re-write your story...

Home from a month long voyage. I needed this time away from my Vancouver life... my working life. I needed to stretch my legs and expand my spirit. I needed a visit with myself... check in and see what was going on. Sometimes it can take a while to process our experiences... to feel where we are, and how we have changed. I remember my father telling me years ago, that this anxious feeling I get every now and then can be explained as if I have outgrown the box I call my life. When I am not inspired, when I can no longer stretch my legs fully... I have changed, and I need to change my box accordingly. For me, this requires a bit of distance from it all. I need to disconnect from certain things... and reconnect with others. Sometimes, all the things that make us come alive get pushed to the back-burner... work emails have to be answered and bills need to be paid, right? This is reality. But my happiness lies in remembering... and living those other things. Like travel and adventure, great food and wine, connecting with friends and strangers, laughing and singing, feeling the ocean's salt linger on my body, feeling the sun warming my skin, driving along a road I've never driven... so many things! Don't get me wrong, there are so many wonderful experiences in my every day life that I cherish (and I am so very blessed!), but it's when I lose touch with all the other things that bring life to every cell in my body... that's when the box I call my life begins to feel cramped.

It's just a matter of remembering. And rebuilding. Rearranging a few things to accommodate this new place I have grown into. In fact, it's a very exciting place to be. Taking responsibility and initiative to create something new is empowering. The possibilities are endless.

Recently, I decided I was going to re-write my story. It's time to put it in writing. Tell the story not of my hardships, but of the opportunities and growth that came from them. Not of the losses, but of all that was gained. Gratitude. And more importantly, it's not about where I came from, but where I am going. I can't wait to write about that...

Instead of posting more desert photos (I know, enough already!), I thought I 'd post some inspiring quotes... some good reminders.

Good luck with re-writing your own story...

 

Celebrate Everyday

Each and every day should be celebrated... treat yourself, smile more often, let your kisses linger on your lover's lips, breathe deeply, laugh, play... celebrate every moment, for it is so very special!

Have you ever...

Have you ever...

Climbed a volcano? Danced on a wave? Given away your favorite thing... because it was just a thing? Taken a chance on love... and won? Walked in the rain without an umbrella... and smiled the whole time? Let go of the past, so you could have a future? Thrown away a map in return for an adventure? Driven down a foreign road with reckless abandon? Walked along the Louvre at sunrise... until sunset? Chosen happiness because you realized it was a choice? Had a conversation that didn’t involve words? Lost everything only to find you were left with everything? Discovered that you are doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing, simply because that’s what you are doing? Cried and laughed at the same time? Said goodbye when you wanted to say don’t go? Closed one door and have another one open?

This is the theme of my next book... "Have you ever..." It is a joy to create, and a process of questioning, both things that I have done, and things I want to do... all in the name of living.

It's also been a great refresher looking through the thousands (yes, tens of thousands!) of images I have collected in my travels. And since a post is always better with an image, here is one that I hold particularly close. Taken in Australia at sunrise, it reminds me of many mornings spent walking and exploring the beaches to see how it changed over the course of the night... ebbing and flowing, continuously changing and replenishing itself, the beach became a part of my daily renewal.

Driving Nowhere Fast

There comes a time in everyone's life where they question their path, the many choices made that have put them where they are at that point in time. For some, it might happen when they turn 30, 40 or 50; those monumental points of reflection where one looks to measure their levels of happiness and success. For others, it might happen once a year, once a month, or even once a day. As an artist, I think it is our inherent nature to question ourselves. The problem with art is that it is completely objective... or subjective... and it must be compared to other art to define it, to understand it, to value it... It is that comparison that can be the evil of our creativity, because we begin to look at others when we should be looking within. The best art is created with the intention of creating it for the sake of expression, for the artist alone. Not for the sake of what others will think of it or what is expected or who will buy it.

Sometimes, it feels like I am driving nowhere, fast. I ask, what is my ultimate goal? Do I want recognition? Do I want financial success? Do I want to change the industry? As humans, we tend to over-think and over-analyze everything, when really, it so much more simple. It is about moments of joy. Shared with others or by yourself. Moments of connectivity. Moments of emotion, of fear and love. It is feeling that you are doing what you are supposed to be doing at that very moment in time... for the simple reason that you are doing it. I believe that we are all doing what we are supposed to be doing. We have chosen the partner we are with based on what we need to learn from them. We are choosing our experiences and challenges so that we can overcome obstacles and blocks within us. Times of challenges and pain and fear always translate into times of growth and learning. So really, when it feels like you might be straying from your path, look at it as if the "straying" is actually part of your path. Stay true to your path. Stay true to you.

I'm sure everyone can relate to this video on some level...