How much time do you think we spend growing each day? I don’t mean physical growth, unless you’re a child of course. I mean your mental, emotional, spiritual and perhaps your skill set growth. Do you ensure you’re learning something new each day? Perhaps sometimes we might think we know it all and become the obstacle to our own potential growth. I know what I love to learn, and I wish for more time to learn them everyday, but I also know what I dread to do, and resist doing it through procrastination. I have come to learn that this resistance to growth comes from fear of not being able to do it right, or fear of challenges, or fear of stepping out of one’s comfort zone. Learning how to update my own website was one such task that I had procrastinated since my relocation to Aotearoa. But 6 months in, it has come to the time for me to learn to be independent, instead of relying on my trusty web designer, and it’s time to do it myself. You know what? After our online meeting, I realised that it was not so bad after all! It was actually pretty straightforward and easy to update, and I asked myself why did I wait so long to learn it? What was I really afraid of?
The sense of liberation after learning something, and having the complete freedom to do things myself was quite exhilarating. Then I look at my family members whom show me in their own ways what they are resisting daily to learn to do for themselves. Whether it’s cleaning up their own room, washing their own dishes after use, or learning what they need, in order to become better in communications to have stronger relationships. Everyone always have their own excuses to not do something. I can’t help but wonder if this is a default defect of being human. Having the fear of not being good enough, therefore avoiding to do anything or learning anything at all. Perhaps it all comes down to a matter of passion, and whether one possesses enough passion to want to change or grow into something new, a new version of themselves. As the winter of Taranaki comes down on us, it seems to make most people want to stay in and hibernate, including myself. I see events that seems interesting, but it takes a lot of willpower just to get out of the house. When the sun sets, and darkness closes in, it can feel like a sense of loss, a lack of activity, and just make one enter hibernation mode. For a Capricorn, it is quite painful to be in this state of being. I constantly want to do something, want to be productive and efficient, but having so little daylight in a day, makes me feel like I need to seize the light to make the most of it, to do what’s most important for me everyday, and sometimes it can feel a little selfish to the rest.
If there is one thing I learned about motherhood is that, if I don’t make time to care for myself, other than everyone else, no one will make me make time for myself, but will take it all for themselves. I know what I need to nourish myself when no one else can, and I cannot be guilt trip into not doing so. So, if learning something new everyday is how I feel my sense of self-worth, I’ll make sure I learn something new everyday! Being human, it really does not make sense to not learn something new everyday anyway, because that just feels so boring to be living life doing the same old, same old. I really do get bored with that. So my question for you is, do you know which areas in your life have you been resisting growth? Have you procrastinated not doing something just because you dread doing it, fear what it might take, or what you might lose? The bigger question is, what will you gain if you actually get it done, or go sign up for the course you’ve been wanting to learn since forever, or actually put yourself out there and see what comes back to you? The sweet old adage, ‘no venture, no gain’ rings kinda true here, although I’ll go on to say, ‘no action, no passion’ or vice versa. But… living life without passion? What is the point? Go find your passion out there somewhere, or in your heart, it already knows what it needs. You just really need to listen. There is no age limits to learning all about life, and if learning or doing something new sparks a new sense of joy in your heart, isn’t it just worth the risk?
Even these Valais Blacknose Sheep (Om, Shanti, Shalom, Aroha) teach me something everyday. A lesson in Patience. Patience to gain their trust in order for them to come closer to me, to eat out of my hand. They are our therapy sheep for our Airbnb guests. I am teaching them to trust, and they are teaching me to be patient. I have gain so much out of my time with them, and watching them responding to their names being chanted out loud and come running and hopping towards me is a kind of indescribable joy that I treasure every moment.
So, go on, check out the latest updates on my website: www.rainbowlsnreiki.com You might just find something new to learn there!
