Hello, hello!!!
I hope your day is off to an amazing start! Part of my morning routine (routines are a staple around here…haha!) is to rise and shine before the rest of my crew. Always greeted by our four-legged babies, I make my first cup of coffee and find my way to the same quite spot on my living room floor. There I sit quietly and begin my day with prayer and reflection, ending my time with 10 -15 min of gentle yoga and stretching. I’ve noticed as I’ve gotten older and the kids’ schedules have become a little busier, I’m not as much of an easy waker as I use to be 😉 This is my guarantee to greet my crew with a smile as they slowly make their way to the living space. #parentingtrick
Any-who, I tell you this because I wanted to share some of my thoughts from my reflection time a few mornings ago. It was cold this morning (super cold for me!!) and I was thinking about potentially doing a bonfire that evening with the kids and roasting marshmallows.
–Now…I don’t know about you, but my thoughts wander like a lost chicken.–
From my bonfire thought came a memory of a time that I made the attempt to roast marshmallows with a plastic fork. Yep! I really did that. My impatience and the absence of sticks led me to grab a plastic fork and stick a marshmallow over a fire pit. Not my smartest move. But, it did teach me a valuable lesson.
When my marshmallow fell off of the melting fork, I realized that the prongs that once stretch out, reaching out strong and helpful were now curled inward. They were melting, turning in toward the fork and no longer able to help and hold-up the marshmallow. My fork had turned in so that it could no longer do its job.
OK…so, what, right??!
My take away was this: I often say that Living Fearlessly Takes Practice. And, yes it does!! But, Giving Fearlessly does too!
We all, as humans, have a job. We have work to be done. We have gifts to share. We have our own magic. We have our own superpowers. When we reach out, like the strong prongs of a fork, we can effectively do just what we need to do. But, when we turn in toward ourselves, focusing too much on ourself, our self improvement, “finding ourselves??,” staying in our own head, fearing to share our gifts we become much less human. We melt into something that really isn’t all that useful. And, someone that loses the glory to share with others.
No shamming here. NONE. I certainly have no position for that. My journey has been tough. But, the lesson is a worthwhile read for any of us, regardless of age, experience, career, marital status, etc…
We often get backed-up in life, work, relationships by two things; 1) Putting Our Fear Before Actions and 2) Putting Ourself Before Others.
These days there is a whole lot of chatter about “me time” and development of self. Politics is a huge divider among friends, family members, neighbors. Belief systems interfere with our inclusion of our neighbors. And, fear is blinding so many of us from the bigger whole. And, while seeking a more whole self, a stronger country, and safer streets is mighty fine (and, incredibly important) 😎 Keep your prongs outstretched…Let’s make certain we are working on a better self & better world in order to share our best self with others.
After all- Together is Better.
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Remember that living fearlessly takes practice. But, together, we’ve got this!
Sarah Keenan, Coordinator of Chaos | Photographer | Designer
Westland Farms Studio Sarah Keenan Creative Boudoir Studio Knoxville Bringin' the Booth Photo Gypsy International
