It's happening. After 12 months of moving from place to place, city to city, country to country, living in other people's homes - subletting, spare-rooming, couch surfing... I will be taking my possessions out of storage and moving into my own place. Of course, I've never been 'homeless' - but I also haven't had a physical home of my own for a year. I can't tell you how many times I have hauled multiple HEAVY suitcases into the trunk of taxis.... up endless flights of stairs... walked like a pack mule through crowded bus and train stations... just to unpack and re-pack those suitcases every time I moved - which was sometimes every couple days. This wasn't because I went on vacation. I was doing this while living every day life. Working and studying and teaching and creating new programs and taking on new clients... Why am I telling you this? Because for some, this might sound like a version of hell - or at the very least, wildly unappealing. But... surprisingly.... I haven't suffered at all during this period. That doesn't mean it felt endlessly glorious. But I didn't suffer.
Why?
I have known - all along - that the alternative - staying stuck in my old life - was not an option.
I KNEW this is what I had to do - and so I didn't resist what needed to happen. I couldn't see what the 'other side' would look like. There were no guarantees about ANYTHING. But I knew that my current reality was not one that I wanted to keep choosing forever. So I took the first step... just one step... and then kept following the next right steps. At every turn I would tell myself - THIS IS HOW IT IS RIGHT NOW. This attitude helped me a lot. Just like our thoughts come and go, our feelings come and go, people come and go - I knew this state of affairs - wouldn't last forever.
I practiced hyper-presence. And - here we are. ------ Quick backstory. This year of 'unboundedness' came as a result of deciding to restructure my world. It has been part of the ongoing decision to TRULY listen to that voice inside. No more hiding. No more ignoring those butterflies in the middle of the night - the deep knowing telling me to move. I knew that something fundamental needed to change and that I was betraying myself if I didn't follow through. I got SUPER real with myself. I did the things. I made the changes. I left behind whatever needed to be left - my fiancee, my home, my identity; who and what I thought myself to be. I underwent a major metamorphosis - clearing out redundant beliefs, limiting behaviours and habits that weren't serving me - during a gruelling 3 month Vedic Meditation teacher training. I made space for the new. And as I lived through the process of unwinding... I allowed myself to be in the 'in between'. I was able to do so because I have spent many years cultivating a nervous system that is able to do such things. -----
So… what’s it to you?
Because I know that some of us are feeling like something needs to change... but we are too scared to do what it takes to create greater alignment.
We are trapped in the illusion that we are safe in the ‘known’…
Even if the known feels stifling.
I am here to tell you that it can be done.
We can transform and SAVE SO MUCH TIME… if we cultivate the right conditions for ourselves to manage the process. You don't have to let go of almost everything - like I did. Small shifts go a LONG way.
This is why I help people in my coaching programs - and they get results. Because I’ve walked the steps. I've taken big and small leaps. Slowly and quickly.
I know what it takes and that it’s worth it.
You can uproot what you’ve previously planted (ways of thinking and ways of being)… move through the winds of change… and still feel grounded and still inside.
Your life can be chaotic on the outside - and on the inside you can be blissful.
Once you gain these skills - it is such a gift. It's an arrival. You feel at HOME inside of yourself - no matter where you are. ——— I want to share with you some perspectives that I have kept at the forefront of my mind this past year.
They have helped me remain in a state of effectiveness, flow and adaptability throughout this life restructure.
You can practice these too - At every turn I notice how blessed I am.
I notice that I always have somewhere to live.
I have generous friends who open their homes to me and let me into their space.
I have the means to be able to move around.
I have arms and legs capable of lifting and lugging suitcases around.
I take responsibility.
I constantly remind myself that I am designing my life and I am choosing my reality - I own my choices. No one made me do anything, think any thought, feel any feeling. These are all mine and therefore I can choose what to do with them.
I take responsibility for my mood.
I choose to celebrate myself and acknowledge what I’ve achieved.
I am compassionate and gentle with myself (this took a long time to learn).
I recognise that I am not doing any of this alone.
I have the support of my family who encourage me and motivate me to emulate their giving, socially conscious values.
I get to witness the hearts of my students and private clients, who have trusted me as their guide and give me the gift of helping them find freedom in their lives.
I put in the work to be internally stable, flexible and adaptable.
I invest in learning, practicing and mastering the skills to manage my emotions and correct the thought patterns that might try to lead me down unhelpful and redundant trains of thinking.
I meditate - every day - twice a day [Learn to meditate the easy, sustainable way]
I know that who I am is not dependent on what happens on the outside.
I have created the conditions to have made this journey not only doable - but BEAUTIFUL.
So freaking beautiful.
I hope you will give yourself the freedom to choose a life of your design.
Not because you're not enough as you are - but because you recognize that you ARE.
I hope you will take responsibility for what you want and to go after it - not in a rush - but in a way that trusts in perfect timing.
You are worthy of the best.
Jai Guru Dev,
Trace xxx