Comparison.. the killer of all creativity

 You can bet your bottom dollar that when you're feeling defeated by something... there's a little voice inside your head comparing you to someone else, real or imagined.   Someone who appears to be doing it a whole lot easier and more impressively than you.

A voice that robs you of all self worth saying, ever so quietly... 'you're not good enough' or 'who are you to be writing/making/talking about....'

 

And to that voice I'm slowly learning to say 'Damn you.  I'll give it a shot'. Slowly I'm starting to catch myself.  

 

Source: twitter.com via melindamelou on Pinterest

The winter of my retreat

Winter has seen me take a step back from this space.  I was feeling a little overwhelmed.  A little uncertain about the direction, my conviction and what it was I was wanting to achieve.... not just here but everywhere.  Things were spinning by so quickly I was barley catching my breath before posting and as a result I felt I was blogging up and down in a sea of uncertainty.  Part of me cringing at writing personal reflections and another part of me totally compelled.  I felt torn and totally exposed.... FOMO had it's grasp on me.

With a little time on my side... and a clear desk, I see that I want this space to be as much about the people who come here as it is about me.  I want to inspire others to see the joyful in the everyday.  To seek out the relationships around that support and nourish and to invest in the things that make you happy.  All things I'm learning to implement in my own life.  Sometimes it's one step forward, two steps back but the important thing is to keep saying yes to the things that really matter and watching the world evolve to support these choices.

Unhappiness or happiness... which will I choose.

Something to contemplate while having your morning cuppa.  This list made me chuckle.  It's interesting to stop & think about the small ways I invite unhappiness into my day.  How about you?

x

Passion over Perfection.

I'm totally on board with Danille LaPorte's belief in Passion over Perfection. If it sings to you too, you'll enjoy this sweet post by Danielle.

xx

Oh, what a feeling.

We completed our Hike! 91.5km's of incredible coastline along the Great Ocean Road Walk, from Apollo Bay all the way to the 12 Apostles. Let me say we didn't hike the distance in one go. It's no mean feat organising 5 mums and a socially intrepid midwife to be in the same spot for 9 days of rigorous hiking.... if it were 9 days of primping and pampering on a deserted island, cocktail in hand then, yes, I'm guessing we may have managed it a little sooner.....it did, however, take 3 stints and over a year and a half to complete.

There's so much about this (combined) trip that I loved. The solidarity of friendship, the laughter, the space to be totally oneself, the open air and the challenge. The challenge of walking long undulating distances in sometimes less than ideal weather, carrying our packs laden with tents, clothing, food and cooking equipment, spending long freezing nights out in the bush, braving tiger snakes and scorpians. We did all of this, in good humor and totally in the moment. We all wanted to be there, walking, sharing the experience together.
It was an amazing feeling.

I am so grateful to my friends for helping to make this happen, for loving the journey as much as I did and for creating such a success of it.

If you're contemplating something like this, I'd like to say, 'Just do it!'
You'll be greatly rewarded. xx