Washing Windows in the Rain…

It was raining here the other day. One of those cold mixed kinds of rain that’s more like slush than anything else. As I walked down the street I passed a man washing a storefront’s windows in the rain and it got me thinking…

How many of us do the metaphoric equivalent of that every day? How many of us go to jobs that don’t nurture our life’s purpose, wasting our precious energy on pursuits that are disconnected from our authentic selves?

In the current economic climate it may seem the “safe” thing to do – better a job we don’t like than no job at all. But I challenge you to shift your perspective around that. If we’ve learned anything in the past few months, its that what was once considered “safe” is no longer necessarily so. All bets are off, so to speak and the old tried and true ways of the past no longer work in this new world.

Put that squeegee down and take a good look around you. This is the perfect opportunity to reinvent yourself!

Let’s look at a few easy steps to get you started:

1. Take stock of your current skills and interests. If you’re feeling stuck, enlist as close friend or family member to help. You’ll likely be pleasantly surprised at how much you’ve already got going for you.

2. Determine what you would like to add to what you already have to offer. Do you need to sharpen your computer or public speaking skills, for instance? Honing your skills keeps you current and marketable to a wider audience.

3. Look into ways to enhance those skills. Find out what classes are available through your local adult ed learning annex or through online courses. These are great resources for economical education opportunities.

4. Realistically access how much time you’ll have available to pursue your studies. Be honest – if you overextend yourself you’ll be less likely to follow through (think failed New Year’s resolutions here). On the flip side, look at your underutilized time and make yourself a priority when reorganizing your schedule.

5. Reach out to your peeps. Even if you’re feeling down or overwhelmed in your situation. Now is not the time to isolate yourself. Being around like-minded people will support you to in pursuing your goals.

Go ahead – make a start today. Take the first steps and as you begin to connect with your authentic self you will feel empowered to reinvent “safe” to living YOUR life on YOUR terms.

Remember, washing windows in the rain only leaves you wet.

Walkin’ in sunshine,

Lynn

It’s a Good Life…

I love hearing snippets of coffee shop conversations. The young man standing near me just said to his companion “… it’s a good life.”

It made me start thinking about what constitutes a “good life”. For me it’s all about quality. The ability to earn a living doing what I love – being of service to others, while creating a lifestyle that supports and encourages myself and my loved ones.
A “good life” is one that is in alignment with your authentic self – who your truly are at your core being and it speaks to your higher purpose.

What constitutes a “good life” to you? Are you living that “good life”? If not, what’s holding you back? What changes could you begin to put in place today to move you towards that life?

A “good life” isn’t necessarily an easy one to create, or maintain – worthwhile endeavors seldom are. However, whether you believe this life is the only chance you have, or one of many on the path toward enlightenment, shouldn’t it be a “good life”?

On Being “Fabulous”…

Like some 11 million or so other women, I went to the premier of Sex and the City this past Friday. My friend Kathy and I went to the mid-afternoon showing and dressed for the occasion, of course. She in black pallatso pants and raspberry tunic, with strappy black sandals, and me in my favorite black pencil dress and hot pink 3/4-sleeve cardigan, with black linen peep-toe wedges, both in “Diva” shades. We looked and felt fabulous.

The movie was everything we could have hoped it to be. Afterward, riding on a “girl power” high, I went shopping. I had an air of confidence about me, with a spring in my step and a smile that told every one I was a woman in love with her life.

As I watched a disproportionate number of women wearing bright pink this week and walking around town as if they were keeping some juicy secret, I started thinking about this SATC phenomenon:

Did we need this movie as a reminder to claim our feminine power?

It seems we connect with these women on some core level and seeing them on the big screen somehow allowed us to channel our inner Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. Each character is a fictional extreme and yet, we harbor facets of each of them in our personalities.

Carrie is the face of our insecurities. She tries to find fulfillment as the eternal seeker – of love, of truth, of passion and attempts to fill the emptiness with shoes.

Samantha is our animal instinct incarnate. She fully embraces her physicality, speaks her mind and gets what she wants.

Charlotte is our heart center. She is fully in touch with her emotions and will follow them wherever they may lead.

Miranda is our ego mind personified. She thinks, therefore she is. Her head will always second guess her heart.

We are, by nature a balance of these four seemingly disparate women. We tend to associate more with one or the other at various times in our lives and even sadly, deny ourselves the others as being too bold.

So today, put on your “Diva” shades and embrace whichever of these women you have closeted away to see your world through her eyes. I think you might be suprised at how empowering it is to shift your usual perspective, if even for the day.

And remember to love each of those selves, as together they make us Fabulous!

Livin’ In the Hot Pink,

Lynn

May Dreams

The beginning of May (Beltaine as the ancient Celts called it), is the true beginning of the growing season.

Winter’s long slumber has nurtured seeds and readied them for the warm days to come. Early Spring brought those seeds to the light to begin germinating, and now…

Now is the time for us to allow them to grow. We will feed them and weed out what tries to stifle their growth. We will give them space, and light, and love so that we might later enjoy the fruits of our labors.

So to have our hopes and dreams lain sleeping during the long dark winter and as the Spring sun warms them and calls to them, they now long to stretch out and grow.

What seeds have you been nurturing that are now ready to sprout into life? Are you finally ready to grow your dreams into the life you were meant to live?