Openness is not the end - it’s the beginning. Lucy Sanderson
How does a person be open to new and uncharted waters when life’s thrown them a few curve balls, or worse still, pied them straight in the face on numerous occasions? Not easily. That’s how. In the interests of openness, I am serving myself up as the ‘person’ or ‘case study’ for the benefit of this article… I’ll be as open as I can be…. here goes. So, a little while ago, I had an epiphany. It was around the time I was being awakened to my mid-life ‘crisis’ status (if you didn’t read my last article, shame on you). In this revelation, I came to the conclusion that I was getting stuck in a bit of a rut and I needed to get my backside in gear and expend some energy pursuing something new. I’m not generally one for exertion and activities so I decided the easy pace of an electric bike would be for me. *Cheers lovely chaps in Big Maggies for giving me the ability to break the sound barrier down Queen’s Road - exhilarating! Anyway, the electric bike has been a dream in opening up the island to me (I don’t drive) and allowing me a decent dose of fresh air and a way with which to get to the beach for a dip. It also gives me plenty of time to be in my thoughts… cue second epiphany: even though I am surrounded by people, I think I’ve been lonely.
I mean, my life is brimming; I have the best daughter in the god damn universe, folks who are awesome and I won the lottery when it comes to beautiful, brilliant friends… it’s also bountiful in terms of interesting work and great people to get creative and vibe with. What it definitely hasn’t included (for a really, really long time), is another person to share all the good stuff with. It’s bloody scary, being open with that precious, pulsating piece of soul equipment we hold dear in our chests, isn’t it?! The concept of it frightens the living daylights out of me. Or at least, it did. I think I might have just let a little bit of light in recently. No need to be too open with you lot though… Being open to something with as much risk and magnitude as your heart is frankly, scary as hell and as it turns out, I love it! I’ve even started sailing - so much for ‘no activities’ - it’s a pirate’s life for me!
Being open to something with as much risk and magnitude as your heart is frankly, scary as hell and as it turns out, I love it! As far as openness goes, being aware of it can sometimes be tricky. How the heck do you know if someone is open to your ideas, open to meet you halfway in love or open as in ‘real’ at all? People are funny creatures and let’s face it, we’re not all open (as in honest) because it can be really unnerving to unveil all of yourself. But… what if being open was as normal as breathing? What if filters and hindrances from preconceived worries were removed from the equation altogether and we could just be as candid as can be? Now THAT would be exhilarating. Openness is a form of vulnerability, of sheer trust in the unknown; a bit like bungee jumping, or something. If this article is to be of any use at all, then I guess it’s important to mention that during my reconnaissance mission into openness, I found a few practical things helpful. My dear friends Nikki and Joelle really helped me last year with harnessing the power of meditation (I’m an avid over-thinker, so guided ones work best - Deepak Chopra specifically). As well as ‘going inward’ through meditation, I head up to my happy place once a month; The Journey. Massage and reflexology and all the good stuff can really set the tone for opening up to abundance and all the opportunities life can offer. Whatever you need is always there, if you look and if you find the lessons - you just have to be open. “It’s funny how we outgrow what we once thought we couldn’t live without, and then we fall in love with what we didn’t even know we wanted. Life keeps leading us on journeys we would never go on if it weren’t up to us. Don’t be afraid. Have faith. Find the lessons.” - Tiny Buddha Lx
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