Always Do Your Warm-Ups

Quote of the day: “The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want.” – Ben Stein

The idea for this blog came to me in October 2009. (I had no idea about the Julie & Julia movie! Pblssst.) We had just opened One Village Dance Centre after a year of mobilizing political, social and emotional capital, and after five years of envisioning such a project. I was sitting on the hand-me-down couch in my writing room that looks out into my backyard, settling into the stillness within. I reflected on the tremendous rollercoaster of getting a business opened and could feel the effects of the ups and downs, twists and turns. A mild case of whiplash still lingered throughout my body. I was amazed, and still am, that we were able to create from the unseen what is now seen; that we were able to sign a lease on a building with no money in the bank or assets to leverage, yet only a knowing, a trust, that it will work itself out; that we fill find a way to make it happen. And we did.

When I would hear similar stories like this that happened to other people, I would always get stuck in the, “How did they do it? Really.” Over and over I would hear all about the faith thing, and the unwavering trust and belief in the project that ultimately led to opportunities, answers and solutions. It’s as if the will of those people found the way. I could understand this spiritually, but not mentally. I could understand this when it comes to a single person, without the responsibilities of providing for others, because I could relate it to the adventures I experienced in my early twenties. But I could not for the life of me wrap my brain around how someone could leap with multiple bags in tow.

It turned out I was one of those people. I leaped while carrying more than the single bag I had grown accustom to and I landed in the reality of the dream. During the first three months of signing the lease, where the fundraising part was so crucial, I was electrified. I had a tremendous amount of energy. I mobilized. I was inspired. Most importantly, I believed down to the very essence of my core that we would persevere. I didn’t know how, and I didn’t exactly know when, but I knew that we would. And we did.

However, I did learn that bringing a dream to reality, even when you’re dialed in to allowing spirit to guide you, isn’t so smooth. There were numerous starts and stops; steps forward and steps backward. There were times of joy and times of fear, but throughout each of these times, there was always trust in a hopeful outcome. The most important life lesson I learned throughout the year was detachment. In specific terms, I learned to detach from outcomes. I would set goals and intentions, but I stopped attaching to how they would play themselves out. Attachment only brings suffering because there is no wiggle room; no room to grow, change or evolve. Detachment allows you to remain open to the fruition of the intention.

As I gazed out the sliding glass door in my writing room, taking comfort in our ability to open the doors to our dream, both physically and metaphorically, I realized we had only just begun. The real work was in sustaining; in keeping the doors open. But, I remain detached to what sustaining looks like. I recognize this challenge daily, but I don’t give in to the fear now because I didn’t before. And today, I have physical proof of what trusting in a hopeful outcome can bring. I dance in it every night.

So as I recognized where we had come from and what was required before us, I thought to myself, “Why not do the same thing with my ‘work’ in life?” I believe in me. I believe in what I dream my life to look like and feel like in regards to lifestyle. I don’t know exactly what it looks like in terms of a defined job description, but I have plenty of ideas on what it should feel like. I know what I am good at and what brings me joy when I am doing it. What I don’t know is how my dream of a work-life will be financed. But we didn’t know how the studio would be financed either when we leaped.

This is how I came to the idea of the blog. It didn’t feel right to start the blog then. I was inspired to begin with the New Year. Not because of the cliché New Year’s resolution, but because of the significance in documenting a full year from the beginning to the end. Starting in mid-October just felt wrong, energetically. Also, I needed a few months to build up the courage to commit to such an idea.

My intuition knew the time was right when we signed the lease to the building, and I know my intuition will tell me when the time is right to make the career leap. I’m feeling rumblings, but it’s not the time just yet. I also thought it would be important to document the time leading up to any changes. Just as anything in life, how meaningful would the end result be if we didn’t have a sense of the beginning?

We just don’t leap in life out of nowhere. There’s a training period; a build-up. Spiritual exercise is no different than physical exercise. We always need to warm-up; lengthen and strengthen. Then, we get to a point where it’s time to go—to jump!

I'm stretching my hip flexors and spirit flexors about right now.