The weekly chatty one: grab life by the cahoonas

As I write this following launch week, I am happy as a pig in the proverbial, chuffed to bits and…. honestly? I’m totally bloomin’ mentally exhausted. What a ride launching is! As you know, well it’s pretty obvious, I’m so hugely passionate about what I do; the courses I offer, the tools, the lessons, the conversations we have, the results my clients have, the strategies and uplift in feelings of calm, control, confidence, self belief, the list goes on. Not to mention the life transformations that come from doing this work. But wow, all the energy, excitement and gut felt emotion that’s surrounded every inch of this course launch has left me somewhat done in. But only done-in in as much as I’ve fallen asleep uncharacteristically within seconds of my head hitting the pillow each night; which is really lovely actually.

So, anyway, what I’m trying to say is, it’s completely joyous to me to be back here with you, relaxed, just having a good old natter using the medium of email. Back to thoughts (some profound, some far from it), noticings and the occasional tip and tool thrown in for good measure.

Well…. What a morning.

I’m typing this sitting in the hairdressers while my eldest is having her barnett snipped. The plan was to get up early, get the tram into town, have the hair sorted, then have brekkie together and hit the art shops for the creative one to indulge her passions, with the remaining xmas vouchers in tow (a tad dramatic, it’s a small piece of paper, it’s in her pocket).

Right at this moment, as I type, I am feeling so incredibly grateful for just being here, being alive and healthy. What greater privilege (argh, always spell that wrong, and broccoli if you’re interested - autocorrect can sometimes be a hero).

I mean that with all the gravitas with which I wrote it… I do feel SO lucky to be alive with my healthy kids and with very few cares in the world, that can’t be sorted at least, in some part.

So a couple of things have happened these past few days that have taken me back, made me hold my breath and instantly feel how precious this one life is. Yes I say it all the time, and yes I mean it from the bottom of the lowest part of myself I can express here… which is surely the souls of my feet? But that doesn’t sound very meaningful. Bottom of my heart? You get the bloody point anyway.

So, as I was saying, me and the eldest were getting the tram into Manchester for the haircut this morning. We got two stops along the track when the driver announced we had to stop due to a medical emergency on the tram in front. We duly pulled in behind said tram where a platform full of concerned passengers, who had clearly been asked to disembark, lined the platform.

Cue that lull in time where all fellow passengers of the tram we were all still on, tried to survey the situation to work out just what was going on (or really, at least I can speak for myself, trying to assess the severity of the medical emergency). Being close to the city centre, it could have been any number of things, usually someone who’s had a bit too much of whatever it is they have been consuming… that was my initial thought anyway.

10 minutes passed. We saw paramedics arrive, when we realised we were going nowhere fast… and it was likely pretty serious.

At this point you just start to feel so grateful it’s not you or someone you love don’t you? We decided to jump off the tram and call an Uber. As we walked past, I encouraged my daughter not to look and tried not to look myself; but I could see from the corner of my eye that CPR was being performed. We both linked arms for a moment (yes, a teen linked her mum in view of others. We needed that closeness). By the time we got to the top of the stairs from the platform to the roadside, we had both expressed how fortunate we felt to be safe and well. As the road came into view, so did two ambulances, one paramedic car and two police cars. We shared how incredibly grateful we also felt to live in a country where we have such fast access to medical aid and safety. We found our taxi and away we went. The feeling that other lives had been negatively impacted that day didn’t leave us.

Seizing and being grateful for every day you have your health and the gift of life is completely precious. There is literally no more valuable commodity.

On a more positive note, still very much in line with the seizing of life, there’s the opposite end of the spectrum too. Truly special moments have that same effect. That feeling that makes you value every single day here. Moments that take your breath away and once again makes you feel so flipping lucky to be alive. For me there was one particular moment… actually I can think of loads now I zoom into this thought… Aaaah that’s a nice thought to have isn’t it? That I’ve had loads of moments so wonderful they have taken my breath away in gratitude? Lovely! You know the kind, an experience so powerful it feels like it literally fills your heart right into every single space it has and almost tries to squeeze beyond?

One such moment, the one I was initially thinking of before I realised how many of them I’ve had… wait a minute actually. Stop. Let’s do something together now. Focus your brain right now on a moment that has taken your breath away… bet there have been a few, and bet they make you smile right now!. I’ve gone off on one again haven’t I?

Where was I?

Ah yes…. I was in Cornwall… or rather I was in Cornwall when this beautiful moment happened. I can see it, I can feel it. We were away on holiday, all four of us. Me, Rich and the children were on the beach. It was about 8.30pm/9pm at night and the weather had been completely beautiful. We’d been on the beach all day, bodyboarding, covered in sand, building sand sculptures (Rich is ace at sculpting, the kids are pretty great too… I’m great at watching and adding my words of encouragement). We’d gone back to the hotel, showered, got our night time nice clothes on and had a yummy dinner together, feeling all close and together. Then we went for a sunset walk on the beach and ended up in the sea, wave hopping with the sun setting (BEAUTIFUL), the kids laughing their hearts out, happy beyond words (oh blummin ‘eck, now I’m welling up) and it just felt like one of those moments where if I never felt another happy moment in my life, this was enough to fill the quota for them all. GORGEOUS. I’ve bottled that moment. Banked it. I can smell it, I can feel it, I can see it, I love it and I feel truly blessed to have had it.

That for me is what life is all about. Bits where you feel truly alive. Grateful to be here on this earth, truly and wholly you in that moment with people you love and doing something you LOVE.

And that’s my core vision and values here with SHIFT; to help people design lives they truly love living.

Life at this stage, our midlives, seems to me to be about rediscovering, uncovering, and maybe for the first time really discovering? It's a time where we feel a real SHIFT in so many things. It's a discovery phase. A time for newness maybe? It’s about finding out who you are, finding out who and where you want to be. What you love now, what you maybe always loved but didn't think was 'important' or 'sensible' enough to pursue, but now you feel it's time. It's an unmasking. An unveiling. A peeling back. Sometimes (often) it’s a scream from the innards, a release from the deepest depths. It’s a deep exhale and a relief beyond words. It’s about stopping gripping so tight, stop gripping at all. In fact, it’s time not only to release that grip but to open that palm, turn it upwards, and start to receive all this big, beautiful life you are so privileged to have been gifted has to offer and you have to offer in return.

Don’t forget to join our Facebook Group ‘A Journey To A Life You Love’ if you haven’t already, where you’ll find a lovely bunch of like minded, supportive women just like us. I’d love to have you in there with us. I'm in there every day and also live in there every Sunday night at 7pm.

See you there!

Have a wonderful week and I’ll be back in your inbox on the regular Sunday morning slot from next week onwards.