No Coffee Required

Image: lipmag.com

For those that know me, it is probably a little obvious that I have come to enjoy a good cup of coffee.  Just a smidge, just a little, just a lot!

I blame my husband.  It's his fault.  He finally converted me around five years ago as he wanted someone to enjoy a coffee with - go figure?  It started off weak and it needed sweetening for it was so bitter to taste.  As the years have progressed so has my 'taste' for the almighty caffeine.  Now I have it strong and sugar is for the weak.   It is a welcome substance for days where simply getting your feet from bed to floor is a challenge. When opening your eyes, your mind says 'do it' but your body is still soaking up the rays on a beach in the mediterranean where Brad Pitt is serving you coffee and giving you a neck and shoulder massage.  

The past 24 hours have been eye opening for me - where an 'A-Ha' moment has surfaced.  Where I have gone from confusion to clarity - it is amazing! Recently, I committed myself to a journey that is truely identifying my deepest desires and direction for the future.  It is making me dig deep to get to know my inner self, my values, my secret ardent desire.

The more I understand myself, the more confident and capable I become.  It gives me freedom to be who God designed to be.  To believe that I can achieve greatness.  To pursue what makes me happy and to do with no regrets, no hangups, no limits!   I can see a high coming and it is not going to be from a caffeine fix.  It is an all natural one - no coffee required.  What I thought was my direction is quickly changing to a new one.  Not too far removed - with just a 'jump to the left and a step to the right', I am discovering and acknowledging where my heart leads.

I have found a straight talking woman who is leading me to find my authentic self. She pulls no punches and challenges me on my perfectionism, procrastination and limiting beliefs.  She gives me a kick in the derriere when I need it and tells me to push harder, dig deeper and do it with vigor.  My passion is unfolding, my dreams are becoming visions and my heart is once again climbing, no, rocketing skywards towards a place where I am 'high' on life itself.

What about you?  Are you stumbling around in the dark trying to find clarity for your direction.  Maybe it's the forties, mid-life crisis thing happening - although I am definately not at the point of tossing the hubby aside, buying a sports car and disappearing off into the sunset.  It is more about seeking a path that resonates on a deep level within me.

Join me as I unravel this new direction, take action and work with women who too are struggling to find their 'natural high'.  This is just the beginning.

Regards,

Learning to Fly Again

You lie battered and bruised on the ground.  One would think that you have been hit by a truck and then it reversed over you just to make sure.  Every piece of your self-worth and confidence are lying shattered in a million pieces around you.  Tears roll down your cheeks as the initial shock hits.  Those words were cruel, actions uncalled for and well, it came like a bolt out of the blue with no warning.  Just when you were feeling good about yourself, just when you were starting to make progress - BAM!

So where to from here?   You can sit silently in the shadows waiting for someone to come past and pick you up, tell you it will all be okay and help you on your feet.  Is that what you want?  Is that what you need?   I remember feeling so worthless and fearful that I kept the blinds closed for weeks and was quite happy never to have to face the outside world again.  I could have easily been deemed a recluse and stayed safely tucked away from that big, bad world.  It was only there to hurt and I had experienced quite enough at that stage.

Over the next weeks I worked through those feelings, and yes I talked out loud to myself often.  God didn't miss out either.  I screamed, I shouted, I cried as this gamet of emotions poured out and all the hurt, disappointment and pain revealed itself.  Then something happened.  I made a mental note that all must change if I want to move forward.  No more sulking like a child in the corner, no more 'woe is me' attitude.  I needed to mend these broken wings and learn to fly again.

As I look back now, I can see that from pain and heartache comes growth.  It is in these times that we discover more about ourselves than we ever could from a lifetime of pure happiness and perpetual smiling.  God does this for a reason.  He knows that if our days are forever bright and sunny, we won't challenge ourselves and will 'gloss over' the areas that need improvement.  It is about learning more about what makes us tick and finding strength that we never knew we had.  For me, learning to fly has taken time and I still fall out of the nest sometimes however, God is there to pick me back up, put me back in the nest and whispers quietly, 'try again'.

Are you ready to mend your wings?  Have you had enough of hiding away in the shadows of hurt and pain?  Do you want to fly?  Reach out to the one who made you and knows every part of you, every dream, desire and deep seeded hurt.  All you have to do is ask and then take the first step of faith.

Regards,

Chaos to calm....then chaos again

One day.  That is all I ask,  just one day.

One day when...

• smelly teenage boy socks find a new home and not one that is stuffed between the cushions on the lounge
• the cat recovers from dimentia and remembers that it was only fed 1 hour ago
• the freshly clean floor can not have something spilt on it immediately after drying
• that you can walk into the room of a teenage son and not be bowled over by the lingering smell that comes from body odour, dirty clothes and lunch from 3 months ago
• the washing and ironing is up-to-date and clothes baskets empty for longer than 10 minutes
• the toilet seat is closed and the toothpaste lid on when not in use
• a kitchen bench is rediscovered and is no longer the horizontal surface dumping ground for everything as you walk in the back door
• the array of shoes by the residing centrepedes are on a relocation program back into bedrooms and not at the back door
• the lost socks return and find their life partners

Yes, I know this is all a dream.  Every day, parents across the globe face these same challenges.  Challenge that at times are frought with danger - particularly where teenagers are involved!  Those little frustrations that seem to endlessly appear, continue to cause havoc and are at plague proportion.  It is at times chaos.

Then, in a moment of sheer amazement and wonder, it stops.  Calm arrives and life is grand.  The teenagers are out doing 'their thing',  hubby is curled up with a newspaper on the lounge and there is just a fleeting moment of sanity in the house when all can be.

Don't get too excited though for this will be short lived.  The cat will meow, the pungent odour from down the hallway will waft through like agent orange and the remaining socks will hold memorial services for their lost partners.

Soldier on my friend.  Pick up that sock, close that toilet seat, file that paper, wash that floor - again.   

As Mum's we take this in our stride every day, every week, every month, every year.  Yep, there are times when we rant and rave and even take a stand by going AWOL.  Sure enough though, we return to face it all again.  Mum's (and house Dad's) - raise your glasses and make a toast to that one day where all will be!

Regards,