Letting Go of the Old You

Congratulations!  You already saw the title of the post and you're still reading!  It must be the right time for you.

As I mentioned in my post from the first of the month, transitions mean the letting go of the old way of being.   We let go of who we once were to step into what we want to be.  It can be scary, but I've got you covered.   We'll do it together.  We're keeping it simple and easy. 

Breathe in.  Relax your shoulders.  Exhale and release the old stuff.

Breathe in again.  Deeper.  Open your chest and heart and feel yourself step out into your new way of being.  Exhale and release any anxiety.

Breathe in again.  Hold it for a bit and thank your old self for all the miles and lessons and love. 

Exhale and let your old self go. 

Give yourself a big hug.  Breathe for a minute and let yourself feel free to just BE.  It's going to be a glorious adventure.

I'd like to invite you to join our Best Self facebook group where we can talk freely about becoming our best selves - and all the messy work that entails.  In addition, I have another group, The Well Balanced Artist, for creatives of all kinds and in all stages of their creative lives, who are trying to balance their art, business and personal lives. 

Breathe

December is really beautiful here. This is a photo of a farm in Owen County.  It makes me happy to look at it.  Which is really good, because I'm kind of going out of my mind these days.

We've had a bit of holiday drama this year that we are still working through.  It has given me an opportunity to stretch all of my mediation and meditation skills. 

In addition, I took a risk and made a trip to visit a few galleries that I've been interested in.  I have found one that I really love and that I would love to be a part of, but now I'm besieged with a lot of negative self talk. I know how high the quality of their art is.  I know my skills and lack thereof and I am reluctant to put myself out there for what I fear is certain rejection.  The rejection doesn't bother me as much as any judgments that might linger about my lack of skills.  What I'm really afraid of is that I fail and then when I try again, I'd be firstly recognized as not having been good enough previously.   [Does that make sense?]   Should I wait to even attempt until it's likely to be a slam dunk? [as they advise tenure applicants to do?].... Or should I just go for it and keep trying until I get it?

So much difficult thinking!   In the meantime, I do my five and a half minute meditations and I remind myself to breathe.   Just breathe.  Breathe through the conflict.  Breathe through the uncertainty.  Breathe through the disappointment.  Breathe through the anxiety.  Sometimes the breathing is all I can do to keep living my best life now.

Solstice is this next week.  I'll be doing a Letting Go ceremony here.  I do it all by myself, one quiet moment before everyone gets home.  I smudge, thank and bless the house and studio for another year.  I will release what no longer serves me to make room for what lights me up.  And I will breathe.