New beginnings.
Seeing the numbers 1111 excites me and for a long time, I would see it every day.
Nowadays I have an alarm on my phone for 11:11 am with an affirmation to remind me daily that every day is a chance for a new beginning; a point to start over, to release what isn’t feeling good and a nudge to be present, if only for that moment.
Easier said than done, I hear you say.
Some days this is true. It’s the new beginnings that excite us. We feel more positive and present because life feels aligned and the universe has proven good things and new beginnings can happen. However, it’s the journey towards those new beginnings we don’t like so much. They take time; often way longer than we want them to. It feels like surely it should have happened yesterday.
You know the feeling.
When I am struggling I know I am focusing on everything I am not doing.
I am thinking about where I was last year, how good it felt when… and how far I am from where I want to be.
Every thought I have is about the past or about tomorrow, next week, next year.
When this happens I take a walk or a long hot shower.
This happens often.
I walk daily and I sometimes have a good cry in the shower.
This is life somedays.
Being present is where we want to be when life feels this way but being present isn’t always so easy to be. Sometimes we need a little help getting back to where we are. When this happens I think about the past differently, I remind myself of the new beginnings I have had. Sometimes I forget how good those moments felt or have much they impacted my life even though I had no idea at the time.
Moments like the time I was lying under a tree in Paris on a school trip.
I felt so happy under that tree gazing up at all the shades of green and the sunlight dancing between them. In contrast, I was so unhappy back home, at school.
I made a plan right there under that tree. I decided to leave school at the end of the term, work full-time for 10-months to make the money I needed to pay for art college.
This decision made me feel so motivated and excited; it was a chance for a new beginning.
At the time I was 17 and I had no idea that moment would inspire me two decades later.
I am amazed by that 17-year old version of me.
That tree taught me five things…
The importance of spending time in nature.
How great it feels to lie under a tree and simply let myself BE.
How to listen to what my feelings of pain, anger, resentment and unhappiness are telling me.
To ask; what action can I take right now to change how I feel?
That an intention or the beginning of a plan is all you need.
It’s the start of the change.
I am also reminded that Rodin’s house in Spring is a great reason to return to Paris.
Being present, even with the uncomfortable feelings, created space for me to be honest with myself about how I was feeling.
When I make space to feel my emotions, from that place I can take inspired action.
Inspired action allows me to change how I am feeling and begin living on purpose.
Where can you make time today to listen to what your feelings are telling you?
What inspired action can you take from here?
Remember this one thing today; you get to amaze yourself.
With gratitude,
Becki