How a day full of anniversaries turned into a gift for the future
Today, 31st August 2019, has been a wonderful day.
This morning I led my second half-day Mind-body Connect workshop, holding space for a wonderful group of women to stop, to breathe and to reconnect with their bodies through movement, through sound and through stillness. A select few of us shared a delicious lunch afterwards before I headed home for a much needed nap on the sofa with my best friend.
And then, having dozed through the rain, we headed out for a long walk on a truly beautiful summer’s evening. A curious enquiry along the way led to a long chat with a retired professor carrying out soil research on our local heathland and a fascinating conversation about bronze-age barrows, the fact that this area has supported human habitation for 6,000 years and the carbon storage capabilities of bracken. Then back home for a home-cooked meal and a bit of quality television!
It was the perfect day to remind me how far I’ve come. One year ago today I completed my 3-year Yoga Teacher Training programme. On the very same day I received confirmation that I’d finally qualified for my Diploma in Hypnotherapy. One year on and I can safely say that I’m more sure than ever that I have found my purpose in life. I know what I’m here to do while, at the same time, having no idea exactly how it will unfold or where it will take me over the years to come!
And on top of all that, 17 years ago today I walked down an aisle of trees in my parents’ beautiful garden at my wedding. It was a day – and a marriage – that contains many happy memories and I wouldn’t change a minute of it. But the woman who stood there back in 2002 had no idea who she really was, what she really wanted out of life. She had no idea that it is possible to shift from having happy moments to actually being happy, even during the sad times. It has taken all the events of the past 17 years – the joy and the heartache, the fear and the excitement – to bring me to where I am today. I have no idea what changes the next 365 days will bring, let alone the next few years, but I’m excited to find out.
And I’m profoundly grateful – well, for everything about my life actually – but especially that I found the courage to change it so completely that days like today are not exceptional, they are simply my life. And on those days when things don’t feel quite so perfect, the memory of today will sustain me. And by tapping back into the feelings of gratitude that I’m experiencing today, rather than wallowing in the ‘less than perfect’, I know that I will attract more of the same: more gratitude, more to be grateful for, more perfect days.
Yesterday was a new moon, traditionally a good time to start new projects, new opportunities, as well as to release anything that no longer serves us. For many of us the start of September always feels like the beginning of a new year, however many decades it is since we left school. If there’s something you feel is missing in your life, something you’ve been longing to change or explore, why not take a deep breath and make NOW the time you take the first step – however tiny – outside your comfort zone? Go on… I dare you!
