I have been talking about wanting to live near the beach for years. I have also been talking about learning to surf for years. The beach is my happy place. It is where I feel most grounded and connected to the earth and to myself. Where my soul feels most at rest and most alive. Why would I not give that gift to myself, if I can?
There are lots of things I talk about doing, think about doing and yet don’t do, sometimes for good reason and often out of fear. To be fair there are also many things I have done that have terrified me, left corporate life and started a new business, gone to therapy, committed to my healing and recovery, taken my son to India. But there are still those things I want to do but never make time to do because of fear, or because I just don’t prioritise what is important to me.
In the last few weeks I have made three commitments to myself. I am going to move to the beach with my new partner and son. I am going to commit to this relationship at a new level. And I am going to learn to surf.
Today a real estate agent will arrive at my home to sign the papers to put my house on the market. I have lived here with my son for over 8 years. It is where my son has grown up. It has been my safe place. My oasis. It has given me enormous stability. It feels BIG to move. It feels scary to not know where we will be living next. To not know how much my house will sell for. To pack everything up. To move in with my new partner after having lived on my own for the last 10 years. To commit to a new way of living, together. To face the unknown, to face the uncertainty.
But as I read this quote I am reminded that this is living. Living a full life means living with uncertainty. Listening to our hearts. Listening to our longings and not just talking about life or as Ralph says ‘not just getting ready to live’, but living, taking action to support our dreams and aspiration. May we all practice facing our fears and ‘not just getting ready to live’ but fully living this week.
And may we have great self-compassion for all that arises within us as we do. Because I for one really need that at the moment!
With great warmth
Jo
