Enough Already!

This BECOMING business is tough frigging work.

After all who are you becoming?  What are you becoming?  How do you know if you’ve got there?  Will the skies suddenly open and the one single sunbeam illuminate your path? Will God leave you a massive sticky note saying “Congratulations, you made it?”

I’m asking you these questions as I have asked myself these questions.

This morning a friend popped by and as we were having a cuppa tea she said “You’ve had a challenging few months.  When you keep bumping up against obstacles do you ever feel like saying – I’m on the wrong path let’s just pack it all in, sell the house, move somewhere else and try something new?” 

Hell Yes! 

I am a continual quester of meaning, impact, connection, power, passion and purpose and  you bet I question like a fiend when things are appearing “wrong” (as my mind perceives them). 

I have spent the last 20 years (the first 10 were in closeted denial) looking at myself, my life, the people I attract into my life, exploring my spirituality, studying Yoga, Tarot, following great spiritual leaders, pursuing education, coaching, meditating, participating in sweat lodges, writing New Moon wishes and reading every new book that promised “to be the answer” as to why we are here……..

Yet, I still have moments when it feels that all these new mindsets, ways of being that I am asked to become are too much frigging work and there is nothing tangible to measure!  I mean when you bake a cake you put all the different ingredients in the bowl, stir, bake and voila!  There is a tangible thing. 

So when that feeling hits,  the desire to pack all that learning, BEcoming and Transforming into a huge arsed duffle bag, weigh it down with large rocks and dump it at the bottom of the ocean and go back to being comfortably oblivious, packed neat and tight in a little box scream out to me as sensible.

But you can’t – there is no going back, there is no hopping off the bus.

Can you take a temporary hiatus and give yourself permission to just BE for a bit and not stretch and grow?  You bet.  Will you want to stay there long – most likely not, even though it has the illusion of comfie associated with it. 

  

Why?  Because you are you, you can hear the whisper of your soul calling to you.  You can hear the little voice, that sometimes you stuff deep down, asking you to believe in you and your dream and you intrinsically know in the core of your being (whether you shout it loud and proud or not) that you have a gift that you need to unpack and share. 

Dr. Wayne Dyer talks about the word “transformation” in his book Wishes Fulfilled:- “The word transformation has the word form right smack in the middle, preceded by trans – meaning going beyond form.  Live from the place that will indeed take you way beyond the limits of your seemingly limited life.”

Thus, when you are envisioning the duffle bag  this is the point where you need to remind yourself that as you make changes whether subtle or overt the first thing that comes up is the dirt.  Think of the seed you plant in your garden, as it grows and sprouts all the dirt has to be pushed out of the way.  What about the gym routine you finally commit to and about week 2 all the old crap in your head is going to find every reason why you shouldn’t be there.  

So when the old ways of being, the old habits, the old mindsets rear up, gently embrace them and then punt them to the curb!

So yes the bottom line is Transformation and BEcoming is frigging hard work, but it’s a process, a journey and instead of being focused on the end result, relax, breathe and give yourself time to integrate all the glory of who you are right now and who you are BEcoming.

Because the world needs you, your gifts and your journey of BEcoming.

Be like a Sequoia

Sequoia Tree

Do you know what a Sequoia tree looks like? They are HUGE!!!! Giant sequoias are the world's largest single trees by volume.   They reach an average height of 160 to 279 feet (50 to 85 meters and average diameter of 20 - 26 feet (6 - 8 meters).  Record trees have been identified at 311 feet (94.8 meters) and 56 feet (17 meters) in diameter.  The oldest known giant sequoia is estimated at 3, 500 years old.  To they are big, gorgeous redwood trees - what does this have to do with you you are asking?  Good questions.  So let's explore it.  

If you have ever spent any time on Facebook you will have seen all sorts of tests, there is the “What animal are you”, the “What’s your elf name” a myriad of others and there is also a Celtic one as to which tree you are.  I think I came out as a Willow on that one.  My suggestion is BE A SEQUOIA.

Sequoias live in a fire prone environment.  There is deadwood leaning up against them, they have branches that need to be removed and the underbrush that no one ever tends is growing up and sucking up their nutrients and light.  Their saplings can't survive in such an environment.  So Sequoia's need fire, they need a crisis to flourish.  Fire removes the deadwood and the undergrowth and causes the conses to explode and cast their seeds which the ash of the fire fertilises.  The saplings that are strong enough survive.  Sequoias thrive in the chaos and crisis of fire.  Do they burn up along with the other trees?  Sequoias have fibrous, fire-resistant bark that can grow up to two feet thick.  So they might get slightly singed, even charred, but it doesn't do them any real permanent damage.  

As a human challenges come up in life that are unexpected and can feel as if your whole world has turned upside down or is falling apart.  Everything you thought was real, present, your dreams, your goals – poof, gone!.  Whether it is losing your job, a relationship ending, a child getting hurt, a friend betraying you, they all have the same impact which is picking you up and throwing you into a crisis situation.

Crisis came from the Greek word “Krisis” meaning “decisive moment”.  That’s what happens when we experience one of those challenging events, we have a choice to make a decision and possibly pick something different, or a different way of thinking and acting.  BE A SEQUOIA.

Use that challenge, the fire of the situation to create a new window of opportunity, to explore, dig deep and step up even stronger whilst you cast your seeds of desire and creativity out into the ashes that are surrounding you.  Now I know that may sound poetic, but it’s true.  You can look at a situation or event as limiting, overwhelming and challenging.  That’s fine, you need to spend some time there and feel the emotions and get angry, cry and feel thoroughly pissed off.  But after that you have a choice.  Are you going to stay stuck and wallow, or are you going to use that crisis to fuel something new, fiery and that aligns with who you are?