sharing her awesome life and her desire to have community while doing it!
Happy TribeLife Tuesday! We are so excited that
you've found us!
I recently took a month off from blogging because I
had inundated myself with work, and I needed to pause and reset. It was a
wonderful and much needed break. I must admit, it did not curb all of the
busyness but it certainly helped me to think toward to future of this blog and
my life in general. So today I want to share some of what I realized during
this moment of pause.
Here are a few things that became apparent:
• Gratitude is a must have
when navigating life
• Know your limits
• Be patient with the process
Social norms & culture have a way of being our
life GPS, determining whether we are headed down the right path: marriage,
kids, owning a home, finishing school, etc. I absolutely believe all of these
are admirable goals and I think we should definitely set our hearts on such
things. I also know that we must be careful not to let those norms be the sole
dictators of our journey. I realized during my writing pause that I
had lost so much of the adventure of living and that I am less sure of where I
am going these days.
Gratitude
So here we are at this junction of honorable goals
and feeling lost. Where do I go? From experience, I have found the best place
to go is to gratitude: it is a great navigator. Gratitude has a way of
reminding us to keep the main thing the main thing. Remember all that you are
thankful for. Remember where you were and where you are now. Starting with
gratitude makes way for straight paths. This grateful way of living helps us to
let go of the control and follow the adventure. A practice I have started
incorporating in my life is writing (not typing in my iPhone, actually writing
- archaic I know) one thing I am grateful for every day. The more I
focused on all that is beautiful in my life, the more that lost feeling
faded away. As the practice of gratitude grew, fork in the road became a
one-way street.
Know your limits
My second takeaway from my moment of pause was to
know my limits. This looked like me staring at myself in the mirror going, Know
your limits, Carrie!" As I have gotten older, I have become more
self-aware. When I say self-aware, I mean knowing how far I can push myself and
stay mentally, physically, and emotionally healthy. I have learned what
depletes me. This is a practice I implore all of you to start implementing.
That practice begins with asking yourself, is this going to help me or
hurt me? Does this make my life better or worse? When we know ourselves we can
practice true healthy selflessness.
When I stand at this junction, between
honorable goals and feeling lost, everything within me wants to curl up in
ball, wrap myself in a blanket, and quit. Harsh, I know, but when I dig deep
enough that’s really what it feels like. Well, this feeling is rooted in the
fact that I had gone too far over my limits. I know this because I began to ask
myself, "is this helping me to hurting me? And, while all the things I was
doing were “good” things, I was doing too many good things and wearing myself out.
So, I say to you brave one - be aware of what you body, soul, and spirit are
saying to you and slow yourself down long enough to listen
Patience
Lastly there is sweet patience! It has been said
patience is virtue, it is also a struggle. Can I get an AMEN?
The truth is that process is the practice of
patience. So many times it seems like we wait for an eternity for an answer or
a decision to be made but don’t despise your process. It’s meant to make you
better. Whether we like it or not, it contributes to the beautiful shaping of
who we are! Give yourself permission to be patient with you and give others
permission to be patient with you. Every great thing takes a process -
wine, diamonds, oak trees, and you! So, my friend, remember that you deserve
to give yourself to the process.
As we all continue to pursue our best lives (lives
that are healthy, well, & full) I encourage you to let go of the things you
can’t control, loosen your grip on the things you can, and enjoy the adventure,
bumps and all.
Thank you so much for reading!
See you next Tuesday.
Carrie
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