Claiming Your Brilliance

It's been quite awhile since I've written anything on my other blog and I've used the excuse of busy-ness. And yes, I have been busy but the real reason I've stayed away is fear. Fear of revealing myself too much. Fear of upsetting someone 'out there'. Fear of …well..just plain old fear without any rational reason.

It's much easier to live only in our heads and float on the surface of life than it is to pay attention to deeper questions like "What do I love? What moves me? How can I share that? What's my real job here on this planet?"

We tell ourselves we're doing important work while denying our core self. Meanwhile, something inside whispers that if we are only copying what everyone else does then some vital ingredient is MIA. Then we drown out the whisper with more busyness because bringing 100% of ourselves is pretty bold stuff. 

My coach challenged me today to get back into the game. She worded it as a request but it's bigger than that because it means I have to walk my talk and do the thing that scares me – claiming my creative side. Start writing again. Pick up my paintbrushes. Bring 100% of me. Gulp.

I left corporate work to explore my creativity and coach women as they took action on their own dreams. I've been doing great with the coaching part but barely dabbling withthe exploring part. A painting here, a story there. I won a couple of awards for my writing and had a couple of pieces accepted for an art show last year and it appears I scared myself in the process because I stopped.

I know I have to take action on my coach's challenge because avoiding it keeps me from my real success. On the other blog I wrote about the ordinary, day to day things and the impact they have on my inner life. When I started that blog I envisioned opening my eyes wider and sharing what I saw with you.

So I'm picking up where I jumped ship except that, rather than keeping a separate blog I decided to get really bold! I'm incorporating the original posts into my Success for Women blog under the category "Daily Miracles". Integrating myself, you could call it. And why not? If I'm asking you to define success for yourself then it's time I modelled it here.

Success for me is to live creatively, each and every day. To bring a little something extra to life just for the joy of it.

What would success look like to you?

What could you accomplish if you didn't stop to overanalyse it?

Do you squirm inside at the Marianne Williamson quote  "We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?"

Do you have a pattern of shutting down your brilliance because it frightens you?

What if I challenged you today to take one step towards it, however small?

Would you?

What could that first step look like?

Would you be willing to share it here?

 

Flying

I've been enjoying my kayak these last few weeks. The weather has been perfect and the lake quiet. The big boys and their high-powered motor boats are scarce these days what with the price of gas. It's certainly been a mixed blessing this summer. Costs me more to get off the island but it's kept boat traffic to a minimum.

Like a ten year old with a new bike, I've been exploring the nooks and crannies of our shoreline. I found 'my' spot to swim – a secluded beach on crown land (federal land to my U.S. readers). There's even a huge grandmother oak with low branches where I can perch to journal and sketch. (And, no I won't tell you where it is but if you happen to drop by with your own kayak I'll take you there.)

Down the other shore are miles of marsh filled with birds, turtles, frogs and jumping fish. On misty mornings the loon and her baby often appear like magic. When they do, I stop paddling and drift along, eavesdropping. They talk to each other in quiet tones, ignoring me. When I resume paddling they move away without panic. I like to think they know I only wish them well.

But today was magic! Reflected on the surface of the totally calm water were big fluffy clouds and blue sky. I was quite a way down the lake before I noticed and I stopped mid-paddle, stunned by the illusion.

I'd been sprinkled with fairy dust. I was flying!

I went farther than I originally intended because I couldn't bear to break the spell. When I did turn back,two geese honked me home. 

I'm deeply grateful for the miracle of those lives I glimpse out on the lake and the magical gift of flying over it today.

 

Simple Miracles

Each spring , a tree swallow pair sets up housekeeping in the birdhouse we set out the first year we lived here. When I put it up originally at the side of the driveway it was occupied inside of an hour and our neighbors have returned now for 9 years.

I watch for them as one of my signs of spring, even noting the date in my journal. There is often a turf war with other pairs looking for a quiet little spot to call home but eventually the competition is driven off. I like to think it's the same pair each year but that's just me.

Soon the parents are busy flying back and forth with tasty bugs for their family. As the babies grow the racket from the house gets pretty loud. These birds have a chattery voice that sounds like children playing in a distant schoolyard. When I have the back door open, the cheerful noise keeps me company as I work.

Just before they leave the nest, the kids fight over the hole, peeking out, checking out the world around them. I greet them as I come and go, their cute little faces filling the hole, bright eyes watching.

It's my signal to be on alert. I have managed to be there each year to witness the first flight. It's a moment I love. The hesitation of young things, the parent's calling encouragement. Suddenly the sky will fill with swallows, swooping and calling. Joyous and  magical.

This year, however, I missed it. I knew they were gone when I stepped outside yesterday and was greeted with silence. I knew it had to happen sometime. I couldn't be that lucky every year. Still, I felt a little sad as I headed up the driveway to put out the recycling for pickup.

As I turned to go back to the house the sky above me suddenly filled with swallows swooping, chattering and calling. I can't prove it of course, but I'm sure it was 'my' family, saying good-bye as they headed to new adventures.

You can't start your day any better than - under a sky of small miracles.

Speaking of miracles check out Ideal-way.ca, a non-profit organization for special needs individuals. How they got started is quite a story.

 

Just That Simple

I haven't posted for far too long. Life got busy and this fell off the radar or maybe just too far down my to-do list. This morning I am at rest, taking unapologetic time out for the things that feed my soul. Sharing on my blog is one of those things.

On this particular day I am sitting down by the water with the breeze in my face. (Isn't wireless wonderful!?) If you were to phone me right now (assuming I have a phone nearby, which I do not) you'd hear a redwing in the birch tree calling to his mate who is hunting bugs in the shallows. You might even be able to hear the splashing of the carp spawning just off shore and the drone of an occasional boat far out on the lake. That would be all. What you couldn't experience over the phone, of course, is the fertile smell of lake and the green scent of fresh mown grass.

I'm out here by choice. And that's what this blog is really leading to. The all important question of "What are you choosing?"

Earlier, when I stepped out my front door, hot, humid air enveloped me. My home blocked any breeze and trapped the sun. I watered the plants out on my deck and thought, "It's way too hot out here for human life! Give me the air conditioner."

And then I walked around to my backyard and discovered what a beautiful day it really was.

Where are you stuck because of your assumptions? What if you simply stepped around the corner and shifted your perspective just a tiny bit? It could make a huge difference. It's as easy as taking one simple action. Make it real and see what shows up.

A beaver just swam by. How cool is that!?