Do you have a favourite song? One of my favourites is What a Wonderful World. I love the line “I see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do? They’re really saying I love you.” I’ve been reflecting lately on what brings me joy. I’m sharing this with you today in hopes it will inspire you to take a look at your life and what brings you joy.
What is it about my work as an author, artist, speaker and creative workshop leader that really feeds my soul?
When I worked as a homeopath I loved connecting with my patients. I loved being part of their lives as they worked towards becoming healthier. As a health professional the connection sometimes felt one-sided. I was not free to fully express myself. Sometimes the responsibility to find the right remedy and to help in the healing of others was too much.
Two years ago I stepped aside from patient care. I made a promise that I would give myself time and space to figure out how to move forward. I also promised that I would keep checking in to see what is flowing and to follow that. That I would not stay stuck in anything that felt blocked or heavy or energy draining.
This coming month marks two years since my life-changing illness and my decision to change my life. I am well, and am on my way to establishing my new career as an author, artist, speaker, and creativity workshop leader. I’ve never worked so hard and had so much fun!
So what is it that I am doing that feeds my soul? First, the writing. Writing my first book was an expression of love to myself. The most joyous part of this now is knowing it has the ability to connect with others. I love receiving notes from people who read my book telling me how it has touched their heart, and sending me their stories.
In addition, I’ve discovered I love to write. I have continued my daily practice of writing my thoughts, my What Ifs and designing more mats. My second book One Loop at a Time, the creativity workbook has been written and is in the design stage (hooray!). It will be published by October 31. This part of my life is flowing and brings me great joy.
I’ve also discovered I love speaking! As an introvert, speaking to large groups uses a lot of my energy. When someone comes up after I’ve spoken to share their story with me or to tell me my story has inspired them, it more than balances the effort it took to get up and speak. And of course the more I speak the easier it gets!
I started writing and designing my healing mats to express my experience of recovering from treatment for breast cancer. This process of looking inward by writing and then designing has become my way of doing my emotional homework. It is how I stay grounded, check in with what is flowing in my life. Working at my Cheticamp frame hooking and reflecting on the phrases I write around the mat is like a meditation for me. It grounds me and connects me to those parts of myself that need some work. It is a necessary part of my life. It gives me balance and perspective and yes, it feeds my soul.
So what do all of these things have in common? It’s the heart connections that feed me. When hearts are connecting, my work feels effortless. So, it is no surprise that when I was deciding which of my patterns to launch first, it was the Love Letter pattern. It is all about heart listening and connection and writing and hooking yourself a love letter.
What feeds your soul? When you look at your life and your work, what feels effortless and makes you feel light and happy? Can you do more of this? Can you set aside even one thing that feels heavy and blocked (or maybe do less of it)? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, so send me an email or comment on this post.
