Hello Again!

Buzz buzz.  Dingle dingle.  Technology begs for our attention all day, every day.

Hundreds of emails, notifications across dozens of social media platforms, and a constant barrage of advertisements, opinions, and both wanted and unwanted news… it’s no wonder so many of us find ourselves in perpetual states of overwhelm surrounded by so much noise.

Six months ago I unintentionally placed a big, thick wall between myself and most of that noise by shifting my energy and attention from socializing, networking, and posting on social media, to introspecting, meditating, and enjoying solitude instead.

At first there was no goal or intention behind the shift – I let myself get lost and immersed in the peaceful simplicity of each day, how I was feeling, and what I could do each day to live in alignment with what felt right inside… and to do that that required spending enough quiet time with myself to start to understand who I really was, what I really did want, and what I needed to do to get there.

Once I realized how good I felt – and that late August 2017 was the last time I had really posted or reached out publicly via social media – I decided to just continue enjoying it.  I had personal and business goals I wanted to achieve, and I understood that to continue exploring myself in solitude would help me achieve those goals with greater clarity, direction, and success.  Physical and emotional wellness is strongly based in spiritual wellness.

It was difficult at times.  We live during a time where most people don’t have many opportunities to spend time in person, so social media can become a lifeline to socializing.  Finding peace with letting go of that for a while or for extended periods of time can be daunting if you’re not used to social isolation.  In particular for entrepreneurs, who feel a constant pressure to share regularly with their audience in order to grow their business and exposure.

I realized that there was no point in sharing myself if I wasn’t feeling aligned with my self. I needed to rediscover parts of myself and take time to figure out how to move forward into 2018 with empowerment and clarity, and I knew that when the time was right, I would be ready to return to regular social media activity more aligned, energetic, and ready to share than ever before!

Looking back over the past six months, I feel like I have come from a place of uncertainty and hesitation, to one of confidence, alignment, and a gracious acceptance of doing my best and accepting what comes.

Life is an intricate dance of being kind towards yourself, and also never getting complacent – an ebb and flow of pushing oneself out of comfort zones, and then taking time to refuel and re-center before taking the next step into the unknown.

Next, I’d like to spend a week or more enjoying a silent retreat.  Have you ever enjoyed the silence so much you wanted to wrap yourself in the comfort of it?  I imagine a silent retreat would be full of many moments like that.

If you live local to Burlington, I’ll be leading mindful and meditative hikes through the Bruce Trail and Escarpment this spring and summer – you can sign up here to be the first to know about upcoming events!