I wanted this week’s blog to be of excitement, adventure, and exploring the opportunity. Imagining the ways in which my words of the adventurous tales and experience would paint a picture and the representative feelings that arise to evoke a sense of adventure outside isolation...
But then I had an epiphany.
In imaging the amazing places I will travel post lockdown, it dawned on me that many of you would too be hungry for the expansiveness that only nature can provide, however, it is the daily challenges that prove to be our biggest feats.
That uncaged, wild, and empowering feeling of being in nature can be replicated in isolation and importantly the connection to not only others but yourself, that comes with an adventurous approach to the day.
So, rather than share what was or what is yet to come, I thought I’d share how I take on my day. How I mindfully move through the time we each have and what instills the sense of purpose and helps to strengthen the connection with myself each day.
To live is to have a sense of purpose, accomplishment, and is what creates our experience of life itself.
Each day, regardless of lockdown, I wake to the smell of coffee emanating from the kitchen, grateful that my husband awakes before me to brew the black beans that I love so much. I draw my body from the warm sheets and get dressed, making it as soon as I leave it, splash water on my face and approach the day as you would a mountain, one step at a time.
With the intention and goals set for my day, I draw upon my WHY. The reasons and the direction in which I want to direct my purpose. I often journal first thing in the morning and the following is a framework I work too if the words don’t flow fluently to the page:
Intention:
It is relevant to you and whatever comes to you each given day. My intention for the day to achieve what I want for the coming weeks, months, and years- what is it for you?
Gratitude:
What am I grateful for? It could be my health, self-awareness, and how that shows up in relationships and conversations or simply the opportunity to study intensively for this lockdown period with no job, no work to go to.
Actions:
What actions can I take today that will move me closer to where I want to be? Or is it people I need to communicate and connect with that serve a purpose be business or pleasure.
Give:
What can I give back, without wanting in return? How can I make someone’s day a little brighter? Lift their morale in a time of need. Often it is our time that people want and that’s something I have a lot of at the moment. The connection is generally the call of the day here. Check-in on someone that you love and care about.
Expand:
This could be listening to a podcast, learning something new, or as is my own personal journey, studying to complete my personal training. Immerse yourself in something new to grow your grey matter.
The above isn’t a must-do, merely a framework to provide inspiration on days that you lack motivation, drive, and desire to move through your day with purpose. Some days your purpose should be to watch movies with the kids, walk without direction, or cook without care of calories.
Be kind to yourself to get through these times. Tune in and listen to what you need but don’t allow yourself to become complacent with the notion of time. It moves as we do, swiftly from one thing to the next before wondering where the time went.
The survival mechanism is rife right now. It’s easy to create a myriad of ways to excuse behaviours but what if we were to give just a little bit more focus on how we move through our days. Create some accountability for the ways in which we move through our challenges, if not step by step.
If you were to action just one of these steps on a given day, which would it be?
I asked Shannon, my husband, the same question. He responded with ‘GIVE’ - Why?
“If we are giving without expectation we aren’t so worried about holding onto the emergency of the surroundings in which we live. In doing so it opens a space of offering regardless of our position. Providing support that in turn creates a feeling of well-being, altruistically.”
Amanda x