Here we go

So I watched Eat, Pray, Love last night.  Wasn't going to, I'd read a rather scathing review a few months back and though it was just gonna be one of those hippy things that rich ladies do to 'find' themselves.  But it wasn't. It's a true story and the main character came across as very authentic.  Lots of it resonated with me and  I sat and cried my way though the film.

Timing is everything and I'll never cease to be amazed that things are dropped into our lives when we need them. Sometime we think we need them earlier than the actually get here, but if we can hold on, things usually work out in the end.

So, it's not always feasible to just up sticks, leave your family and those who love you behind, as attractive as it might seem at times.  But, there were a few things that really struck me.

Sometimes we all need a bit of space, and a chance to get rid of all of the internal clutter that builds up over weeks and months.  I know this. I've known this for a while, but I'm shit at doing it until things come to a head.  It's just the way I am.

Sometimes there are opportunities staring us in the face and we just can't see them for looking.  Now this IS going to sound really hippy and I feel a little foolish putting this out there but I need to get over feeling like that, because I think it's important at the moment. 

So here goes.

In one part of the film last night, a wise man was talking about Ganesha - the Indian elephant deity.  He said that Ganesha was the remover of obstacles, or gives us the faith to see beyond obstacles to a way forward. Well it struck me that I have a house full of bloody elephants, and it's about time I made them work for me. 


The girl in the film was also presented with a picture of another deity. This one was headless and basically meant that we should look with our heart and not our minds.  Now I'm already a fairly intuitive person, but if I didn't need to have a mind, then I wouldn't have been given one, so I think it's all about getting the balance right.  But I do tend to overthink things

Anyway, I woke up this morning feeling like a mental pathway had opened up.  I feel a bit more balanced, and have realised that what I need is a bit of a spiritual and mental detox.

Now I'm not about to go off and convert to Hinduism or anything like that.  I've had my share of formal religion in the past, but I think there are a lot of truths in various faiths.  I also think that ultimately, we have a spiritual dimension and all of the resources inside of us to live a happy and fulfilling life.  We just don't always know how to unlock them and make them work for us.


The second that struck me on waking this morning is that I have been given an amazing gift.  The gift of time.  My new working hours mean I work a week on and then have a week off. I already have loads of things I can fill my time with. the last two have been filled with a crafting frenzy and decorating Jenny's room.   But I need to be a bit more mindful of what I do and I need to spend a bit of time just replenishing my reserves.  It's a unique opportunity for me to get a bit more balance into my life and a bit of head space so that I can start to feel like I am moving forward again.