Say "Yes"!

In Australia, when you try something, you 'have a go'. This doesn't mean you'll be great at it, or that you'll always necessarily like it, but you do try it nonetheless.
When we were children, we were told to try things, lots of things, from new food to new activities and even new friends. Somewhere along the way, I think we get a bit stuck. We tend to focus on the comfortable and familiar and our world shrinks a bit, becoming smaller and more insular.
 This isn't intentional, and sometimes quite reasonable...if you don't like Brussel sprouts, you probably won't have to keep trying them in order to confirm that fact.
But--what about the things you've not tried and maybe passed up because you thought you were too big, too small, too old, too young, too whatever?
Over the past few months, I've tried to say 'yes' to trying different things. Here's just a few of the things I've tried:
1.) Consecutive games of laser tag
2.) Rock wall climbing
3.) A massage from a franchise that specialises in massages
4.) Shooting real guns
5.) Joining an art association
6.) Cognac
7.) Hiking uphill in the snow in tennis shoes
8.) Watermelon iced tea
9.) Wine tasting in the Willamette Valley

Some were big and some were small, but I've found that trying any new thing requires a mindset of 'yes' instead of 'no'.

There is a Jim Carrey movie called 'Yes Man' that takes this to the extreme. His character is required to say 'yes' to every opportunity presented to him, sometimes to his detriment...but, what if we tried to say 'yes' to something new every day? What if, when presented with the option, we said 'yes' to a different flavour, 'yes' to that suggestion our kids make, 'yes' to catching up for coffee or drinks with a friend, 'yes'to that idea rattling around in our head that seems impossible? 'Yes' to a new hat even if we don't normally wear them, but we just love the colour?

Once you say 'yes' for awhile, I think it comes as a bit of a surprise how often we actually say 'no', and deny ourselves small gifts of surprise and delight, making our world a little less than it might otherwise be.

This year, I'm going to continue to say 'yes' to opportunities big and small, given the option. I encourage you to to say 'yes' to one different thing each day and see what might change...even if it's only discovering a new found taste for Brussel sprouts or a new love of hats.

My favourite words.....

Would you describe your life as abundant? How about extravagant? Today, I've been thinking about those words, partly because of a book I'm reading called "The Artists Way", and partly because these words resonate with me.
It's easy to get caught up in wanting the things we don't have, whilst overlooking the things we do. I'm guilty...for sure I want a new floor of some sort in my front lounge, and I feel I won't rest until that's a done deal. I have a particular hatred for the shade of carpet that I have, but don't get me started.
Really though, that's a first world problem and the rest of my life I could consider full of abundance. Not just "I have enough" or "everything I need", but abundant....full. Overflowing even. I have in the past come from a mindset of lack- focussing on the things I don't have. But it occurs to me, once I think of my life as abundant, all of a sudden I have a surplus. Something to give away- something to share.
And when I think about sharing, I think about sharing extravagantly...out of abundance. I love the word "extravagant". It conjures up for me things that are valuable and beautiful. You can be extravagant with money, but can you be extravagant with sharing yourself and what you have to offer the world? Let it all go out there? Release yourself extravagantly and see what happens?
What would happen if we shared extravagantly our own, authentic selves?
You might think its risky...nothing of value comes without a price. But I wonder, if we could share our weird selves in an extravagant way, wouldn't we be better off? Wouldn't it be good to share ourselves in a valuable and beautiful way with people we know, as well as people we don't?
My challenge, as I think about those words, is to live authentically and to give extravagantly out of abundance...it may be that someone might have needed just that, in order to feel that they too, have something beautiful to offer.

Home

Home is where the heart is. Where you lay your hat is your home. Home for the holidays. Home on the range. And in the immortal words of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, "There's no place like home."
It's been a week since I've been home. I was in the US for two months on long service leave, away from my work in Australia. It was a challenging and meaningful journey. Those who have experienced long haul flights can attest to the challenges of such a trip. For a number of reasons, I wasn't able to go home for nearly 5 years. It would be fair to say that I longed deeply for the place where I could be at rest...at peace...a member of my original family. If home is the place you can be yourself and people love you anyway- I wanted to be there.
Being home came with its challenges- I had to drive on the other side of the road, I had to figure out how to find things in grocery stores all over again, and in Oregon I had to let someone else pump the fuel into the car. But, being home also brought exactly what I longed for- a sense of peace, of belonging, of acceptance. A sense of being able to be myself and having people love me regardless.
I was able to be with people I hadn't seen for many, many years as well as family who had been to Perth over the last year. I also has the opportunity to meet new people, and make new friends going forward in the next chapter of my life. I was blessed by the love of people who have been and will always be a big part of my life and who I am.
And now I'm in my other home, where  it is currently 80F at night instead of snowing, and I consider myself lucky- to be able to to have the best of both homes.
Wherever you are tonight, I wish for you the peace and rest that comes from knowing where your home is- and that you can always return, whether that's in a place or in people, and hope that you experience that belonging and acceptance of being loved for who you are.

Time and Tide

I live next to the Indian Ocean. It's a fact. The way the water moves on itself, back and forth, according to the earth's grand design, against the white sand of the Western Australian coastline, never ceases to amaze and calm me. 

My oldest son is 18. His father was a fantastic surfer with a deep bond with the sea. He was never more at peace than when he was next to, in, or on the waves of this mighty ocean. My son is as much his father as he is me, and loves the ocean. When his father died last year, we took his ashes and spread them at his favourite surf break down south in Gracetown, Western Australia. The surfbreak is called Lefthanders and it is a popular break. 

My son graduated from high school in December and spent 2 months travelling the US with me. When he came home, he went down South and visited the surfbreaks that his father loved. In a particularly poignant moment tonight, he shared with me his experience in that place. It was a truly personal reflection coming from a young man who has learned his own strength over the past year. 

I was overwhelmed by his reflection, and how far we have all come in the wake of what was a tumultuous time. 

In the midst of the turmoil around us last year, people would tell us that time would begin to heal what had been broken. I tend to think it is time, and the tide- the natural turning of nature on itself in a rhythm none of us can understand, which is healing. The tide of life, bringing trying times along with peace, love and new beginnings is what brings us closer to understanding our past and giving us the capacity to embrace our future.