Day 250/366 days Towards Self-Mastery.
We start out in adult life with wishes and dreams and fairytale endings. Somewhere along the way life burdens us and most of those desires are never met.
Depression and other mental health concerns are rampant, and worse for this time of CV-19 when large percentages of the population are thrown into isolation and uncertainty.
We all need a reason to get out of bed. Usually that reason is to get to work on time, however if that work doesn't inspire us, or doesn't feel meaningful to us, or simply no longer exists, just putting our feet on the floor can be an onerous task.
My solution was to turn my attention to the things I loved to do. To bury myself in the job of caring for others.
Having had a long soiree into the commercial world, and finding myself sitting at my desk feeling brain-dead on a daily basis, I decided to return to work where I could be of service in some sort of caring way.
Too much time had elapsed to pick up my midwifery career without retraining, I had to discover another way.
At my front door were local mothers looking for someone to care for their children after school, and so with little experience I turned to creating one of the first after school care businesses, an industry pioneer.
Yes you are going to feel afraid. Yes you are going to stumble. Yes you are going to wake up worried, and go to bed with your mind spinning in circles. Do it anyway.
You will need to learn all the skills you need to learn. Just do what has to be done.
My rule of thumb was always to be curious about the feelings and emotions that arise in me, and cope with whatever was in front of me.
The human spirit is designed to cope, and learn and grow. Point yourself in the direction of something that aligns with your gifts and talents and do the next thing.
One certainty is that nothing stays the same. Life keeps changing and so will you. Keep going.
I love Sarah's quote, "The world needs dreamers, and the world needs doers. But above all the world needs dreams who do."
366 days Towards Self-Mastery
When I considered my New Year's intentions for 2020 I had just one: To allow my heart to love what it loved...and let it lead me. (If not now, then when?)
I've spent months working on integrating my life. To live life more fully with my home life, my interests, my work, my responsibilities, all coming together, all connected. I want to give each the attention that they desire and need, and still have time and energy for the others. That means living and working from the heart.
As I was clearing out my bookshelf over the Christmas break I discovered Simple Abundance. I set it aside to explore it on New Year's Day as I lazed through another delicious day of nothingness. Sarah, the author, says this book is about living in grace. Living in grace I realised, is about Self-Mastery.
My thirst for understanding the human condition has driven me all my life, and hand-in-hand with self-mastery it has been a life-long goal. And seeing as I love to write, that living in grace is about self-mastery, and I love a bit of a challenge, then if I am truly going to let my heart lead, I really don't have any other choice. So scary as it feels, I'm starting out on a daily mission of leaning into the suggestions of this daybook and making a daily post to keep me accountable. If not now, then when?
I'm Josie. You can find out a little more about me here.
Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy: by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
This book is written for the Australian and NZ market because it refers to seasonal changes. It's available on Amazon here if you'd like to follow along.