A radical reset + what I’m loving

As a self employed business owner it occurred to me that I was about due for a sabbatical. The only thing was, I had to give it to myself.

So I’ve taken some time to pause, regenerate, open up to new ideas, and re-evaluate.

I’ve been asking questions like:

“What is most important to me in this season of my life?”

“Where is the world heading and what is most needed now?”

“How can I combine my expertise, my desire, my changed energy levels and what the world most needs to offer the greatest positive impact in the world?”

“What am I feeling more pulled to do and what is it that I need to let go of to make more room for newness to emerge?”

The world is in an unprecedented time of change.

As humans we are changing all the time, right down to the cellular level.

So it’s worth taking time to step back and examine:

“What changes need to happen in order for me to come more into alignment with my own healthy evolution and with the way our world is evolving?”

Of course, for some of us, there may not be an inch of room for change.

Perhaps it’s a time for just holding on tight to keep things together.

There are seasons for everything.

The key is to recognise what season you are in.

It reminds me of Chogyang Trungpa’s quote

“There are seasons in your life in the same way as there are seasons in nature.

There are times to cultivate and create, when you nurture your world and give birth to new ideas and ventures.

There are times of flourishing and abundance, when life feels in full bloom, energized and expanding.

And there are times of fruition, when things come to an end. They have reached their climax and must be harvested before they begin to fade.

And finally, of course, there are times that are cold and cutting and empty, times when the spring of new beginnings seems like a distant dream.

Those rhythms in life are natural events. They weave into one another as day follows night, bringing, not messages of hope and fear, but messages of how things are.”

It’s good to recognise these changes.

We live in an illusion of stability. We can so easily forget that everything is changing. Impermanence is the truth of life.

When we become aware of the truth of impermanence, that everything is changing, we can’t hold onto any of it, then we can live with more aliveness.

We can be truly present to the moments of beauty in our lives, and we can also ride the waves of turbulence, knowing they will pass and change.

I’m back with a few things I’ve been loving…

What I’m reading…

I’m late to it, but reading Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks, feels like the right accompaniment to my own reset. Am I the only one who hasn’t read it still? It’s a powerful reminder not to take our days for granted.

What I’m eating…

Who’s got time to make their own seeded crackers? Not me, until my radical reset. I made these and they are delicious. Try adding whatever other flavour you like, I added roasted garlic into the mix. So, so good.

What I’m listening to…

Musically, I have discovered three songs that I’m completely obsessed with when at the gym. They’re all a little upbeat, so if you need something to groove to when you’re prepping a meal, or folding the laundry you may like them too. The three tracks are Bal de Bamako, Krye Mwen, Yemamya all on my spotify gym playlist here (which I’m hoping to add to.)

I wish there were more hours in the day for podcasts. If you’re very time poor and interested in managing your stress levels. This podcast episode with Huberman, “How to control your cortisol and overcome burnout” is really well worth the listen.