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Are you living or only surviving?

Are you living or only surviving?

I had a shock this morning. A Facebook memory come up from three years ago and it featured a woman I could barely recognise – me. I was in beautiful Assisi and I was slowly and calmly talking to the camera. But I was way too calm and speaking way too slowly. I was in town I loved but almost too exhausted to enjoy it. As I watched the footage, it looked like I was swimming through energetic mud.

Over the preceding months and years, I had worked every minute of the day to make ends meet. At one point, I had five casual, contract and part-time jobs at once. Immediately before the trip, I had also become, once again, romantically entangled with a man who was not worthy of me – he just took what he wanted and I let him. I was making the same decisions on repeat and nothing was changing. I was surviving not living. Even though I had finally returned to Italy (where my Soul longs to be), I was a burnt-out shadow of myself.

I’d love to tell you I came back from that trip and things were different. But they weren’t. I went back to doing all the things I had been doing before – working every hour of the day, doing things I didn’t want to do anymore, holding onto things I needed to let go of, and guess what, that guy broke my heart.

Early last year, I finally cracked and made some radical changes and when I returned to Italy in August 2019, I was a different person. I had connected to a joyfulness and peacefulness within myself that I didn’t know was possible. I didn’t have everything worked out (of course not!) but I was definitely moving in the right direction.

I always had the keys and it was never about anyone else. It was about the choices I was making, the stories I told myself, and the boundaries I didn’t put in place. I had to get real with myself and draw on some major internal courage to make uncomfortable choices.

Covid-19 and all the crazy 2020 happenings remind us we need to be living as much as we can, not just surviving.

Is the person you see in the mirror, photograph or video only surviving? If so, what are you going to do about it?

How did I get here?

I was thinking today about how quickly life slips through our fingers. One moment we’re in school then suddenly we’re out in the world, studying, getting our first job and doing all the ‘adult things’ we were longing for.

But, often there comes a moment when we realise the adult life we were told to work for, isn’t quite what we want. And that throws everything up in the air because we don’t know what to do next.

There is a great line in the song, Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads, where the singer asks “How did I get here?” The song tells of looking at your life and knowing it looks great on the surface but it has no meaning.

Without meaning in our life, why live it?

For me, meaning comes from doing what I know I’m here to do. Part of that involves constantly unthreading the blocks and beliefs that hold me back so I can step more fully into my purpose.

Even if you don’t know what your purpose is yet, look for the things that feel meaningful for you, then do more of that. It doesn’t have to look sexy to someone else. It doesn’t need to make world headlines or meet the approval of a single other person. It only needs to have meaning for you.

If you’re doubting your direction, go back and pick up those things that have meaning for you. In doing so, you will reconnect to what your Soul is longing for. And that is far more valuable than any prescribed ‘adult’ path.

What’s behind the door in front of you?

What’s behind the door in front of you?

Friends have been reaching out for guidance over the last couple of days as they face challenges with their business. The Universe is making it increasingly difficult for them to do things the way they have in the past. 

They are being asked to open a new door and walk through it. But their minds do not want to go! As a result, they are experiencing a lot of stress, anxiety, anger and confusion. This is a very normal response.

I often think that human beings are genetically geared to learn our lessons the hard way. Certainly, the biggest lessons I’ve learned haven’t arrived with ease and grace – they have arrived with disruption and discomfort.

We are still in the midst of the ‘letting go’ of 2020. Covid-19 is challenging us to sit still more, question more and want more for ourselves.

Collectively, there is an energy encouraging us to reach for what we want rather than what we think we can get. But in order to grab hold of those new things, we must let go of much of the old.

And if you want some help to see the way forward, please reach out. A Channelled Directions Sessions will help you cut through the confusion and see the opportunities you are too close to see. I would be honoured to help shine a light on the road ahead so you can move forward with more ease and joy.

Where is your integrity line?

Where is your integrity line?

I’ve been thinking about integrity – the line we each have within us that we don’t want to cross. It’s a line that marks who we are; our honourability in a world that often feels increasingly dishonourable.

There will be times for all of us when we will be tempted to breach our line of integrity. Some of us will do so – we will cross the line, feel the discord within ourselves and quickly reverse our path. Others will cross the line and keep going because they feel it is too difficult to turn back.

It is your ability to understand where your integrity line is, and adhere to it, that is a sign of your courage and fortitude. Sticking to this line is difficult in a world where you’re told you must conform, you must keep the peace and you must keep other people happy.

When you cross your integrity line to appease others, you are compromising yourself and often the well-being of others. We only have to scan the global horizon right now to see how a lack of integrity by some, is compromising the health of many and leading to the death of others. Terrible things happen while good people do nothing.

Integrity doesn’t mean taking the easy or most expedient path. It doesn’t mean acting from a place of fear or anger. It means having character, being honest about your own actions and motivations, and then acting in accordance with what you know in your gut is right.

Integrity. I can’t help but think we need more of it. What do you think?

You don’t need permission

You don’t need permission

I know lots of inspirational people – writers, creators, thinkers and those who have an entrepreneurial spirit that burns brightly. The problem is, many of them hide that part of themselves from everyone else but me. Actually, let me clarify that point. Many of them would also like to hide that side from me too but this is impossible because one of my gifts is the ability to see straight into their heart and what their soul desires.

But why do they want to hide this in the first place?

Many of them are waiting for permission because showing yourself and going for what you really want is a risk. But if you have permission then you will have support; you won’t be alone. Without permission, you go against the expectations of family, friends and others who think they know best or believe you should be making different choices. You may be worried about their anger, judgement or disapproval. So you wait for permission and put your own desires on the backburner if they can’t be molded into a shape that others will find acceptable.

This is not going to bring you fulfillment or joy. However, it will lead to a life where you settle, conform and survive.

I understand the drive for acceptance and the need to fit in. I get it, I really do. My teens and 20s were focused on an epic, internal battle involving a desire for conformity versus a desire to be free.

Freedom eventually won and the price was, in some quarters, a loss of acceptance, angrily expressed opinions, and judgement. As I found my feet, I also directed some of these against myself – no one could be harder on me, than me.

The fight to break free of these unseen shackles is very real. The expectations of ourselves and others can be insidious and lurk unidentified until an issue brings them to light. There is always another layer to be removed as we grow and expand.

However, I chose to stop waiting for permission years ago. I realised I could wait for the permission and approval of someone else for the rest of my life and never, ever get it. This would mean my life would be half-lived and honestly, what is the point of that? My 90-year-old self would not thank me for that choice at all!

So, here are some words of advice from someone who waited for a long time before choosing the path I know is right for me.

Stop waiting and do what you feel called to do.

Because waiting for permission is like trying to ride a scooter with an arm and leg tied together. You’ll always feel off-balance, it will be difficult to change direction without falling off, and the feeling of wind in your hair as you zoom joyfully through life will be unattainable.

If you are ready to stop hiding and share your story with the world, check out my new course – Storytellers Anonymous – it might be just what you need to help you shine.

“You’ll never have peace if you don’t make peace with where you are right now.”

“You’ll never have peace if you don’t make peace with where you are right now.”

“You’ll never have peace if you don’t make peace with where you are right now.”

One of my guides said this during my meditation this morning and I must confess, I found his wisdom both annoying and of course, irritatingly true.

I’d been mentally stamping my feet because my planned relocation to Italy feels like nothing more than a pipe dream (it was planned for late June 2020). Let’s face it, with Covid-19 we have no idea when we will be able to travel safely overseas again, so I feel like I’m in a holding pattern.

I have plenty to do, books to write, friends to talk to, people to help and so on. And I’m grateful to be here in Australia where our government is taking a cautious and protective approach for the health of our citizens. But still, my frustration cup sometimes boils over because I am not where I want to be – hence my guide’s wise words this morning.

It’s healthy to acknowledge and feel my very real feelings in the moment. Heck, sometimes I will let them take over for a lot longer than that! But, sooner or later, I need to let those feelings go so I can achieve some peace and focus in the now.

It doesn’t mean I’m giving up on my dream. I’m still thinking about it and making plans. But I also know that I’m in this place right now for a reason (even if I don’t like it or know what the Universe’s reason is).  Time will also go a lot faster if I focus on the present instead of wishing my life away into the future (or lamenting the past).

Basically, I have to make the best of it otherwise I will drive myself crazy and I can give myself the gift of peace – I just have to choose it.

Don’t you hate it when your guides are right!