Flip that painting on its side and make it whatever you desire.
How have we already arrived at the last day of the first month of 2022? How is it possible? Where have the last two years and one month gone? I mean… well… for me, they have been pretty much filled with intense personal development, home schooling, job loss, stepping into the next evolution of my career, devouring podcasts, missing family and friends, virtual meetups and happy hours, learning to be an entrepreneur, parenting like a mofo, imposter syndrome, washing my hands a ridiculous amount, volunteering at school, lots and lots of classes, coaching sports and life, reconnecting, letting go, getting a giant puppy, finding flow and then losing it, then finding it, starting a meditation practice and a morning practice and discovering that my art is another wellness practice, almost losing it all, seeing some people for what they really are, doing art, feeling my feelings, floating, carrying the emotional weight of my family, realizing that being outside is essential to my being, getting soul coach certified, that I sort of like the beach in some situations, surrendering, desiring more ease and alignment, family bike rides, working to release guilt, writing my first multi-authored book that became an international bestseller, goofing with my kids, going in and out of FOMO on the regular, watching more movies than I ever thought possible (many a series in sequential order), making recycled robots for fun, chopping off my pandemic hair only to hate it and eagerly await it to grow back, purging a ton of material goods I’ve been carrying around from state to state for decades, hosting an empowered art camp for tween girls, hugging my mom after way too long without seeing her, waffling, taking action, mastermining with legit Queens in the ring, getting vulnerable AF, inviting help and support, softball, sharing my gifts, selling a beloved house, saying goodbye to friends and familiarity, meeting new people, oh yeah… and a massive relocation to a new, unfamiliar city. I literally can’t recall much from the last 6 months alone, which is how long we’ve lived in our new town. It’s been a ride, y’all.
But ain’t this life? Aren’t we beings that find ourselves riding these big waves and finding the sweet spot when we can? If there is anything that this pandemic has taught me, it’s that we can’t keep waiting, hoping for the right conditions to do the things we desire most. Watching the passage of time during this time has shown both that it flies by in a blur, and is also the slowest thing you will ever experience. It all depends on the vantage through which you see it. What lense do you have in place? For a lot of people, these past two years have been incredibly painful. In many ways, they have been for me too. But they also forced me to slow down and take stock in what I have right here in front of me. They asked me to get really intentional about how I spend my time, and how I want to spend my time in the future. There are some things I miss so much and others that I don’t wish to have return. And in that lies clarity and awareness. The fact of the matter is that when we got locked down in our homes, I went on a fascinating journey into the depths of my soul that opened up adventures I didn’t even know I desired. One recurring theme throughout this crazy time is that people are looking for freedom. Freedom from masks, from rules and regulations, from the fear of imminent danger. Freedom from commutes or from distance learning. Freedom from what it looks like to get quiet and ask yourself the hard questions about what is next, why have you been waiting to do the thing? And in all of the murkiness, little signs emerge that tell us the next right step. The next best action. What has really become crystal clear for me is that in all of this chaos, the only thing certain is that Freedom is something you take. You are not given it and you don’t have to earn it. It is within our own minds. Freedom is a state of mind that is always floating right there in front of us but we have to reach out and grab it. Seize that very precious moment that opens the cage door and invites you to simply step through the threshold. Freedom is something you take in every moment and every situation. You define your own freedom. It’s yours and it’s waiting, you just have to have the guts to take it and breathe life into it.
