Life Lessons from a Labyrinth

What does the word “Labyrinth” mean to you? And I’m not talking about the freaky 80s movie with David Bowie!

A labyrinth is very different from a maze. A maze is meant to disorient and confuse as you move from the entrance to the exit. In a labyrinth, the entrance and exit are the same opening. The twists and turns guide you to the middle. There are no wrong turns, no dead ends, only one path that leads to the center point.

The experience of giving birth is like stepping into a labyrinth. You can read all the books, know all the terminology, but when you step across the threshold of labor, you step onto the path.

You will make it to the center (giving birth) as you stay on the path and keep moving forward. That’s all you have to do. The path will lead you there. You don’t need to think about the entirety of the labyrinth, but trust that the path will get you to the center.

Be intentional about staying present and just keep moving forward one step at a time. As you do, you will arrive at the center and birth your beautiful baby.

If you’re asking, but then I’m in the middle and how do I get back out? We’ll tackle that more in-depth another time. Your journey back out is what I call the 4th Trimester. The same rules apply to getting back out. Keep moving one step at a time knowing you’ll reach the opening out of the labyrinth.

We all experience labyrinths throughout our lives. Birth is just one. What’s a labyrinth you’re navigating currently?

The Answers are IN You

I did my life coaching training through Brooke Castillo’s Life Coach School. She is brilliant. People want to ask her lots of questions, because she is so confident, successful, and knows a lot. When I’ve been in trainings with her, people do ask lots of questions. About 85% of the time, she’ll answer with “You know the answer to that. What is it?” The person usually stumbles around a bit & then comes up with the answer. I often wonder why people keep asking questions. Maybe it’s because it makes them dig.
I love to read. I mostly read self-help type of books. I have a stack by my bed that I’m continually working through. I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I feel like when I finish all those books that I’ll finally know & be the perfect parent, wife, entrepreneur, organizer, homemaker, cook, etc. That’s not true. There will always be endless self-help books, podcasts, presentations that my brain will tell me I need to be able to know enough and be enough.
What if the answers are already inside you and me? What if we already know? I personally feel like that conduit of knowing is within me & upward heavenly. Between the two, I’m covered. So the next time you have a burning question, turn the question inward. Ask. Wait. Listen. The answers are in there. You know enough. You are enough.

COVID-19: Can’t plan for the future?

COVID-19 has really tossed life around a bit. It’s our Spring Break right now. A couple months ago, you probably made plans for this week. Those plans may have included a trip, one you may have even purchased tickets for. You had no idea that you’d be quarantined instead of partying it up at Disneyland. 

The future changed and now we are adjusting to those changes. The future with Coronavirus is uncertain, but the future is always uncertain. It always has been. We just take all the information we currently have and make a plan, and we realize that we may have to be flexible as the future continues to unfold its pages.  

The fact is we never know what the future holds. Yet we still make plans. Who could have predicted 6 months ago that the world would be homeschooling and for the most part, not leaving their homes? Not me! But that doesn’t have to stop us. 

You’ve got this. Don’t let the uncertain future stop you in your tracks. Gather what information you have and start working your plan.

Missing the Boat

I was working with my life coach yesterday. (Yes, life coaches need life coaches. Everyone needs a life coach!) I was unloading my drama, play by play, feeling the overwhelm & agitation of all of it. The thought that was causing all my drama was about missing the boat. She asked me what comes up when I think I’m missing the boat. 

I’m not sure how long it took me to actually reply to her question, but I felt like life paused for a few moments to show me a scene in my mind’s eye. I was standing watching a boat pass by. Then I turned to wait for another one, because I hadn’t caught the first. Something didn’t feel right. Then I realized that underneath me was a boat. I was ON a boat! 

That other boat was someone else’s boat. I didn’t miss the boat! I realized I was moving. I was already on my journey, in the right boat, at the right time, and at just the right speed. There was a peace & a trusting that settled in.

Listen, my friend, there are so many voices out there telling us where we “should” be. I say to those voices, “STOP IT!” It’s not even about where we end up in the end, but the journey we’re on right now. Take a minute & breathe. See that you’re on the boat. On the journey. Don’t miss it looking for other boats.