Photo credit by Patricia A. Patton
It’s Spring time but for me it is the beginning of my new year. 2016 has simply not been a year where I felt bound to the resolution-making practice. In fact, this year I really had to breathe my work-self back to life by spending time with close friends, instituting regular exercise, improving my meditation and prayer practice, and identifying collaborators who are focused on service and growth. I asked myself, “How do I start if I want to start over.” And the answer I came up with is to put myself first.
It’s hard not to draw an analogy between what I will plant in my garden where I will sow seeds for this season’s food and flowers and what I put into the world for my business. In both cases, I am sowing seeds. So what can I coax out of my heart? What can I coax out of the earth?
If you follow me, you know that for the past 2 years I have gone West, officially as the #blackbirdwentwest, to escape the cold weather here in the East. Maybe the hashtag should have been #No morecoldwinters.The very idea that I, black baby boomer, would mimic the snow bird’s class-identified practice of going south to a warmer climate, is a personal lifestyle achievement. As a woman in her sixth decade, I am just gonna give myself credit for figuring out how to make this lifestyle change a reality in my life. But this has not been done without sacrifices. I share this anecdotally because often people compliment me on having created a bicoastal life. Yes, I did it. You can do this too.
One of the things I look forward to most upon returning East is prepping for my late Spring and Summer garden. I am looking to reclaim that same feeling about building my online business. This season, my intention is to bring my internal life into greater harmony with what is going on in my physical life and to be supported in this endeavor. As my painter-friend helped me understand, in order to do that, we (me included), must all be able to show our clients, friends, family, organizations how to solve their problems. It’s not enough to be able to talk about the problem (s). Just as her painting instructors are able to talk color theory, they can also demonstrate their theories on a canvas. They can paint color, for example, on the foot of a model so that the light reflected through a mid afternoon window shimmers.
Over the next several weeks let’s discuss what I have learned about making this phase of my life the best phase. Let’s have some real conversations, talk about what you might have to give up to become bicoastal or how to put what you’ve learned in life to work for you for example. Let’s talk about how to stay out of the hospital. These are just a few ideas and I’d love to hear your ideas.
If you are someone who wants to engage in powerful conversations, shoot me an email at boomerwiz@gmail.com and add Count Me In the subject line and tell me what is on your mind.
Because there is nothing better than to be able to walk one’s talk in life.
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