You failed this year, its okay so did I…

 

So you failed this year…

It’s okay.

So did I.

There is something about failure it sits with us in the midst of our humility and asks us to try again.

Failure has a shadow companion and his name is “Shame”. Shame sneaks around corners and offers us comfort in the midst of our mistakes. He curls his finger and beckons us to come and sit to stay awhile.

The thing that shame forgets to tell us on purpose, however, that nothing of significance is birthed without failure and mistakes. You see the precipice of change, that place in our future between what is and what could be, is the unknown department of what if?

The land of what if is a place where the ground is extremely unsteady.

It shakes and tumbles, it quakes and makes you feel uncomfortable.

When you step into the new and leave the comfort of shame behind, you realise that anyone who has done anything of significance has failed.

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something. So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make new mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life. Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, do it. Make your mistakes, next year and forever.”

Neil Gaiman

The power of reflection, journaling and writing always will help us find perspective in the midst of our failure. When we take the time to sit in the discomfort of the waiting place, we uncover the secret wisdom that invites us to the beauty of humanity.

The grace place.

The sinner’s table.

The place between what is and what could be.

At the end of each year, I retreat away from the noise that SHOUTS loudly and I ask myself a series of questions.

I set myself up in a cafe, with coffee and a slice of cake and I breathe. I walk the beach and I start to pray softly.

Thanking God for the year that has passed and I start to let go of everything that has disappointed. There is something about taking the time to reflect and regroup that creates space for growth in the New Year.

Questions like…

What has been a positive experience?
What has been a negative experience?
Where have I grown the most?
What am I especially thankful for?

I have realised that it is easy to allow the negative to overtake a year, rather than allowing the simple, the beautiful and the surprises to come back to the foreground.

As I take the time to reflect on the different spaces in my life, I see over a long season of rest and recovery that the fruit of the spirit is growing or decreasing in my life. I re-shift my alignment in these times of journalling and writing by myself and I realise where my true north alignment is again.

When was the last time you took the time to have an appointment with yourself with a journal and reflected?

Here is the proforma that I use in this personal retreat available for you to download today. This year your download includes; Planning documents for your business and personal products. A weekly schedule to plan in time for the scaffold of your week for your passion projects A mind map proforma to help you brainstorm out your yearly goals and over one hundred reflection questions to help you discover your voice and opportunities for the new season ahead.

So as we walk into the crazy holiday season, here is my prayer for you.

I hope that you make mistakes this coming year because it is a place where we remember the grace and the power of forgiveness. I hope that you are edging towards the new and doing things that are unexpected and full of possibility to find your new language and voice for tomorrow. I hope that you thrive in the midst of your humanity, learning to love like you have never before. I hope you flourish even when it feels like your hidden place is dry and unforgiving. 

Amanda