Hello, my friend! Happy Spring – again! I just want you to know that as we move through this 6 week This Is Me retreat, in no way do I think that in the end we will have discovered all of the answers. Or that we will have created, in 6 weeks, the life that we want. That’s not meant to be depressing, but it’s simply meant to be the truth.
However, we will have started a journey. Throughout the 6 weeks, we may have shifted our thinking, or stumbled onto a new dream, or we may have even only learned that we have no clue at all what kind of life we want for ourselves. All of that and everything else in-between is totally fine.
And the reason that it is totally fine is because life is a journey. A life-long journey. Haha. Life is a life-long journey. Deep, huh? Ha! Anyway, at no time do I actually think that I will wake up one day + know that I have created my life exactly the way that it is supposed to be, exactly the way that I want it. Because that would mean that the creating is done. That there comes a day when there’s nothing more to dream, make, fulfill, inspire, or create. It would also mean that there is no more change. No more evolving, transformation, or growing. And that would not be life. Because life, in and of itself, means being alive; and being alive means breath, movement, change, and evolution. Constantly.
All that to say, there is no time that we are simply done. Creating the life that we want, that we feel called to, is a continuous, exciting journey of revelation and discovery. And, while my core being, my soul, does not change… how I want to express and live my life does change as days and months and years pass. So, to create our life is is more of an ongoing, never-ending piece of art that we paint and sculpt throughout all the days of our life. To create is to change.
Buuuuut, if that sounds like a long, arduous, kind of overwhelming process to you, then here’s some good news. Creating the life that we want, and actually embarking on that journey of discovery, is definitely possible.
And the other good news is that we are meant to live our best lives. We really are worth it. And we really are actually freaking called to it. Not to discover some secret answer that’s been hidden, but to literally become who we already are. To live life as our truest, most authentic selves. To unfold more + more as each year passes, finding a deeper sense of purpose + peace with each moment, experience, struggle, discovery and opportunity.
In other words, we were created to create.
However, enjoying this journey to its max + becoming the creator of our own lives is totally up to us. You know that saying about you get out of something what you put into it? Well, that holds true to this idea of creating the life we want.
Sure, we can sail through life, living day to day totally ok. Getting by. Making money. Seeking security. Building a family. Having a place to call home. Eating out. Taking vacations. Posting to Instagram. And just generally enjoying life. That is totally, absolutely fine. But, we can also choose to do all of that from our soul. What I mean is, we can tap into our soul, discover who we really are + what really inspires and excites us, and live from that. In other words, we can live an ordinary life or we can tap into our spiritual (not religious, if that freaks you out) side and discover deep meaning in every single little fucking thing we do, and live an extraordinary life right in the middle of our ordinariness. I mean, why not go big, right?
The thing is, it’s not so hard to make an extraordinary life. Or it’s much easier than we think. You see, to decide to live life to the fullest, to want the highest, best, most amazing, deepest, most inspired life possible, is to simply live right here, right now.
We all have a choice to make… every single minute, every single moment. The question that we have, the choice that we can make every morning when we wake, and every subsequent second thereafter, is this:
How do i want my life to be? / What kind of life do I want?
And we keep asking ourselves those questions again + again, until we begin to form a vision. Then, once we know what we want + how we want to live, it’s just to live it out. To decide every single fucking minute to create that life that we want. It’s just to do it. We already have all of the power + all of the freedom. The power to take a regular work day and make it a day of bliss. The power to make taking out the garbage into act act of sacred mindfulness. The power to let go of the things that don’t support our vision + fuel our soul. True story.
To make that change, to create that life, actually requires us to only live in the moment, making one little decision, one little shift at a time. It’s not necessary to sell everything you have + head out on some great adventure, but it can mean doing that. It’s not necessary to quit your job to write books or become a YouTube influencer or a self-employed yoga instructor; but it can mean doing that too. It’s not necessary to go through a very tough divorce or sickness, but that can happen to jolt us out of our mindless living as well.
It can be a drastic, abrupt change that sets us on the journey to creating our life; or we can slowly understand that we are meant for more and find ourselves one day saying, “Enough. It’s time to change something.” It doesn’t matter how it shows up for you and it doesn’t matter how big or small the change seems – all change that we seek from our soul moves us forward. However the desire to create your life shows up for you, the fact that it is a journey is the same for us all. The actual deep changing takes place over time, in the everyday moments of our lives, with every little decision that we make. We literally create our lives by creating our days.
Here’s a little inner soul conversation I had with myself a couple of years ago. And, now I ask this question to myself over + over again every single day:
- What kind of life do I want to live?
- Do I want a slow, intentional, creative life filled with inspiration, people, magic, wildness, and meaningfulness?
- Well, that’s a big HELL YEAH.
- Then, every little thing I decide to do, every little way that I act, every little decision I make is chosen to support that vision for my life.
- I. Just. Do. It.
- Every damn day. All day long.
And that, my friends, is how i am choosing + deciding + creating my life.
So, the key is to ask yourself, over + over again, what kind of life you envision. And, sure, you can set goals + visions for the future. I totally have goals + visions. But, I’ve simply written them in my journal or created a Pinterest mood board, and then cast them out there to the universe.
Once I have a vision for the kind of life I wanted to create, then what I am most concerned with is today. How do I create the life I want today? And, no matter where I am and what I face during the day, I keep my values + visions in front of me while I continuously check in with my soul. And, for example, I ask myself, when my alarm goes off in the morning: Does getting up early to meditate help me create the life I want? Is it something that allows me to be authentically me? Then I continue with that same line of questioning all day long, even when I am faced with things that I’d rather not deal with.
Whatever each moment brings, it is only me that can choose how to face, prepare, react, respond, and create the energy and vibes around me. And, in doing that, in claiming my own power to choose how I want to experience washing the dishes after dinner or heading into a potentially confrontational meeting or prioritizing an adventurous weekend with my partner, I am choosing and creating the life that I want.
The key is being present here + now… and knowing that I have the power to create the life that I want – then, it’s up to me whether I choose squander that power or claim it + set it (and myself) free. It’s up to you, too, my dear friend. What will you choose?
xoxo. liz.
One more thing: You’ve just got to listen to this song. And really listen to it. It’s perrrfect for today’s focus. Do it. Right now.
Sinkin’ like a stone, only brought me / From a place where I was up
To a place where I was down
So I spent some time alone / Got to know me / What better place than there
Where I was layin’ on the ground
Well I don’t wear dope suits / And I don’t drink red, fancy wine
I don’t drive a car that even exists
But, I do what I do, and Hell I’m doing fine / Money won’t determine my bliss
Live before you die
This goes out to all / Of my friends with sleepy eyes
That haven’t learned it sneaks up on you fast
Get up on the ball / Wake yourself from dreary times
Cause sleepy days could very easy last
Eyelids sinkin fast / Fallin’ straight down through the floor
Like so many times myself have not felt right
Our honey is so sweet, it’s better than before / If we could learn to only sleep at night
Have you missed the previous This Is Me retreat posts?! You can find them here:
