A Chance to Breathe

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Funny how
ideas are always dropping into my lap.  This has probably been happening all my life and I just didn't notice before. In my fifties, interviewing proved the key to opening up my world, and it's when I began to notice what was happening.  How can you not be affected when others share their journeys full of high, lows and hard earned wisdom?  

Over the years, I slowly became more sensitive to hearing the universe’s voice. All around us, every day, it is offering us nuggets of gold filled with guidance and support - words heard while listening to others, thoughts that strike while reading a book, quotes from productions (movie, TV show, play), ideas that aroie from deep inside unexpectedly, life lessons coming together, podcasts. 

Noticing them takes walking through your day fully aware, immersed in the present moment. It's important to pause so you an see what you are being offered. I find with a racing mind I need to record them as they arise or they fade away. I take pictures on my phone, text myself ideas, rmake a blog draft with a focused title on my computer, and jot notes manually on random slips of paper or into small notebooks. When it's time to write, I often wander through all the accumlated ideas until I feel one pull me in.

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This process is what drew me to today's theme.  I was on Facebook scrolling down my feed, when I saw a post that asked, "If your life was a book, what would you call this chapter?" Whenever I see a question like this, I try to answer without thinking. This lets my heart's whisper bubble up before my brain kicks in and tries to take over.  What instantly and purposely arose that day was, "A chance to breathe."

I have shared often that I struggled from childhood onward with self-doubt, procrastination, guilt and feelings of being brokenInterviewing slowly helped change my perspective. My world became wider, my definition of "normal" was thrown out, and I discovered the very things that I was pushed to change were actually my strengths. 

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This didn't happen overnight. In fact, the journey to self-acceptance and self-love continues. It is never ending. One weed of despair is pulled and you think all is fine. Then another appears. There are layers to dig through and early lessons of being not good enough are never fully unlearned.  But the strategies in how I deal with low moments have become the foundation on which I have built a new confidence.  

The day I responded with a chance to breathe, I felt the nudge to pause and reflect.  It has been 17 years since I conducted my very first interview and began writing.  As I walked the long journey to embrace who I was born to be and my purpose, I added reading, mentorship, retreats, meditation and more to support my learning process.  There were many deep dives to release what was buried. and layers of untruths to peal away.  This was a hard process, but so freeing once on the other side.

What was lovely to discover when I read that post was this year I am feeling a pause in my life lessons which gives me a chance to rest and appreciate how far I have come.  While I know if I am to continue to move forward, more lessons will eventually arrive, right now I am in a serene space in my personal growth.  This is a welcome time to fill my lungs deeply, exhale away unwanted leftovers, rest, relax, soak up some sun and feel deep gratitude for life I am living. 

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Already this
year I have created pieces to be included in three collaborative books, have a new eBook in the editing process, and written tons of content towards several books in progress.  I'm off soon on an amazing holiday that has been three years in the planning, and have two beautiful grandkids I will be visiting this summer. What a gift to be having a quiet moment during this time.

I know life will continue to have ups and downs. There will be new difficult lessons to learn, and time the tears will flow, but I refuse to worry about what lies ahead. That is for future Marilyn - a phrase I learned from my oldest.  Instead I choose to live fully present in this moment, breathing deeply, and staying wide open to all the universe is offering while simply taking one deep breath after another. 

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