Photo by eberhard grossgasteiger on Unsplash

I haven’t made any resolutions this year. I used to make them with great enthusiasm. Now they feel a little passé and that it’s time for a different approach. Perhaps time to get in touch with my innate wisdom for guidance? I just have to work out how to “tap into it” …

Knowing and unknowing
It is five years since we embarked on our flexible lifestyle. Five years mixed with travel, varied work and meeting new people. We embarked on this “journey” into parts known and unknown. We have faced expected challenges and unanticipated ones. And, we have survived, at times thrived.

In my experience, when you make changes in your life there are times when you are crystal clear about where you are headed and why. There are also times which present less focus, with pathways forward less clear.

2019 has less clarity for me.

There are changes afoot – there always are – but there is no certainty about how they will pan out. Will we succeed? Will we find what we are looking for? How do we stay strong in the face of such unknowns?

Being and believing
Brené Brown is an academic who has researched how some people can deal with uncertainty. She says it requires the courage to not be perfect. It means accepting that about ourselves and therefore being able to be compassionate with others. She also observes that such people “fully embraced vulnerability … they didn’t talk about vulnerability being comfortable, nor … excruciating  … they just talked about it being necessary.” (Brown, 2012).

That meant having the willingness:

• to say “I love you” first … 
• to do something where there are no guarantees … 
• to breathe through times like waiting for medical test results … 
• to invest in a relationship that may or may not work out …
  Brené Brown, 2012: The power of vulnerability, TEDxHouston

Digging deep into our courage
So we are digging deep into our courage, knowing that the uncertainty is necessary with the investment into our next lifestyle change. We are focusing on why we are doing this, aware that the discomforts that accompany the ride are real and par for the course. There are of course many things to “do” to facilitate our movements. More that than, the value is in being able to “be” with the way it unfolds.

Intuition may be innate, but sometimes in the “doing” parts of life it is easy to be pulled away from it by the demands of the world. Having faith in my own sense-making is something that is getting easier but still needs nurturing. So although there will be times of discomfort, I am looking forward to our next endeavour.