Easy Does It

Eilean Donan Castle, 2004

Last week's Creative Dreaming assignment was to look at our journey so far and see what came easy.

We always hear about artist's suffering for their work and passions...no pain, no gain, right?

This doesn't always have to be true.

When I started on this journey I remember asking that the process be joyful because I couldn't handle the changes coming in a cataclysmic, traumatic way.  I've had enough trauma over the years and I'm sure I'll have more in my life...so PLEASE let the course to my dreams be exciting and happy.

Has it been so far?  I'd say, mostly yes.  There has also been a lot of hard work and some unhappiness along the way.  I've begun to feel grateful for the unhappiness though, because I've started to realize that it's another tool to help me leverage my way into the dream.

So, back to what came easy.

Nothing that came easy came without work...let me say that right up front.  All the work that I've been doing on myself...the love I'm cultivating for my passion, for Scotland.  That has all been (joyous) work...but when I've stepped back and rested between the work, wonderful things have come to me.

*Writing this blog is (wonderful) work and it has yielded new friends in Edinburgh, a place to stay the next time I'm in town, and direction for my dreams...just by writing about my passions and thoughts. It even brought me the opportunity to profess my love to Edinburgh...

*Someone suggested I try a Reiki treatment 4 years ago, and I quickly found a place around the corner from my apartment.  That led me to research other alternative therapies and to eventually be attuned to give treatments myself. I discovered that there was a whole other world out there for me...

*My herbal path was laid out in front of me when I got an e-mail for a course called "The Art of Herbal Medicine Making," and a little voice inside me prodded me to take it...which led to "Herbal Alternatives to Antibiotics," which led to a workshop and weed walks...and now two years into a wonderful apprenticeship...

*The herbal medicine led me to cook more...

*Having leftover yarn prompted me to pick up the needles again...

*A gift of the Outlander books led me to want to check out Scotland because it sounded pretty...

*A fun, crazy, road trip around the UK in 2004...turned into something deeper than I could have ever planned...

*My love for Scotland, and a little voice telling me I needed to be there for my 30th birthday, led me to a retreat week in Forres where I had the idea for this blog...

*A magazine my Mother left on my bed led me to Iona and the "Matter Matters" week a year later...

*An e-mail newsletter about "Pilgrimage for Change" is leading me back...


Other things have been coming to me as well...possible and actual extra income, help with my website, new ideas for my dream business, new friends, opportunities, and so much support from the dearest people! The unsolicited outpouring of love never fails to touch and surprise me. I appreciate it more than I could ever express...and accepting it gets easier every day.

XO