Take That First Brave Step Towards New Beginnings and Creative Energy

Image by kinkate from Pixabay

My friend asked me today whether I was getting excited about my pending house move. While it’s only days away there are a lot of moving parts to making it happen and so I’m not sure I feel more than a glimmer of excitement at this point, it’s like a tiny flicker of light at the end of the tunnel.
 
That made me think about this time of year generally. The last couple of months have been crazy busy, house move aside, with the promise of the seasonal respite just on the horizon, it’s a familiar feeling. I don’t know if it’s because the birth of my children and my own birth all coincide with this time of year also, but the turning of the year has always felt like a potent time for me when it comes to reflection and new beginnings and creative energy.
 
I was reflecting on how I could get from where I am now (which is this crazy busy part, full of duties and obligations of parenthood) to a place of feeling more relaxed while standing in my power, when I was reminded that creative endeavors have the power to rejuvenate.
 
A few years ago, when I was talking to the kids’ healthcare practitioner about after-school activities, and how my kids were totally wrung out after school, she reminded me that doing things we love can give us more energy when we don’t feel obligated to do it.
 
So when I read words that were focused on being enthusiastic about a new endeavour and “having the energy to carry it through” I thought immediately of a project I’ve been working on and have had to lay down a few times in order to carry out my other responsibilities. Then I looked back at this time last year and reflected on how far I’d come despite the start/stop nature of it, and decided things are actually going pretty well.
 
Here is the thing, I have very little to show for my endeavours right now, but I know how much inner reflection, personal growth work and creative thinking has gone on and I feel very much more aligned and able to carry out my future vision and plans than I did this time last year.
 
It’s like the house I’ve watched being built across from the back of where I’m living, for months there was just an empty site, then there were materials delivered to the site and still nothing happened for many more months. Presumably in the background there were plans being drawn up, finances getting aligned, legalities to navigate, workers to line up and so forth.
 
Finally foundations were dug and laid, and slowly a frame went up. At first I thought from the frame it was going to be a single level house, but over time it became apparent that not only was it going to be a double story building, there are some other interesting expansive features that have resulted in quite an impressive build. Even now, the owners are not yet in, there is much work to be done now on the inside, those finishing touches before they get to live in it and make it their home.
 
And so it is with many creative endeavors I find, I need to cultivate the right motivation and qualities, to tap into my creativity, passion and ambition to succeed. And if that needs to happens over months, years or decades, I now realise that is okay.
 
At times it feels like motherhood has been a massive divergence from living my life purpose, or even in getting clear about what that was. But in truth it’s probably been more like the cracking open of the nut that needed to take seed in order to grow.

Taking brave steps towards a future that lies only in my imagination – and even then is only partly apparently – feels a bit like when Bilbo Baggins remarked in The Lord of the Rings “It’s a dangerous business, going out your front door”. Sometimes I have to push myself to take those small steps towards my vision and goals, and sometimes I don’t when I could, but that is okay, slow and steady often wins the race.
 
What about you, what are you compelled to do? What excites you most? Are you aware of how to access your own creative potential? Or willing to push yourself towards your objectives? If not, perhaps just learning those skills is the first step. Whatever it is, if you’ve been hesitating to move forwards, make the most of the seasonal reflection and downtime coming up to revisit your dreams, and take that first brave step towards a deeply meaningful and fulfilling life.
 
If you enjoyed reading this, you may enjoy Who Are You Not to Pursue Your Dreams? You Know What’s Best for You, So Stop Giving Your Power Away, Trust That It’s Absolutely Okay to Not Know Where You’re Going, Life of Your Dreams? and Give Yourself the Gift of Presence to Relieve the Torture of Stress. To be the first to receive these posts, you can also opt to subscribe to my blog.