Don't give up

My daughter is friends with a budding young pop star.  I love watching the spark in him when he sings and plays his guitar.  He has over 50,000 followers on twitter.  He's going places.

But something happened recently for him to decide that he was going to give it all up.  I was gutted when I heard this.  He has heaps of talent.  He is a nice guy.  He has a dream.

Don't you ever give up on those dreams.  Ever.  Dreams are there for a reason.  We all deserve to follow our dreams.

This has really struch a chord with me this morning.

I'm going to ponder my own dreams.  Life is too short not to follow them.

Going up to London

Travel? 

Me?

On my own???

I desparately wanted to go to London to meet up for lunch with some radiant buddies.  But didn't know how.

I was scared.  Of travel.  Of moving from my very narrow comfort zone.  Of taking a chance.

But, after much coaxing I went anyway.  I took the train and was met by a friend who helped me negotiate the London Underground.

That was 5 years ago.

I've kept in touch with my buddies and been up to London pretty much twice a year since.  Yesterday was another lunch date. 

This time it was a breeze. 

This time I wanted to see some sights as I'd never 'done' London before.  So I walked to Buckingham Palace (map reading is not my strong point!) and this was the sight I was greeted with:

I could not believe how lucky I was.  To try something different.  To push outside that comfort zone.  Look at the big, wide world out there. Just look at it - it's magnificent!!!

I also walked to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament with the London Eye in the background.

And even negotiated the tube on my own for the first time - well, I was running a bit late by then!

Lunch, as ever, was totally fabulous!  To be with such wonderful friends who know exactly where you're coming from is priceless.

And then I walked back to the coach station via the Royal Albert Hall

Catching sight of the golden, glowing Albert Memorial in all its splendour into the bargain.

I nodded off on the coach.  Because I felt safe enough to do so.

What a day!

Music and self-expression

In the past, music has played a huge part in my life.  But sometimes I forget just how much.

I haven't listened to any for a while now and so was taken aback this morning when I was watching a live version of one of my all-time favourite songs.  It moved me to tears.  I could 'feel' the song in my soul - it was almost as if the words and the music washed through me.  Can anyone relate?  Why is it sometimes so difficult to capture a sensation in words?!

I think it's a self-expression thing - something I am learning to do more and more.  Those singers are showing the world who they are.  I still can't sing a song without my throat closing up and being carried away by the emotion of it, but that's ok with me - as long as nobody asks me to sing on stage in the near future LOL!

And coincidentally I even get to watch the extraordinary Gareth Malone on tv this evening with his new Choir programme.  He is such an inspiring and enthusiastic choir master - he knows that everyone can sing and encourages them to do so - I think the universe is trying to tell me something!

I think I'm going to add a 'music' box to my journal so that I can make sure I remember to incorporate it every day.








animation courtesy of Webweaver

Library coincidences

I felt compelled to go to the library today.  It was one of those niggly, must go there but can't quite remember why feelings.

I didn't find the book I thought I wanted though.

On the other hand I spotted a sale table.  On top of which was a book that pretty much single-handedly inspired me to take up sewing - gee, I must have taken that out about 17 times already!  So I snapped that one up straight away.

And then I looked again.  There was a second book there seemingly waiting for me - I had taken it out a couple of times already.  It was about a man who had decided that he'd had enough of his 9-5 and so decided to change his life completely.

And then I looked at the notices.  There is going to be a talk by a local lady who announced to the world on her 50th birthday that she was going to cycle around the world on her own for two years.  I only read about her last week. 

Do I spot a theme here?

Freedom...

Freedom is a place in your head - you can go there any time or you can choose to stay trapped.

What will it be today?

Coincidences

* Joydot of the day: fresh raspberries from my garden!

I thought that being in recovery was its own reward.  But the longer I follow the recovery road, the more benefits seem to come my way.  It seems to be cumulative.

I have now discovered the beauty of coincidences.  They seem to crop up more and more frequently nowadays.  I really wasn't expecting that!

I think it must be tied in with this 'trust' thing somehow.  I'm still working on the how.  Although perhaps that not for me to worry about.

So, take this morning for example -

Coincidence #1
I've been meaning to get my carpets shampooed for ages.  Cream carpet?  Pets?  Yeah, I know!!  I even went as far as to pick up a leaflet from my local supermarket for more information.  These things take time to plan, you know? <chortle!>
So today Mr Freecycle posts about a carpet shampooer up for grabs not too far away from me.  I respond and received an email to say that I can go and pick it up tomorrow.  Wonderful!!

Coincidence #2
A month ago I entered an online competition for drama/singing/acting lessons for my extrovert daughter.  I'd forgotten all about it.  Within half an hour of receiving the email from Mr Freecycle, I receive a congratulations email to say that my daughter has won the lessons!

How cool is that?!

Trust

Last week I went along to my meditation class as normal and was struck by the immense energy of a friend who literally bounded into the class with a sparkle.

She had just made the life-changing decision to move to Portugal on her own. Because it felt right. And because it felt so right she trusted that that was the direction her life was meant to be going at this point in time.

I listened in awe at the coincidences that had occured for the move to go smoothly.  Everything seems to be slotting into place perfectly.

I told her that her ability to trust that she was on the right path encouraged others (ok, me!) to follow my own *knowing*.

I wonder what life would be like to live from that *knowing*?

To trust that everything happens for a reason and that if you follow the *knowing* then everything will work out just right.  Probably more than all right. 

What if I could have my dreams? 

What if there is nothing stopping me except *me*?

My logical mind still gets in the way right now.

I just have to be willing to listen.

And trust.

Recent joy dots

Joydots - a term coined by Dr Kathleen DesMaisons I believe, to denote a moment in time that makes you smile, appreciate the little things in life and possibly even takes your breath away.  Well, that's how I interpret it anyway!

I've found that focusing on the joydots during a day really helps me to focus on the bigger picture.

Here are a couple of my recent joydots:

* Seeing an enormous courgette/zucchini flower in the morning sun - it must have easily been 6" across!

* The same flower after a shower of rain - I just love the way that the raindrops sparkled in the sun.

I love the way that joydots always make me stop and feel what a wonderful world we live in.