AND TURN TOWARDS THE LIFE YOU WANT
Hello there and happy Tuesday! I hope this week finds you turning towards the things that ignite your soul. I'm drinking malty breakfast tea this morning and thinking about the time I moved to a city I'd never seen before.
I've lived in Vancouver for 22 years, and lately I've been feeling the gentle urge towards something new. I've never lived in one city (or one apartment) for as long as I have here, and for a while now, the winds of change have felt close at hand.
I'm noticing though, that every time I start to imagine what could be, there's a voice that pipes up to remind me why a change would be challenging. What about my work, my community, my brother who lives just up the street and who I love to harass and have coffee with regularly? What about being middle aged? Shouldn't I be trying to find a place to relax and eventually wrinkle up and die in? Shouldn't I be looking for security, safety and a sense of permanence?
Well, the short answer is...no.
When I'm drowning in the should of it all, I'm reminded of how I should have wanted to get thin at all costs. I should have wanted 2.5 children and a nice house. I should have gone into a more stable career. I should have done a lot of things that society expects of a woman.
But I didn't do any of them.
In fact, at 24 years old I picked up and moved to Vancouver, having never even visited, with $200 in the bank and no job to speak of. I was terrified. And exhilarated.
I followed what my heart wanted and within a month I had three jobs, I'd found a community, and I was living in a city that is so beautiful, I still catch my breath when I glance out at the ocean and mountains.
Yes, it was very hard, I was very broke, and there were many tears along the way. But I couldn't be more proud of myself for believing in my own ability to make it work. I trusted that my life didn't need to look a certain way, and that I had the right to follow the call of something different.
And so do you.
None of us knows what the future holds, but I do know that spending time with a narrow idea of what life should look like will only leave us stuck and wondering what might have been.
It's time to release limiting beliefs and move towards what feels interesting and playful instead.
I've worked so hard not to exist in pursuit of what society thinks my body should be, and I want to do the same for my life. Especially as I get older and I see those societal expectations only making life smaller.
Well to that I say, no fucking way!
I want to expand.
And I want you to as well!
Listen to that ache inside you, and allow your mind to open to what could be. You have no idea where life and your own determination will take you.
As always, I'd love to hear about it! What is calling you, and what are the "shoulds" that you need to release in order to move forward? Can you remember a time in your life when you followed your own heart and instincts, societal expectations be damned? Let me know in the comments below!
And if you want to hear more about this, check out this video I just posted on the topic of surrender.
As you move through this week, remember to treat yourself and your body with love, respect and kindness.
Much love,
Helen xo