Hello, world!

Welcome to my website!  My very first blog post, how exciting!  I was going to wait to release this first post until after I made everything “perfect,” but I realized – here is an opportunity to practice what I preach.  So here goes, perfectly imperfect and all…

When are we ever truly ready for anything in life?  In my experience, hardly ever.  I may think I am ready, but I don’t actually understand what I’m really getting into until I am experiencing it first hand.  Lately I’ve been feeling the call to share my voice with the world.  I was going to delay – until I had more time, until I prepared enough content ahead of time to carry me through for the first few weeks/months, until I “felt” ready.  I realized that that was just my way of procrastinating and justifying to myself why I should stay within my comfort zone.  No more!

The conditions are never going to be perfect.  You just have to jump into life and trust that your wings will appear.  Granted, I believe in being as prepared as reasonably possible and I do not condone or encourage taking uncalculated, dangerous risks.  What I am saying is that you can trust yourself to handle whatever comes your way.  Trust in your abilities, your inner voice, your gut instinct.

Have you ever over-analyzed something and somehow ended up talking yourself out of the very thing you were trying to attempt?  I know I have.  My close friends can tell you how much I love to journal.  Reflection is important, and to me, it can range anywhere from fun, grounding, inspiring, to almost paralyzing.  I think there is a fine line between pumping yourself up to do something and actually going out there and DOING it.  I can journal or make as many calendars/trackers as I want.  I can read as many inspirational quotes and self-development books as I can get my hands on.  But the real magic happens when I DO the thing and am OUT in the world living life.  I fall for the common trap of trying to get myself all pumped up, only to see that excitement fizzle out before I’ve even left the starting gate.  But when I can catch myself and exhibit the 5 seconds of courage to JUST START what I set out to do, I quickly realize that there was nothing to be afraid of and that I am capable of doing more than I originally thought.

My close friends can also tell you how much I love to read.  I love books and blogs about personal development, psychology, and just living life as authentically and genuinely as possible.  I also really enjoy discussing these things with those closest to me.  I’ve read enough material now to notice that most of it is similar and very much related.  Life is simple; we make it complicated.  Undomesticate yourself and your worldly conditioning; be who you were as a child, who you still are deep down, who you have forgotten lives within you.  Everything is connected; we are all different parts of the same being.  Only love and light exist.  Nothing is perfect; everything is perfect.  All of these thoughts and ideas have become a part of me.  Many books and resources I’ve read and loved through the years touch on these concepts.  It is challenging for me to differentiate where one idea ends and where the other begins, because they are all related in my mind.  However, I will do my best to give credit where it is due and quote/cite other authors appropriately.

My hope for this website is to share my thoughts, ideas, dreams, and challenges along my journey.  I want to create a space to express myself through videos, art, and writing.  I truly believe that when we shine our brightest, we inspire others to shine their unique light, too.

I am taking a leap today and publishing this before I feel 100% ready.  I know that I will be glad I just started and didn’t let my own mind stop my heart from living life.  What is one step you can take today, no matter how tiny or huge it may be, to stretch outside of your comfort zone?  To start unleashing yourself and moving towards the person you really are, the person you want to be?  I believe in you.  Let’s gently push and encourage ourselves to shine a little brighter today than we did yesterday!