The balancing act of being

My idea of work/life balance used to be diving into a bottle of wine on a Friday evening. My weekends were about recovering from the onslaught of the busy working week, gearing up for another round on Monday. Distracting and numbing myself with travel plans, retail therapy, Netflix and all sorts of pleasures, spending my hard-earned money to hide the fact that I was mentally exhausted and empty.
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One day I got to the end of the long and busy road and my nervous system just fell flat and said 'nup'. 

So I plucked up the courage to leave my high-end job (which I'd spent many years striving to achieve) and find another way of being and vehicle through life. There had to be another way to make a living (and a life) that I didn't need to escape from.
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So here I am, 2 months into my new world, and I'm finally starting to settle into my new skin. It's taken a while to adjust to having space and not filling it with lots of things to do – to break the habit of being busy. I've had to learn to sit with the discomfort of feeling lost and make friends with 'being still' so I could hear its message and let it pass rather than it driving me to do crazy things like clean all the cupboards (not a bad side affect however).  

My decision making requirements have changed dramatically – my executive decisions are now about whether we should have broccoli or pumpkin soup for dinner (I have awesome recipes for both btw - DM me!) I've had to adjust to my current working title as a stay-at-home labrador aged care provider (which I'm loving by the way). 

While my new areas of expertise became resting, soup making, nature gazing and labrador snuggling, they were all vitally soothing as I allowed the old skin to melt away so a truer skin could emerge. Week by week I've felt lighter and have felt my energy levels lift.

I've had the privilege of investing my energy in things that make my heart sing. I've created and started my nature yoga program (with the support of my amazing guinea pig friends) and have opened the doors to being a freelance creative consultant too. I am now navigating the excitement/terror of putting myself out there.
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Having the space to allow the gunk and discomfort and giving myself permission to rest and restore in nature and listen to my self (rather than ignoring her) has been key to finding my new vehicle through life I feel. For having the headspace to be honest with ourselves, making space to listen to our hearts and give them what they need, surely that is the compass point for true balance in life.