love your life

Julia Matheson

taking the plunge

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It’s been over a year since I made one of the scariest decisions of my life.

I bought a one way ticket and took a plane to the other side of the world.

My plan was to travel through South America for 3 months, and then go and live in Canada. Beyond that, it was very vague.

‘How long was I going to be away for?’ No idea. ‘Did I know anyone on the other side?’ Nope. ‘Can I speak Spanish?’ err Si? ‘Where will I live?’ Umm I’m not sure. ‘What will you do for work?’ I haven’t organised anything yet. .

These were questions not only running through my own mind, but ones asked by people who were generally concerned for me. For a person that generally has control in their life, not knowing the answers was truly terrifying for me!

I still remember heading to the airport in the early hours of the morning. I was so nervous that I barely slept a wink the night before, and I couldn’t even speak on the drive out there. I don’t think I have ever experienced anything like it, I was completely consumed with fear. I had an awful dread in the pit of my stomach and was totally caught up in my own worry of the unknown.

As I said goodbye to my nearest and dearest at the airport, part of me was asking myself ‘What the hell am I doing?!’ ‘Why am I leaving these beautiful people behind?’ ‘My life is really good here!’ ‘What if I fail?’.  .  It’s like I floated up out of my body and looked down on the situation. Here I was about to leave my comfortable life behind, to venture out into the unknown. Was I making the right decision?

And then I remembered the quote that fuelled this adventure. The one that my dear colleagues wrote in a travel journal for me –

marktwainquote

Oh yeah, that’s why I am doing this! I had been feeling uninspired, bored and listless for the past few months, I knew something had to shift. It was time for a BIG life change.

I looked around me and saw people buying houses, getting engaged, having babies, tying the knot – and I was incredibly happy for them, yet as much as I wanted those things, I knew that it wasn’t yet my time. That was a hard thing to grasp, because most things that I had wanted in my life up until this point I had been able to go and get.

I got caught up comparing myself to others, which lead to thinking of all the things I didn’t have. I sat in a place of missing out, and that only made me feel incomplete.

Then one day I decided enough is enough. I no longer want to feel this way. I have the power to choose something else. To chose adventure, challenge, fulfilment – to choose my unique life.

I get to create my life.

I started to shift my focus to what i did have. As soon as I did this, my whole outlook changed – I began to look at my situation as a wonderful opportunity. I had no partner, no mortgage, no kids, no pets – no ties or responsibilities whatsoever! I had the novel realisation that this was actually a good thing. Why not take advantage of the situation, and use my freedom? This chance may not come around a second time.

It had always been a goal of mine to live in another country at some point in my life, but I just had never got around to actually doing it. The timing was never right, I was caught up in my career, or in a relationship, or saving money (which ironically helped fund this trip!). I thought, well if not now, then when? I was waiting for some illusive moment that may never arise.

Time was ticking and running out to be eligible for a working visa in Canada, so the decision to leave was almost made for me. Which was great as it meant I didn’t have to think too much about it. (Remember hesitation is devastation!).

I’ve now been living overseas for over a year, and what an incredible journey it’s been.

I’ve seen so much beauty in the world, both in nature and in people. My travels have been even better than I had imagined – not even in my wildest dreams could I have predicted some of the incredible experiences I’ve been lucky enough to have.

I focused on having fun, and living in the moment for the first time in a very long time.

It was exactly what my soul needed. I am so glad I listened to the faint murmur in my heart, the one that was yearning for something more.

What are the niggling little voices inside your head asking for?

What does your heart truly wish for?

What plunge are you ready to take in your life?

Perhaps it’s your time to throw away the bow lines, and sail away from your safe harbour.

EXPLORE.   DREAM.   DISCOVER.

clarity through loss

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My cousin passed away today.

After a courageous battle with a brain tumour, he is now resting peacefully.

He was far too young to go, a newly wed man in his early thirties. He had his whole life ahead of him.

I found this out while eating my breakfast this morning. Oceans away from my family, I just wanted to be near them, to talk to one of them, to hug them tight. I couldn’t help the tears fall as I tried to digest the news. I thought of his wife and family, and the loss they must be feeling. I thought of how unfair this was and tried to make sense of why this happened.

Then it hit me. It felt like a jolt to my system, like a physical and mental reboot –

LIFE IS SHORT.

It really brought things home for me. I could choose to question the meaning of life and how he could be taken from us so young. OR I could realise the deeper message that this loss brings – just how precious our lives are.

The choice was made. I picked myself up and decided that I would live today to the fullest in dedication of my cousin. I would be grateful to live this day, and not take for granted the fact that I am here, and he is not. I made a commitment to myself that I would appreciate every moment.

I walked into work along the valley trail and breathed in the fresh mountain air. I passed beautiful old fir trees, I watched the sun peaking over the mountain tops – getting ready to begin a brand new day. I heard the birds singing their morning songs, smelt the pine needles, and watched the clouds float elegantly across the sky.

I smiled at strangers, I said hello to everyone (all the people I passed, not just those that I chose to speak to) I consciously didn’t get flustered or stressed throughout the day at work (at things that only yesterday affected me greatly) – instead I just laughed. I didn’t sweat the small stuff, because in the scheme of things, the small stuff doesn’t really matter. I took slower, deeper breaths. I consoled people, I hugged more, I told people I love them.

I smiled today through sad eyes, and recognised the power of compassion. That everyone we come across probably has their own battles of some kind.

It’s amazing how shifting your perspective can open up a whole new experience for you. I decided to be grateful, and it bought more joy into my day.

As i strolled on home, I realised how lucky I was to have had another day in this beautiful world. I started thinking of all the things I want to do for others, how I can contribute, how I can express my love. I got completely out of my own head, stopped navel gazing, and saw my life truly for what it is – a blank canvas that I can choose to create meaning with.

Every moment is all we ever have. Yesterday is gone, and the future is not yet promised.

All we have is right NOW.

And in this moment we have the power of choice.

We have a responsibility not only to ourselves, but to our loved ones, to our community, to this world – to live with zest, to contribute, and most importantly – to love unconditionally.

It’s a shame that sometimes it takes such tragedy to trigger this innate knowledge. We have all heard it before, we all know it – yet we don’t always act on it. Why does such an important message slip from our focus in our day-to-day living?

Stress, anxiety, worry, overwhelm, greed – a toxic mix of emotion that clouds our vision. They fog up the lens that would usually show us how short and precious life is. Sometimes we fill our lives with so much busy-ness that we don’t make time to stop and really smell the roses – to appreciate every day we have.

Then day’s like today roll around to wake us from our slumber, to jolt some clarity back into our existence.

Death always has this effect on people.

It really hit home when my uncle passed away. We lost him to the most aggressive form of cancer – melanoma. It took his life within months. Again, another young man with so much life ahead of him, or so we thought. Him and his partner had so many dreams, so many plans, so many things they were looking forward to. But they didn’t get the luxury of time that we all seem to believe is promised to us in life.

The experience really made me think – why are we here? what do I want my life to contribute to? What legacy do I want to leave behind?

I decided in that moment to stop taking my life for granted. To stop waiting for some grand day in the future when everything will be perfect and happiness will finally reign over me.

Shortly after this loss I decided to take the plunge, to live my life to the fullest. I moved overseas, as I knew I couldn’t count on having the luxury of time in the future.

Somehow by realising my own mortality, and how fleeting life can be – it took away the fear, the doubt, the deliberation – and forced me follow my heart.

“On the death of a friend, we should consider that the fates through confidence have devolved on us the task of a double living, that we have henceforth to fulfill the promise of our friend’s life also, in our own, to the world.” ― Henry David Thoreau

I will be forever grateful for these realisations – what an incredible parting gift they left behind.

I hope they are resting in peace with the knowledge that they have had such a profound effect on the lives of others.

buddha

 

hesitation

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I recently watched a friend bungee jump.

It was an interesting experience, let me tell you the story . .

There was one woman ahead of our friend, so we all stood by on the bridge and watched. This woman was all geared up and ready to go. She stepped out onto the platform and looked down at the rushing river below. Then she made the worst mistake. She hesitated.

From there on in it was a downward spiral of doubt, fear and downright freaking out. You could see the thoughts processing through her mind, then physically manifest in her body. She turned white, tears started rolling down her cheeks. All of the coaxing, cheering and positive talk in the world couldn’t get her to jump. There was no way in hell she was leaping off that bridge. She eventually came back off the platform, it wasn’t her day to jump.

Our friend was up next. I had butterflies in my stomach, what a nerve-wracking build up. But she wasn’t fazed. She didn’t let fear or doubt enter her mind. She knew what she came to do. She had come to jump.

She stepped out onto the platform, took one look down and leaped head first off the bridge with the ease and grace of a diver into a swimming pool.

Her life motto?

“hesitation is devastation” 

How fitting.

What an incredible display of mind over matter to witness. Watching these two totally opposing experiences. The only difference between them? One person hesitated. One let her mind stray and entertain her negative thoughts. And one stuck to her guns, with an unwavering conviction.

It got me thinking – when have I hesitated and missed out on an incredible experience? When have I psyched myself out of something because of fear?

My fear may not be as obvious as bungee jumping, but perhaps more subtle hesitations around being out of my comfort zone, fear of embarrassment or rejection, fear of failure, or worse – fear of success?

These things may be subtle to the eye, but they have a far more devastating effect on us in the long run.

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”
― Neale Donald Walsch

What do you hesitate with?

It may seem huge, it may be seem trivial. Your fear is real regardless – but feel the fear and do it anyway! So go book that sky-dive, chat to the cute stranger, apply for your dream job, sign up for that half-marathon, declare your love to someone . . . Whatever it is, just don’t hesitate.

Growth is on the other side of fear.

scaresyou

dream day recipe

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You know the days when you’re floating on cloud 9?

Everything just falls into place and your day is full of all your favourite things. You have a lightness in your heart and a smile permanently planted on your face.

I’m so grateful for those days. For me, those days are what life is all about.

Maybe they are so special because of their rarity. But have you ever stopped to think that every day could be that way?

Next time you experience a dream day ask yourself – What made today so special? What activities did I do? Who was I with? What was my frame of mind?

With this precious information, you can make the recipe for a dream day any day!

My dream day recipe

1 handful of loved ones

lashings of outdoor adventures

2 cups of contribution

1 sweet sweat session

1 sprinkling of food shared together

1 gallon of laughter.

My best days are always spent connecting with people I love, getting outside the house and into nature, doing any kind of sweat date (yoga, hiking, a bike ride, or a swim in the ocean) and wrapping up the day sharing food and laughter together.

What things do you love? What’s authentically important to you? What are the things that bring a smile to your face?

With that in mind – What do you now need to make time for? What do you need to schedule? Who do you need to enrol?

Get to planning your days, weeks and even months – full of all of these things. Start to plant the seeds for many abundant dream day harvests!

Don’t leave your happiness to chance, to the whim of others, or to circumstance.

Make your happiness a priority. Today.

What is your dream day recipe?

Use your recipe to float on cloud 9  all weekend  🙂

maketodayhappy

law of attraction

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What do you put your energy into?

What do you think about?

What do you tell yourself?

Choose them wisely, as whatever we direct our energy, attention and focus towards, we inevitably bring into our lives. Whether it’s good or bad, negative or positive.

If this sounds too ‘new age’ for you, stick with me for a minute . . .

The Law Of Attraction is the science of attracting more of what you want, and less of what you don’t want in your life.

“The law of attraction is the name given to the belief that “like attracts like” and that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts, one can bring about positive or negative results. This belief is based upon the idea that people and their thoughts are both made from pure energy, and the belief that like energy attracts like energy.”

Everything is made up of energy, everything vibrates, and at every moment we are sending out positive or negative vibrations. The universe doesn’t know whether you want that or not, whether it’s good or bad for you, and it doesn’t care! All it picks up on is the vibration you emit, and it sends back a direct match.

How the law of attraction works:

words    ->    thoughts    ->    feelings/vibrations    ->    results

Based on this law, your results in life are a direct outcome of your choice of language.

Words begin in our mind first, long before we speak them – it’s that little voice in your head. You know the one. “What voice?” you may be thinking – THAT ONE!

When our words change, our thoughts, vibes and results change.

You can only ever omit one vibration at a time. It’s not physically possible to think two thoughts at once. Which means we have the power of choice.

Do you have people in your life that are constantly in a state of complaint? You know the drill ‘I hate my job’, ‘my partner just doesn’t get it’, ‘I have no money’. They tell the story of what they don’t want in their lives, yet rarely focus on what they do want.

The universe cannot work with what you don’t want in your life.

If you are dissatisfied with something, then focus on what you do want to happen. What does the desired result look like? How does it feel? What’s changed? Now those are things that the universe can work in your favour.

So if our language creates our reality, here are 3 words to eliminate from your vocabulary:

  1. “Don’t”
  2. “Not”
  3. “No”

The average person says these 150 times before noon!

We also have the power to push the reset button at any moment.

We can retrace backwards from the desired result to make it happen. Ask yourself – what is the desired result? Then work backwards from that – so what do I need to feel? What do I need to think? What do I need to say?

What vibrations will you choose to send out to the universe today?

Start today to tell yourself a better story. And believe it.

positivethinking

live your passion

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The following quote jumped off the page of a book I read recently –

“Live your passion. What does that mean anyway? It means that when you get up in the morning, you are pumped because you get to talk about or work with or do the thing that interests you the most in the world. You don’t live for vacations because you don’t need a break from what you’re doing – working, playing, and relaxing are one and the same. You don’t even pay attention to how many hours you’re working because to you, it’s not really work. You’re making money, but you’d do whatever it is you’re doing for free.” – Gary Vaynerchuk

What are your passions?

Are you living them?

If not, what is holding you back?

Your are made up of a unique set of passions, things that speak to your soul and light you up.  Your passions make you feel truly alive, and self-expressed. You are your best version of yourself when living them.

What would your life look like if you chose to harness these passions? What if you actually got paid to do what you love? What kind of personal power and freedom would be possible for you?

Some people have the archaic belief that they will never make any money doing what they love, but in today’s world this has never been further from the truth. People all over the world today are earning a living doing exactly that. With the rise of the information society, and social media people can now monetize their passions, hobbies, and interests like never before. We spend the majority of our lives at work, why not spend it doing what you love most?

My Dad always told me ‘do what makes you happy, and you’ll be great at it’. This is something that has always resonated with me.

Do what you love. Follow your heart. Success will follow.

It’s as simple as that.

You owe it to yourself, life is too short not too.

Follow-Your-Heart-Sign