A New Beginning…
If you had suggested to me even five years ago that I would be sitting in a brand new home, in a new town, watching the corn grow in the farmer’s field behind my house, I would have laughed. Five years ago I believed it unlikely that I would never leave the busy-ness and stress of the city I grew up in. Now one of my greatest pleasures each day is sitting in our living room or on our tiny deck (the grass just arrived - hooray!) enjoying my evening tea and taking in the breathtaking colours of sunset (shades of pink, blue, purple, yellow, orange….). At times, it feels magical.
The colours at sunset change every night!
Often - so often now that it’s beginning to feel “normal” - there are deer in the field perfectly framed by the sunset, not to mention all the multi-coloured birds at our bird feeders along the fence. Despite the inconvenience and frustration of living in a construction zone, right now there’s nowhere I’d rather be living. (Well, maybe in a small village in the U.K. with sheep grazing in the hills surrounding us….).
Walking through the British countryside is my favourite travel activity!
Life is about constant change.
We tend to resist change, I know I certainly do, but when we learn to stop fearing it and instead embrace it , that’s where the growth happens and new possibilities appear.
When you get to my stage in life - the stage when the kids are grown up and there’s more time to focus on yourself - there’s a tendency to start ruminating about the past and worrying about the future. Unless you’re one of those few lucky souls who have always followed their true path, you begin to re-evaluate your life, your purpose, and your health, and you start thinking about “big questions” like:
Who am I?
How am I supposed to be spending my days?
What do I really want to do with my life?
Time to reflect
There has been a lot of time for personal reflection over the last few months with working at home and limited social opportunities. I’ve always been an avid journaller, but I’ve written more in the last three months than I’ve written in my entire life. I’ve enrolled in more online courses (I know, I’m a course junkie), and I even finished my yoga teacher certification (a particularly thrilling moment for me). My journal writing has helped me to put these challenging times in perspective, become more grateful for everything and everyone in my life, and to help me realize that I want do more, both for myself and for others. I’ve also tried to let go of the notion that I’m not creative and have started to explore that side of myself again.
So, what’s next?
I’m constantly taking courses and learning. Right now I’m exploring many different and exciting opportunities that include my love of yoga, mindfulness, psychology and hiking. I’m learning new technology (a huge learning curve!), reading lots of books, and spending as much time as I can walking in the woods. The fall will be bittersweet - we’re saying goodbye to our son and his wife as they head up to a new life in Thunder Bay - but I’m excited about new coaching and yoga courses starting soon, as well as re-acquainting myself with my work life in school psychology. I’m also enjoying exploring my new town and surrounding area and setting up my office/library/yoga room.
Live in the moment….
Although there’s lots of speculation, none of us know for sure what will happen this fall, and we certainly can’t predict the next few years. So what should we do? Research suggests that building resilience is key to staying physically, emotionally and mentally healthy. Instead of spending time worrying about things I can’t control, I’m going to focus on what’s right in front of me. And right now, that’s enough for me.