What are you waiting for??

Are you finding you are constantly getting ready? Always one more thing to do before it is finally done? More things to learn, to consider, to acquire, before we can act?

There is a time to take DO. Things need not be 100%, or even 80% - in fact it seldom is. Successful people make decisions quickly and change their minds slowly – and they never wait until circumstances are perfect. They act when they know it is more beneficial to act than to wait, at any given point.

And do not confuse patience with in-action; it is an active “wait”, not a passive one.  Procrastination on the other hand, is.

Having no choice is very painful. So act before you have no choice.

How do you know it is “time” to act? Here are a few simple keys:

·         Learn to trust your inner voice. I have often written about this, and, truth be told, yes it MAY sometimes it does lead us astray (when we confuse the inner voice with that little voice on our shoulder or with impulse!), but the more we listen the better we will become at recognising a true calling. Learn to recognise how it manifests (I get familiar physical sensations that I have come to recognise as my internal “radar of 80% readiness”).

·         Journal. We are human beings and often forget or fail to realise patterns. Journaling, apart from the tremendous healing power of writing down your thoughts and experiences, actually helps us to detect and recognise our life paths. It provides clarity.

·         Are you using “perfectionism” as an excuse? Come on, we are evolving creatures. What is “perfect” now may not be perfect later. Stop hiding behind that and rather make your actions more “perfect”.

·         Ask yourself the question: Does it serve to wait? For what purpose? For what purpose? For what purpose? Get honest and get clear.

·         Understand why you are not acting. This is probably the single most important thing, and sometimes we need the objective perspective of a coach to see this, and help us to break through it. The duty of our subconscious is to protect us, and it will keep us in a comfort zone to do this. Is it fear? Baggage that you can’t let go of? A dead-end that you can’t seem to get out of? Awareness of the limiting belief is the first step to eliminate it.

·         Know that it sometimes takes courage. In the famous words of Nelson Mandela, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to act despite the fear.” And know that one action will lead to a next…and to a next…and to a next…That is the nature of growing, and learning. It is never our final action, until we die.

I’ll say it again. Having no choice is very painful. So act before you have no choice.

Until next time…there is something I need to do! J

Love and light,

Celeste

Growing and Resting

I often get very obvious but very profound (for me) insights when I spend time in nature. I love my solitary bush walks and have a few secret hideaways in my local nature reserve where I reflect, meditate or just enjoy the sounds and scenes around me. The last few weeks were quite challenging and I did not get to do this as often as I would like, so this morning it was very obvious to me how winter has set in. Everything looked different from what it looked a mere two weeks ago.

I used to say I am a summer person; that I “hate” the winter. I am a passionate person, full of energy and I move fast and purposeful. A spring person. “Springy” too yes! J And whilst it is certainly true that I MUCH prefer the warmer weather and also certainly true that I get cold pretty easily (I wear THREE pairs of socks in winter – and some would say Pretoria winters are quite mild!), this morning it struck me how beautiful it all looked. Yes beautiful – the colours not as vivid anymore, many trees already devoid of leaves, and grass and bush becoming grey and dry. It looked beautiful to me because I became aware of resting. The endless cycle of blossoming, growing, and resting. Not birth and death, but growing and resting.  

Nature is also beautiful when resting. There is a different energy, quieter, mysterious, eerie, enchanting. I’m not looking at a dry bush, a dead tree or a colourless landscape. I’m seeing this, but I’m sensing more. It is as if nature urges me to look beyond the obvious, forcing me to understand better, hear deeper sounds - and it is drawing me closer. I feel as if it has something unique to share with me, it makes me feel special.

I guess that’s why I feel so exceptionally happy in nature. It is in nature that I get the peace and acceptance that has become part of me. It is where I become aware, and reflect. Grow and rest, with space for more. Space for spring and summer.

The beauty of spring and summer brings energy and joy and hope. EXCITEMENT! So can we perhaps also see the “colour” in winter - mysterious, slower and shyer? Perhaps not so “exciting” and vivid, but with a deeper passion and a quieter spaciousness? And can we perhaps expand that awareness to other areas of our lives – things that appear less exciting (“mundane”), people that are less colourful, and places that are a bit darker? And also appreciate these for what they are?

Of course we can. It will make us feel special.

Love and light,

Celeste

Signs and symbols

Let's talk about signs and symbols. I love signs and symbols. So yesterday, during morning meditation a sign came to me, and, may I say, a very unusual sign. Not one to be encountered in suburbia. I'll be specific; I "saw" an image of a leopard. And I knew I would encounter that signal (the leopard) during the day if I stay aware of it. Of course I knew that I might not physically come across one unless I left the city (and I had no plans to do so yesterday), and although I had no idea how, I knew I that in some shape or form, the leopard would "come" to me.

So what happened? During the first - the very first - conversation I walked into yesterday morning, this guy was telling a story of a leopard he came across the week before. He was talking about the footprints. Okay, my cue to pay attention!

Now of course this is not about the leopard. Yes, the leopard represents something to me - it is a symbol for me, but that's over and above the point I want to bring across. It really is about a clue - during morning meditation I was given a clue to watch out for throughout the day. I say I was "given", but it came from within me, that place of knowing, of wisdom and eternal knowing, that which we often ignore. And yes I guess I was fortunate to arrive at it so quickly; like I said the first morning conversation I heard.

So what did the clue tell me? Well I don't know that. Yet. It may not be important for me to know now, it will be revealed later. But what I did do was pay very close attention to the conversation, exchange details and alerted myself to the knowing that these people had something to share or do or add value in my life. I became acutely aware and made mental notes. This was not just a time-filler conversation (well, maybe for them, but not for me!)

Now before you think this blog post a bit too airy-fairy, consider for a moment all the rituals, symbols and signs we come across during our daily lives. If it is external, we believe it, but when it comes from us, we often put it down as dreams, figments of imagination, wishful thinking, or even paranoia. Some sceptics even say "Well, you will see what you want to see." And I totally agree! You WILL see what you believe, NOT the other way around! It’s what you do WHEN you see it that matters.

My sign yesterday was to pay very close attention to when the "leopard" appeared and I did. That's all I have for now...

Love and light,

Celeste