The time is NOW!

For what you may ask? For anything and everything I would reply. Much has been written about harnessing the 'power of now' and understanding that we can change our lives in a matter of minutes, all it takes is this moment right now to decide we are going to do so and then to do it. It is really that simple.

As someone who has read many books about being connected to this moment, letting of worry both of the past and the future and making the most of the here and now I can say that it has been quite a journey for me. I've recently picked up an interesting book called Ask and it is Given, by Esther and Jerry Hicks, and having read the first 7 chapters in a matter of moments, I realise that it is so simple...We are here to create, to be the best we can be, and to really listen to our heart's greatest desires and make them a reality. We are really the only ones standing in our way of achieving our dreams. Anything else is just an excuse.

So today, for all those out in the world who are here reading this, I thank you for being witness to my new world and new creations.

My  challenge to you dear readers is to listen to something your heart has been calling for, for a long time, and make the first step towards it today. If it's signing up for a class you've always wanted to take, writing a letter to someone you miss, starting that new running regime...whatever it is...make one bold step towards it today and commit to doing that each and every day for the next 21 days. I promise you'll not only see great results but with each day realise more and more how much we are truly the masters of our own fate.

As my show of commitment, I will be putting my photographs up for sale today through the Saatchi Gallery, and will put a link here for you to see the work. It is something I have wanted to do for years and am deciding this is the time to make it happen. No more faffing around as they say over here! Time for action is Now!

I will leave you with this lovely quote:

"We all have to start with ourselves. It is time to walk the talk. Take the journey of making very difficult decisions. Start removing things from your life that are not filling your cup and adding things that bring joy in to your life."
-Lisa Hammond-

Finding exactly what you're looking for

Change. It's what I've been looking for the past few months. Positive change. And yet it's manifested itself in a way I never expected. Suddenly a house that was just mine is now one I share with a wonderful new friend who is amazing but I was not prepared for what the change in my physical environment would do to my feeling of center and calm. Add to that the amount of change happening with looking for a new job, leaving a long-term relationship and you've got a recipe for: Hello, my name is lets-throw-everything-up-in-the-air-and-see-how-you-fair.

So it's not even 6am now and I've managed about 4 good hours of rest after a long long day of constant change, transport issues with a city wide tube strike and a complete lack of anything concrete. As I searched around on my computer just now for some comfort, some words of wisdom I happened to click on my blog link when I thought I was clicking on something else and suddenly saw my post on 'getting unstuck'...it brought a small smile to my face as I realised that I found exactly what I was looking for. The reminder to take the pressure off, allow myself to 'relax into the stuckness' and just go with the flow even if it means that I'm not feeling like I'm flowing at all!

I find many times in life it is easy to look externally for wisdom or comfort during a difficult time of change and transition when in reality we've had all we needed the entire time. It's just a question of when we'll take the pressure off and look within to realise we have had it all along.

The beauty in small things

How many times a day are you grateful? I try very hard to make it part of my daily practice, when I get up in the morning being thankful for the wonderful sleep I've had and the opportunity for a full new day of surprises. Each night before I sleep I give thanks for everything that has happened in my day and open myself up to a wonderful night of good sleep, great dreams and more surprises. But what about throughout my day?

It sounds like a lot but really I believe part of finding real joy in our lives is about finding beauty in the small things, whether it's sitting in the sun for a few minutes and enjoying its warmth or enjoying a great warm cup of tea on a cold fall day, there is beauty in everything if we stop and give ourselves a moment to pause and enjoy it.

So today I ask all those out there to think about the small things in your everyday that you could give thanks for and therefore inject a little more joy and harmony into your life.

Getting 'unstuck'

If you're like me you've had many moments where you've gone away traveling, had an incredible, rejuvenating awe inspiring experience that sets you up to believe that you CAN conquer the world and all that you have set out for yourself. You come back home, rest from the long journey, give yourself time to process all that you've experienced and then are 'ready' to go to your projects and all that is waiting to be looked at and taken care of...

Well this was my initial thought when I came back from my most magical journey to Cornwall. I was ready and felt that after such a successful solo trip out to the South coast of England I could draw a line through my task list and feel great. Nothing was too difficult after traversing a long, windy, hilly, wet coastal path alone for about 6 miles on my own and sporting All Stars (anything but hiking shoes but definitely durable, dependable and mud friendly).

How wrong was I! I came back ready to take on the world and seemed to get distracted by visitors, not so great weather and the list.

I've been told before to only make a list of 3 things to do each day. It's enough that you know you can accomplish it and not so much that you would feel disappointed at the end of the day if you couldn't accomplish it all. Very sound logic but unfortunately doesn't work for someone who just felt like she conquered a huge new unknown adventure.

So I got 'stuck' as I like to call it. Limited motivation to look at my cv and how to make it 'me. Limited motivation to do an intense job search and just a feeling of 'ugh, really?'

So this got me to thinking...how do I usually 'unstick' myself? Sometimes it's music, something that I can't ignore and gets my body moving and me laughing and singing along. Sometimes it's cleaning...this works wonders! Sometimes it's just getting out of the house and into the outdoors regardless of the weather and taking a nice walk around my local neighborhood and park. But this time none of those seemed to work. That of course made me even more frustrated and 'stuck'. So my only course of action...just accept it! Yes, sounds radical, but I realised after a point trying to 'fight' the stuck within me was not going to do anything but continue to expend energy I didn't even feel I had. When I left myself 'ease' into the 'stuck' and 'blah' it actually worked. I pulled the pressure off, relaxed and said, ok, this is a changing state, like all others(good or bad) and will not last forever, so why not ride the wave, chill out, give myself some breathing room and leave Ms. Perfectionist at the door?

It was at that moment that I said goodbye to her and hello to Ms. Chill-I-got-this that I was transported to my previous state of relaxation and calm from my travels. It was all connected by 'letting go' of a specific plan or to do list and just 'flowing' with whatever the day brought, even if was about 'not flowing' and just 'being'.

So here's to all those out there who get 'stuck' and know that with everything in life, change is the only guarantee :0)

Happy flowing

The beauty of traveling

My journey has only just begun but what a great gift I have received already...a lovely woman (who I found out later was the youthful age of 89 - though she looked not a day older than 70) sat next to me from Bristol to Newton Abbot (roughly about a two hour journey). We chatted a bit in the beginning while I nodded in and out of sleep and then when we were halfway on our way we started chatting about everything, where I was going, what I was going to do, where she was from, etc.

The best part of what she told me was her own personal love story. Now, I have to admit that when I was younger I was probably one of the biggest romantics around. I bought books just on personal love stories to confirm what I always believed to be true - true love and soul mates do exist. I won't comment now on what I believe, but will just share this lovely story with you all that was so touching.

So my new friend, let's call her Mary,

Listening to your own advice

Sometimes seems next to impossible, yet last night I was able to hear my own words and follow through. As I was sitting in my kitchen, enjoying a lovely meal of grilled shrimp and salad I thought, hmm, I wonder if I could get a ticket out to Cornwall this week for a few days. I started searching and my heart started to sink a little thinking, wow, how will I ever find a good last minute deal on a B&B or hotel AND a good deal on a train ticket? Well, to my wonderful surprise I did and within 30 minutes booked myself a ticket out to Looe, Cornwall for the week.

I have never been and this will be my first solo trip in a very very long time. I am quite thrilled and excited because I woke up this morning thinking, how great that only 24 hours ago I had no idea I'd be on my way to Paddington to catch a train for a new adventure!

So I have let life surprise me and will definitely continue to do so as I journey along the coast and discover a new part of this beautiful country.

There is so much excitement in the unknown. I know many of us, myself included, can feel the anxiety and fear first, of not knowing what lies ahead, but when that niggly feeling starts to get inside my gut I just focus on all the 'moments before' as I like to call them...essentially think back to the moment before you met someone new, or got the call for the interview for your new job or before you decided to take that long awaited trip to wherever...the moment before any of that happened you had no idea what was in store and so isn't a lot more fun to think that at any moment, it could be your 'moment before'? I will definitely choose that over fear and anxiety everyday (or at least do my hardest to make it so!)!

Off to my train now! Happy journeying

The best laid plans

 'We should not ask our young people what they plan for their future but instead tell them to plan to be surprised!' - Steve Carell (Dan in Real Life).

What a fantastic thought! Plan to be surprised. I try more and more these days to leave space to be surprised and allow the world to catch me off guard in the most wonderful ways. Sometimes it is as simple as sitting somewhere new in my home and enjoying a new view while enjoying my morning tea or waking up to a cloudy cool grey sky and seeing the blue peak out just enough to give hope that the sun will come out in full force soon (which it has now). Or even taking yourself by surprise when trying to put yourself back out into the world, meet new people and see what all that personal work does when you meet someone new. Who do you want to be now? Who are you today and who are you becoming?

I think the most exciting part of it all is knowing that you get to choose who you want to be at every moment of every day and continually be fluid with life. Letting in the surprises and flowing with wherever they may take you. Don't think, just have fun and roll with it. I definitely did a lot of that this weekend while celebrating the 30th birthday of a good friend. We played games in the park, run by a Games Mistress and it was one of the best afternoons I have had in ages. All adults, no children, and games just for adults to remind you what play is about and how great it can be to be ridiculous and not care that the British Military Fitness men across the way are wondering if you're giving them a run for their money or seeing the glee in a little boy's face as he watches 8 adults being ridiculous and giggling like crazy.

It was spontaneous, ridiculous, fun and filled with laughter. As celebrations should be. Thankfully the fun did not end there and we continued on the party at my friend's place, complete with balloons, beach balls and a giant sun pinata that was quite a hit after much merry making and drinking. The best part of it all was that not a single person knew what the day had in store for us or the rest of the evening for that matter.

So, please, go out and let life surprise you. You never know what (or who) might be around the next corner.

Dedicated to all those who still play no matter what their age!!