Hi there 

My Saturdays always begin with a meditation after which I get dressed and drive to the local shops where I consciously spice up the content of my breakfast basket before heading off to Greg’s house for our traditional weekend catch up. While I cook, we share the events of the week and ponder the meaning of it all. The house is filled with laughter and we giggle at ourselves and each other, no matter the how we handled our situations.   

A few weekends ago, I strolled aimlessly through the aisles and lacked the usual enthusiasm with which I approach the adventures of my love for cooking and spoiling those I care about. I was too distracted by the question that had been plaguing my mind throughout a very trying week.  “Why is everything in such chaos?”

Some things in my life I am very clear on; the one is that what I do for a living never drains me.  

I drain me. 

I can confidently say that I have never felt resentful towards any of the work I do, yet there have been times I have felt that I was too tired to write or teach.  That is because my brain sometimes forgets its role and tries to control my life.  Luckily Greg knows the tell tale signs and reels me back to reality. 

When I am not asking questions of life, I am being asked to answer other people’s questions.  Greg and I are often both asked to clarify the same curious issues people have about this journey and we always agree that our favourite question is: “What is the purpose of life?”

“To have fun, of course!” Is always our response.  Most people look at us curiously as we confirm that indeed the whole purpose of being alive is to have the time of your life. Live, laugh, love! 

On that particular day, Greg was playing on the merry-go-round of life and I was sitting on the park bench wondering why he was having more fun than me.  Avoiding the tears from falling into the frying pan, I eventually surrendered to the emotion and sat with him, sharing the frustration and confusion I had been feeling.  In my lack of self esteem I was unconsciously surrendering to the truth that I had forgotten to have fun.  I felt so helpless that I told him I had no reason to be having fun, even if I tried.  I was being hit from all sides and a lot of it had to do with things that were out of my control.

Tired of trying to coax me onto the merry-go-round, Greg grabbed my hand and dragged me to the rollercoaster that awaited our imaginations.  There he strapped us both in and we began the slow descent with pictures of our own lives filling the canvas of our minds.  

It started with a slow climb that I had enjoyed so much, when everything was smooth sailing for a while and I was excited to be alive.  As we reached the top, I had a full view of my life and I breathed in the feeling of flying high. Before I could exhale, I felt a little wobble while everything stood still for a split second and then – screams.  Plummeting to the earth with a petrifying inability to control, see clearly or stop myself from panicking; all I wished for was to go up again.  

Greg slammed on breaks and we came to a halt, hanging upside down in the centre of the big loop in the ride.  

“Let go!” He was suggesting I release my hands from the tight grip of the bars that protected me from my deathly demise. There he sat, strapped in besides me, waving his hands in the air and loving the excitement of the ride.   It is not that Greg is on the up and telling me to trust and have fun. He is hanging upside down beside me, also dealing with his personal frustrations, fears and insecurities.  My first response was to point out that his life was easier than mine at that point.  What good would that do me because I would still be hanging upside down, clinging to the bars that I did not trust and wishing that part of the ride was over with.

“Have fun!” It is another thing I know beyond a shadow of doubt; that the whole journey is about having the ride of your life.  

“Have fun” It is what Greg and I get so right and what we are always admired for.

“Have fun” What happened, you ask? 

I forgot! It is really as simple as that.  It is not that I had lost the fact that I should have been having fun; I was crying in Greg’s kitchen because I wanted the fun back.  

It is all the other things I lost sight of that took the joy out of the ride.  

I forgot that I am brave.

I forgot that I am resourceful.

I forgot that I have survived so much in my past.

I forgot that life never gives me something I cannot handle.

I forgot that I am always in the exact place I am supposed to be in my life. 

I forgot to have faith in myself and the process.

I forgot to love myself enough to not give up on myself.

I forgot to be gentle and nurturing to myself when times are rough.

I forgot to put myself first.

I forgot to take time to be grateful for what I do have.

I forgot not to worry about the past.

I forgot not to focus on the future.

I forgot that every situation is for and because of me.

I forgot to tell myself the truth.    

I forgot to set boundaries that only I should not cross.

I forgot that pain, fear and anxiety are not to punish me, but the strengthen me.

I forgot to not question what I am doing wrong it rough times, but praise who I am and rely on it when it counts most; for I am HAPPY, FULFILLED, ABUNDANT AND ALIVE!

Collectively: 

We have all forgotten to choose to have fun.

We have all forgotten that when we live our lives consciously, everything becomes an adventure.

Take a look at all of the things I forgot and use that to bring awareness back into your life.  Then climb back on the ride, strap yourself in and come play and have fun with us ... consciously!