Step into Stillness

Stillness has inspired me to re connect and share a few thoughts. It’s been quite a while since I wrote anything for Safe Spaces or for the Cool Mindz blog. This message is for readers who follow my journey through cancer and my work as a transformational coach. Thanks for supporting me.

Life is full. Most days I move from one task to another and by the time the day is over, I feel that I haven’t accomplished what I had intended, even though a lot of progress is made. I’ve said before, when you go through an illness of any kind you just want to “squeeze the juice out of life” and make the most of it. Those aren’t my words, they are borrowed from a friend. 🙂

My last blog for Safe Spaces ended with a desire to share what I was experiencing physically, as my body started to release a lot of what its been carrying around. The term for it is Myofascial release, which I’ve experienced a little of in treatments with my Osteopath/Craniosacral Therapist, but this release happened over a few days without him being present. It was a magical few days, not to be forgotten.

I’ve begun my book called, Flow, which includes a few personal stories about my life, but finding time to fit that in is proving difficult. I’m not sure how the book will evolve or if it will ever be for public consumption. I’m hoping for a lovely trip into the countryside, where I can shut myself off and just write. I’m putting that wish out into the Universe. A place with lots of big, beautiful trees to hug!! Watch this space …

So many thoughts running through my head, and which ones to share..

I’m healing very slowly still, but I feel like the worst is over. This injury has taught me a lot. I’m always thankful for new lessons and also enjoy seeing the repetitions that take place, where you realise you still need to work at something. It’s ongoing work.

I’ve embraced social media now, and am really so lucky to have such a special community of family and friends, who follow Cool Mindz and show support for the work I’m doing with Mikayla. She is an inspiration to me and I’m sure to other children out there. So our work continues. Having more of a presence online has brought in one or two lovely opportunities which I also couldn’t be more grateful for.

As with everything, I’ll find my comfortable place with social media and will bring back the balance that I feel I’ve lost a little of. It has a way of stealing a lot of your time, and I don’t even get to look at other posts or spend time liking them. I plan on finding more time to support the people who show support for me. There are some incredibly special people out there doing a lot for their communities and making a big difference in this world. I’m in awe of them.

So with all of that said… here is what I’d like to share.

This coming week, find time for stillness. At a time where there is so much uncertainty and restlessness, we need to find more peace. I felt a little overwhelmed this week, with being on line so much. I’m on my phone more than I would like to be, it’s what’s needed for Cool Mindz, but I knew I had a long Christmas meditation to look forward to scheduled for Saturday, so I pushed through Friday.

Saturday arrived and all I had to commit to was the long meditation. I never thought I would be able to sit for so long in stillness yesterday, but I was able to sit for the scheduled 8 hours. There were small breaks here and there, but when I was meditating I’d never been so still. That’s not to say you can’t go deeply into a meditation in 10 – 15 minutes, but I think the longer the better.

It has brought me such peace, calm and serenity. I’m always humbled by this path of meditation and contemplation. The opportunity it gives you to connect deeply with yourself and with God, to quietly pray and connect to your breath, to release and say thank you. I’m often overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation for this life.

I went for a long walk in the park this morning, while the sun was out. The energy was extremely friendly as I passed families walking their dogs. A gentle, cold breeze on my face, puddles on the ground from the rain and beautiful trees to keep me company. A great start to the day and I’m still feeling the peace from yesterday.

While on my walk, I thought of this prayer that was introduced to me many years ago, by my good friend Gordon, who is no longer with us. Mikayla knows it already, as it’s one of the tools I’ve included into Cool Mindz. I hope you find it comforting at this time.

Humility Prayer   -Canon T. T. Carter    

“Humility is perpetual quietness of heart
It is to have no trouble
It is never to be fretted, or vexed, or irritated, or sore, or disappointed

It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me
It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed and despised

It is to have a blessed home in myself, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and be at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above me is troubled”

Find your moment in the coming days, weeks or months to step into stillness. Step into stillness often, even if you only have 10 minutes. Make the effort to step away from the noise, step away from the expectations, step away from social media, step into a space where you can connect with yourself and God and find peace.

Thank you for reading! Take care and have a special Christmas! 🙂