On Being A Mess and Loving It All

There are times to take action, and times to rest.
There is a time to be with people, and time to be alone. Time to share the bed and time to have it to ourselves.
There is a time to travel and time to be exactly where we are with exactly how we feel.

And amidst all of these waves we find our lives, sometimes totally in synch and in balance and sometimes a total mess. One of the best realizations I've had is that there's really no difference between the two.

True balance is found within ourselves. It is trusting ourselves through the chaos and mess. It is embracing and loving it all, especially when we are falling apart.

There are times to laugh and times to cry. There is a time to move and a time to be still, to listen to the voice within and stop everything that's happening around us.

Even if just for a moment.

So perhaps balance is really a perspective. Maybe where we really find balance is through being exactly where we are and loving it. Loving it so much that no matter what we are experiencing, there is love. Through both the dark moments and the ones filled with radiating light.

"The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. It's our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows."- Brené Brown

Because it is in the darkness we find light, in the chaos we find clarity and in the pain that we find love. And it is in being human that we find ourselves- enough and whole as we are right now.

Sometimes we expect ourselves to have it together all the time. Well, what if we don't? What if we experience the journey and celebrate the clarity we find, but also celebrate those terrifying uncertain moments where we just don't fucking know.

We don't need to figure it all out in that moment or pretend to be some superhero. For that moment, we embrace the mess and really love it.

Because "this too, shall pass."

Facing Fear to Grow Stronger

Recently, I just had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I went Skydiving.

Yes, Skydiving! 

This is something I've been wanting to do for years and what meant far more than a check mark on a bucket list to me. It was about confronting and overcoming my fear, expanding my perception and allowing myself to experience life fully.

I feel that we are given this life to live it to the fullest. The purpose of our goals is serve our greatness- to provide focus and direction in our becoming our strongest selves. The goals we have that allow us to tackle our fears have, for me, been the most fulfilling, eye-opening and exhilarating ones. Every fear I've faced including Skydiving and so many more, have made me a stronger, more authentic and present being.

It's the act of facing fear that makes us fearless.

Take a moment to think about what you fear. Is it traveling? Being alone? Being vulnerable? Heights? Showing your true self? Letting yourself be happy and free from the opinions of others? Imperfection? Fear of failure? Letting go? You name it.

We all feel fear and fear will always play a part in our lives. What I've realized, however, is that it's not about trying to get rid of fear. It's about moving with it and riding the waves, feeling the fear and doing what we want anyway. We do this by literally becoming aware of where fear plays a part in our lives and taking the steps to do the thing we fear.

Without stepping outside of my comfort zone, not only do I not feel that my sense of aliveness and expansion is diminished, but I wouldn't be writing this post.

Time and time again I realize this:

It is our experiences that allow us to grow into our greatest selves and cultivate our gifts so that we can share them with others.

Yes, facing fear requires awareness and courage, but it is always worth it. We realize how powerful we truly are, and most important, that our stories, assumptions and "what if's" do not need to define our decisions and actions.

We feel the fear, and we do what we want anyway.

Of course it's important to prepare and weigh out the pros and cons of a decision, but let's not hesitate too long. Because life waits for us in its abundance each day. Let's not hesitate too long, because there are places to go, people to meet, love to give and receive and experiences to be had. There are failures and successes to be made, ups and downs and everything in between.

And in all of this, there is life. There is the beautiful, imperfect experience of life to be a part of when we face our fear to become all that we are capable of being.

I want to leave you with an inspiring quote I read the other day by Erin Hanson that really put things into perspective for me. It goes like this,

"What If I fail?"

"Oh but my darling, what if you fly?"