen is just stopping off for a rest with all her troops in tow (again, my words) then it's possible once she resumes her travels the rest will simply follow. It sounded a little too simple to be true but for the rest of the day I kind of enjoyed sharing a space with the bee's, them busily doing their thing and me, mine. Stopping once in a while to pause and appreciate their beauty, which was easier by the afternoon as they were a little more docile - as was I. By the next morning they were gone, and all I was left with was appreciation for The Day The Queen Came To Stay :-)  As I begin walking The Path on this fine sunshiny day I can feel something stuck to the bottom of my shoe. A lump, an irritation. I scrape my shoe along the ground but it doesn't shift. It's not until several attempts later that I realise the lump is on the inside of my shoe so no amount of kicking and scraping is going to get rid of the irritation. What a metaphor!
I feel lost. I haven't walked for a week or so. Although I can cite lots of valid reasons, the truth is there has been resistance to it. Since walking the path is the basis of my blog, my book, my passion, my life, I feel a little ashamed that I have not been walking my talk! Feels strange since it is normally such a joy. Yet, in the time I haven't walked I have felt despair, flatness, and a general lack of passion. I can't help but wonder if the two are connected. I am curious as to what that in-between time is all about. If walking the path is what keeps me grounded and feeling connected what stops me choosing what I know is in my best interests? As I walk I realise knowing what the resistance is isn't as important as recognising how valuable the in-between time has been, despite the struggle. I didn't try to escape the flatness and depression. I leaned into it. As paradoxical as it may sound, there is such abundance in that still, lifeless, passionless existence when I just allow myself to be in it. Although it is not easy it is a relief to let go and just allow the emptiness, the stillness, the quietness. Almost heaven. The truth is, I am happy in that place of surrender until I start to worry about what others will think of me. Most likely I will be perceived as miserable or perhaps lazy. It's only then, when I resist it, that it becomes a problem. The guilt and shame almost too much to bear. Now I am back out walking again I can feel the beauty of having stayed with it, the difficulty, the shame, the badness. Only now can I appreciate how much I have shifted. Having felt stuck for what felt like an eternity (even if it was only ten days!) there is such a sense of relief. To be out here, moving again. Filling up my depressed lungs with fresh air. Coming back to life. Feeling free. Just me, my camera, and my words. Natur-ally! |
AuthorTrained in a depth, buddhist-based psychotherapy, using everyday outer world experiences to develop inner wisdom, one day at a time. Archives
September 2015
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