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Explore a little

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You are an explorer.

We all are.

Whether you are quiet, shy, loud, bold or moody, we each have something innate inside of us that desires adventure.

Imagine if noticing the little, random things in our world became our job description.

Wake up.

Eat breakfast.

Go to work.

Notice!

A heart expectant and open waiting to find something interesting, discovering our world like we have never seen it before.

I have at last decided on my #inspire15 thing that I am going to do creatively everyday.

I am going to explore, find and document that which is beautiful in my everyday.

A little something that I am grateful for. Hot water in the shower, a smile from a stranger, a beautiful shell on the beach.

Inconsequential things that will make me grateful for small mercies.

Last Sunday I had a huge scare with my eldest child. He bit his finger as he was eating his lunch and breathed deep in shock at how much it hurt. His lunch got stuck in his throat and he started choking.

He went blue and very quietly yelped in pain. I turned him upside down and banged him on his back and the food came out. One minute relaxing eating his lunch, the next minute blue and struggling to breathe.

Life is full of crazy moments of unexpected happenings. Some delightful and some terrifying. Lately I have been so affected by the hurt in the world and this random Sunday lunch with my little two year old, has resulted in me being so grateful for his little moments.

I’ve been watching him like an explorer. Not wanting to miss any moment.

So grateful, for just one more day to share with him and his perspective.

No matter how difficult your circumstance is today, there is always something to explore, an opportunity to be grateful for.

What is one small step you can take towards a better tomorrow that you can begin doing today?

It doesn’t matter that it’s the 16th day of 2015 already, it is never to late to make a decision to change your world.

Want to explore gratefulness with me this year? #inspire15

Adventure is awaiting discovery.

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What can you do today to decide to live a more adventurous tomorrow?

Tell me and #inspire15

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Does it make you feel fabulous?

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Whilst surfing the web last week I read a quote online and the only thing I remember from the piece of writing was this question…

‘Does it make you feel fabulous?’

This morning started out as a normal Wednesday. A bite of cereal, a strong flat white, off to the shops to get some groceries.

When I got home, that question ran through my mind again.

‘Does it make you feel fabulous?’

Then suddenly my whole wardrobe was on the floor after I had ripped box after box, pile after pile out of it’s dark cavity.

I looked at every piece of clothing and every pair of shoes and asked myself this question.

Does it make you feel fabulous?

I realised there were T-shirts that were old that had been relegated to the ‘exercise in these’ pile, I had trackies that had been placed in the ‘wear them to bed in winter pile’ and I had a little defining moment.

Why can’t I feel fabulous when I exercise?

Why can’t I feel fabulous as I climb into bed with my husband?

I had a ‘I would prefer to have a smaller wardrobe full of beautiful items, than an overflowing one with half hearted items that are there because of obligation’ aha moment.

Obligation because I got them on sale.

Obligation because a friend gave them to me.

Obligation because I once loved them, but they no longer make me smile.

What are you holding onto out of obligation?

One of the greatest ways we can feel lighter and more inspired is to simplify the spaces we reside in.

Every time I do it, I am amazed at how great I feel afterwards.

One of my friends uncle and aunt lost their whole house in a fire yesterday. As they walked around the charcoaled remains they realised that possessions really didn’t mean that much to them, when all of them kept their lives and health in tact.

Possessions don’t define us.

I think I sometimes think popular culture tells us, whoever dies with the most stuff wins! When we think about it logically we know this is not true.

Today those bathers that are chlorine stretched, those pants that are stained and those shoes that I love but are so uncomfortable are all now in wardrobe heaven.

And I feel fabulous because of it.

#inspire15 find ways this new year to clear space for new inspiration.

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Transitioning seasons of friendship

friend forrest

friend forrest

friend train forrest

Seasons come

Seasons go.

My Instagram feed at the moment is full of  beach shots, icecreams and fishing spots but tomorrow the sun will be setting earlier, the brown leaves will be crunching our pavement and autumn will sneak across our small screens.

Before we even notice the season shifts but we are still acting as if it is still in full bloom. It’s awkward when people wear bikinis in the midst of winter but in summer no one even bats an eyelid.

Why don’t we have this same seasonal intelligence when it comes to friendship?

In 2014 one of my goals was to make some local friends. I have lots of close friends but in my local area I wanted some peeps who were close by, in my today.

A lot of my favourite friends are absent ones. They live over East, in New Zealand, in Perth, hours away from where I live. In my first year of novice motherhood I struggled to let go of the season that had past. Friends come and friends go, new people enter your days for particular seasons and some stay for years.

Releasing people to choose whether they are a part of your life for seasons or years is one of the greatest lessons I am learning. I believe the whole concept of a best friend for life is a Hollywood high school cultural false reality.

Do I believe in close friendships? of course.

Do I believe you can have besties for life? sometimes, but it takes a big and secure heart, to release people into new seasons and to love them just the same.

I have found some of my greatest friendships are the ones that I havn’t seen for a long time and we both act as though we have never been apart.

There is a freedom, there is an understanding, there is a deep comittment to the person and their now but a realisation that the season for being in each other’s pockets has changed.

A peace per say.

An ease.

A release into the movement and shift of life’s ebbs and flows.

When a season transitions and major life change occurs we need to take a deep breath and allow the sand to settle. The person I am today is so different to the one I was four short years ago.

I used to spend every waking moment in an office, I drove a large distance to my work place. I didn’t have children, I was available. My friendships then were very different to those who are in my everyday world today.

It doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate and love those who were in my everyday then, today it is just different. Nostalgia tells us that we need to place ourselves emotionally in it’s kingdom but moving forward and opening ourselves to change is the greatest gift we can give ourselves.

I have many precious friendships from seasons that have past, but if they are unable to be a part of my today in a mutually beneficial way it doesn’t change my love of them. I just let them go and some come back and others don’t. It doesn’t change the amazing experiences and memories we have had. It is just different.

Friends come,

friends go.

Seasons come,

seasons go.

Life moves, shifts and grows.

Are you willing to empower people to live gracefully in their new season?

Are you willing to hold friends loosely and if they move into new spaces be happy for them and love them just the same?

Are you willing to acknowledge your new season and make new friends accordingly?

These are some of my random musings this new year, not directed at any friendships in my current season but something I am learning across my days.

I want to love the ones I am with but also release people with freedom into their future.

What does your season look like today?

Do your friendships match it?

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little by little

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAs I sat listening to one of the brave people I have been creatively retreating with a major moment of revelation about one of my goals appeared.

The penny dropped, rolled across the cafe and said ‘Ta da!’

One of my big goals this years is to loose my baby weight.

As much as it is vulnerable for me to write it here, for you all to read, judge, comment and give me advice, it is one of my main goals this year and I am determined to make it a lifestyle choice rather than a big diet or unattainable routine.

Back to the story.

I pulled out my calculator and then I put in the amount of weight I want to loose and then divided it by 52 weeks and I was astounded, it was less than a half a kilo a week.

By breaking down my goal into bite sized pieces (excuse the pun), the goal straight away became so doable.

I felt empowered to say no to things, I would normally say yes to and so much less overwhelmed by the enormity of the task.

I know you might be saying, ‘That is super obvious’ but for me it was a moment of victory.

Have you shrugged your shoulders at reflecting on 2014 and setting goals for 2015, because you have failed in the past?

Me too.

Despite my failure, I believe taking time to ask yourself some good questions and setting a focus for the coming year is a worthy pursuit and has made such a difference in my life.

Little by little,

Baby step by baby step.

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I say whats your greatest dream?

The only way it ever happen is if you just start today.

Little by little.

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My imperfect life.

dreams

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For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin—real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. FR. ALFRED D’SOUZA

One of the key questions from my New Year Change Reflection questions is this;

‘What is a quote, scripture or word that sums up 2014?’

My quote that summed up 2014 was this…

broken crayons still colour.

I spent a lot of 2014 learning to be okay with imperfection. In the past I have been a someone who strives to please everyone. The funny thing was, the more I tried, the worse I got at it.

As the mother of a 2 year old and newborn, I have had to learn to be okay with mess. Somedays I feel like I am knee deep in nappies, vomit, spilled juice and food encrusted clothing. The idea of perfection and actually getting anything done is nearly impossible in the life of a novice Mum.

One of the funniest stories that ended 2014, was the last Tuesday before Christmas when I was on radio doing a phone interview and I invited my Dad to come and sit with my babes whilst I was on air.

My Dad is a typical Aussie retired sixty year old. My son is a typical creative, adventurous two year old. I finished my radio interview and came out expecting to see my toddler playing quietly and my newborn being snuggled softly by her Poppy. A perfect picture. A daydreamy image from a juggling, I can do it all Mother.

In reality post the interview, I walked into a war zone with my Dad sitting in the middle of the couch, smiling at me, shrugging his shoulders.

You see, my son found a large jar of tiny beads that I had been sewing onto T-shirts for some homemade Christmas presents. He was throwing them around and yelling out ‘Snow, snow, snow.’ My lounge room was covered in tiny seed beads and Maximus was dancing around reinterpreting a scene from ‘Frozen’ throwing snow around our small beach side shack. My new born was snoring softly as my dad held her. He was like ‘I’m not sure what to do?’

I just laughed and nearly 5 weeks later I am still finding little beads in every corner of our home.

An absolute mess.

A pure unadulterated memory.

A moment I will never forget.

Are you waiting for the perfect moment to live the life you have dreamed of living?

Are you waiting for the perfect circumstance to start doing something creative you have always longed to pursue?

Are you flying on the merry go round of emotions that tell you that you need to be perfect to try something revolutionary?

I am learning that there is no perfect time to write a book. There is no perfect time to launch a business. There is no perfect time for any of our dreams to begin. There will never be a perfect time, because we are always stuck in the transition between someday and somehow.

The only time you have to begin living the life you dream of living is now.

Give up that job.

Shift to that country.

Start that business.

Begin that blog.

Enrol in that course.

Say hello to that person.

Buy that house.

Sell that home.

Give away everything you don’t use.

Simplify.

Let go of…

Start in the midst of the imperfect timing and begin to dream again.

Life will always be a little complicated.

It is just how it is imperfect.

Just begin, despite it.

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