Be a beginner!

"You can learn new things at any time in your life if you're willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you." Barbara Sher

I like this quote by Barbara Sher because it reminds me of my life. I am interested in doing many things, so I am often in that position of being a beginner. I have sometimes questioned myself for putting myself in challenging situations - joining a new group, starting a new enterprise, learning new skills for a project I have taken on. It is not comfortable to be a "beginner." I sometimes long to be an expert in one thing instead of a beginner in many. Both have value. Expertise comes over time. It is the reward after a lifetime of hard work. But even if you are an expert in one area of life, there is always the opportunity to be a beginner in another. Being a beginner forces you out of your comfort zone, which is where all growth takes place. Being a beginner is the same as being an adventurer. You will have to go into unfamiliar territory, but there is an excitement in the possibility of what you will discover. And it is likely the most amazing discovery will be the person you become on the journey!

Use Your Gifts!

My mom gave me a wonderful present years ago. It is a book by Sarah Ban Breathnach Called Simple Abundance - A Daybook of Comfort & Joy. This book is comprised of short, inspirational essays for each day of the year. The themes of gratitude, simplicity, order, harmony, beauty and joy are explored over the course of the year. I read these essays each day and am no longer surprised that each message seems just right for me at the time I read it. Sometimes I miss a few days and catch up. Other times a certain message resonates with me and I come back to reread it. I find this book to be like magic - I end up reading something that feels like an unarticulated thought in the back of my mind that is expressed beautifully by Sarah Ban Breathnach. It feels like she's reading my mind. That's probably because many other women have had these same thoughts.

It's almost 3 weeks since I co-hosted the Dream Your Dreams Women's Retreat in Canmore with my partner, Maureen. It was an amazing weekend for me and I think it was for all the incredible women participating in the retreat. One of the main things I was hoping that every woman would take away at the end of the retreat was that we all have gifts and talents. It is our life's purpose to use them. That's why we feel wonderful when we are using our gifts and stifled when we don't. I love to see people using their gifts and living their best lives! That was my motivation for creating the retreat weekend.

So I was not surprised, but thrilled when I read the passage below in my Simple Abundance book today. I got on the computer as soon as I read it because I needed to share it. Maybe this message will speak to you too. 

"Today realize that Spirit has no hands, head or heart like yours. No other woman on earth can do what you alone are called to do, can give to the world what you alone were sent to give through your authentic gifts. The call may be so faint you can barely make out the message but if you listen, you will hear it." Sarah Ban Breathnach

I hope you listen to that call and use your gifts and talents to improve the world in some way!

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Starting Fresh!

One of the best things I ever did with my children was to implement "Start Fresh" practice. If they would get into a fight,  we'd sort it out and they'd apologize to each other and then I would say, "Okay, let it go and start fresh."  Sometimes we'd be in a rush getting to an activity and I would yell at them because I was stressed or something bad happened in our rush out the door. Then I would cool down and apologize and say "Let's start fresh."

I didn't really think too much about this little phrase used to get over our difficulties. Then I heard one of my children using it with one of their friends after a disagreement. I thought, "Wow, maybe my children do listen to me and maybe I said something that made sense to them."

And then I was having a bad day and one of my children said to me, "Mom, just take a breath and start fresh." I had to laugh to hear my own words come back to me. Now in moments when I get frustrated with a situation, another person or myself, I hear those words whisper to me, "Start fresh!"

We all have that opportunity every day. Making mistakes is inevitable. Starting fresh can turn those mistakes into learning experiences to grow from. It can change your mindset immediately. I highly recommend it!

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