So excited for my first contribution to the Equals Record
If you haven’t checked out this beautiful site, you definitely should. It’s like brain candy.
Following your gut is always your best bet.
Seriously.
Even in those “gulp” moments. When everything says you should say “yes” or “no”.
When we face the fear and follow our gut we tell the universe “I trust you”.
And our wildest dreams appear.
A colleague said “no” to a perfect job on paper and then got two contracts with DREAM clients.
I cut back and restructure my business and this month I’ve brought in the most revenue all year, LOVE who I’m working with, and have space and time for me.
A friend says “yes” to a house that is just out of her financial reach, but feels like HOME, and extra money appears from unexpected sources.
We are incredibly wise, we just need to be quiet and listen.
image credit: performingarts.georgetown.edu
Many of my clients come to me looking for balance.
Some way to find the time and space to have it all: the thriving career, the fulfilling relationships, the creative outlet, the health and fitness, the beautiful home, the calming self care practice, and butt-loads of joy and fun.
And while I believe there is space for all of these desires in one life, my wise friend and mentor once told me balance is impossible, it’s harmony we’re after.
She says imagine life as an orchestra, each part a different instrument. If the music were just the wind instruments on the same note it wouldn’t be nearly as rich or powerful. It is about the harmony of the music, not one section taking over all the time, knowing when it needs to be a peaceful pianissimo, or moments of ruckus fortissimo.
But just like in most symphonies there are times in the song of life when a certain instrument needs a solo. Maybe your relationship needs that extra attention, or you’re going through something big at work, maybe your health needs to be at the forefront.
Instead of attempting to maintain balance, surrender to the harmony of your life’s orchestra. Tweet This
Recently I got challenged by both my husband and my coach to begin to create the space for the new baby in a real and tangible way. Letting my mama drum section take a solo.
Just so you know there is not any actual baby, but rather the unknown infant that we feel certain will be arriving in the next year.
Of course the fear stories are showing up: If I don’t work hard my business will disappear. If I take a step back or restructure, everything I’ve worked for will be for nothing. When I am ready to amp work up I will have lost momentum that will take years to rebuild.
But even greater is the trust in my gut, my inner knowing, the wisdom that when I follow that little wise voice miracles happen.
So I’m leading from my spirit and taking a bit of a mama sabbatical.
How this actually looks and what this means for you, my lovely readers, I will detail in my May newsletter.
Until then I’m curious what your little wise voice is saying about the harmony of your life symphony?
I’ve been recently introduced to a kindred simplicity queen who earlier this year managed to reduce her belongings to just 105.
When I first read about her challenge I thought, well now that is just ridiculous. There is no possible way this could work in my home. I mean my utensils alone passes 100 (you know I love a good dinner party).
But when Cary and I were talking today, she expanded on the challenge explaining that furniture, shared items, and household wares were not included. That the challenge itself was to get her personal items down to the most essential minimum while maintaining a life in San Francisco.
Well this inspired me.
And although I’m not going to use a specific arbitrary number to aim for, I am curious what my threshold is.
Like what is that perfect number of necessary socks?
Or
How many make-up brushes do I actually use?
And
What about that jewelry that has been in that cute wooden box for the past 2 years; is that essential to my wardrobe?
So I’m firing up my inner purger and looking through my stuff again with the eyes of 105.
What is your threshold? And what could you let go of if you were shooting for 105?
A friend recently sent me this awesome post from lifehacker speaking of how the path to success is often expected to be a straight line from worse to better, but in reality it is a whole jumble of minor successes and failures and plateaus as you make your way to the top. This ends up looking more like a squiggly maze instead of a direct route.
At first I laughed out loud and thought, “Yes!” this is what it has felt like to build a business, follow dreams, and create this life I lead.
Some days I feel like the battle is won and other days leave me wondering what’s the point.
But then the voice of a wise family friend entered my mind and said, “You are assuming success is somewhere other than where you are. That somehow you are separate from this success” (not a direct quote, but rather my interpretation of her musings)
Thus I realized that when we see success as a destination or a finish line we will always be searching. Tweet This
Now I’m okay knowing that I am on a path and it will be squiggly and last a lifetime. It will lead me to summit mountains and wallow in sorrow. There will be days of lazy fields of flowers and moments requiring tremendous strength and perseverance.
But if we only live for those successful triumphs then we are bound to either be always searching for the next peak or feeling the loss of altitude as we descend down the other side.
As the saying goes, it’s not the destination, but the journey that matters.
So I’m reclaiming success knowing that true success is simply being on the path in the first place.
I invite you to take pause and instead of focusing on where you want to go, or even how far you’ve come, notice where you are right now and the beauty in this part of your own squiggly path.
I’m off this week visiting family in Chicago, but I wanted to leave you with a little inspiration while I was gone.
-Christopher Logue
Image Credit www.diving-gbdf.com/history.php
I used to be a wilderness guide.
Now instead of navigating adventurers through rapids and mountain peaks I am guiding through launch campaigns and messaging strategy.
Now instead of holding hands as we make a treacherous decent I hold on as dreams are unveiled, businesses born.
Now the fear is not life or death, but leaping big and falling hard.
This is not a journey for the weary or the faint of heart, this is a path for innovators, change-makers, trail-blazers.
And I know some of you are dying for the ADVENTURE.
This is the moment you’ve been waiting for. This is your day. This is your Launch.
You have a dream, a gift, a passion, and you are ready to make it a thriving business. But you’re stuck. You’re overwhelmed. You’re completely intimidated by all of the moving pieces that seem to go into the launch of a business.
I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to do it alone.
or someone else
or DIY.
But don’t let yourself get stuck in the fear, in the maybe someday, in the I’m not ready,
Because you are.
And the ADVENTURE is calling!
image credit - Iris Lehnhardt
Do you ever feel like you are continuously putting energy in, but never getting it back?
No matter how hard you try, things just don’t seem to work out?
It feels like a never ending battle of not doing enough, not trying hard enough, and not being enough?
That somehow if you could just figure it out, you would finally get the results you are wanting.
I know these stories.
I know these voices in my head.
I know these beliefs that keep my wheels spinning.
I know these feelings of limits and scarcity.
So let’s stop.
Breathe.
Believe.
Receive.
I know that in pushing, exerting, forcing, trying, trying, trying we are in no place to receive. Tweet this
If you are shoving a boulder up a hill and someone throws you gift, could you catch it?
No
It would probably just bounce of your head and you wouldn’t even know what hit you
So stop pushing the boulder. Sit down. Open your arms.
Breathe.
Believe.
Receive.
Your wildest dreams are just waiting for open arms to catch them.
When I saw Mara Glatzel’s and Tamarisk Saunders-Davies latest discussion on Perfectly Imperfect Self Care, I knew I had to join the conversation.
I know that self-care is essential, but I also know that we can easily turn it around and beat ourselves up about how bad we are at “self-care”. Do you see how absurd this reasoning is?
For me self-care is not a noun, it is a verb, it is a practice. There is not one way to do it and how it looks on a daily/weekly/monthly basis changes, as I change, as my life changes, as I discover new desires and yearnings and needs. It is an honoring of my values in any given moment and forgiveness when I don’t.
Right now my practice includes:
Does this work all the time?
No.
Do I ever feel disheveled, crazy, depressed, pissed off, or like I’m failing at being a grown-up?
Of course.
Do I ever have piles of laundry, lists of un-done to-do’s, yelling matches with my four-year-old, and days where I have put my needs at the bottom of my priorities?
Of course.
But self care is a practice and practices take practice, so when my self-care begins to take a back seat, I return to it gently, with compassion, forgiveness and more love than I think I need.
How do you practice self-care?
welcome to simply living. i'm ariana, a recovering busy-aholic attempting to quiet the crazy all while being a mom, wife, business owner, sister, friend, neighbor, urban farmer, and closet interior designer. this is my story of what it means to Simply Live, enjoy! 
