BlissChick

Movie: Into the Wild

So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greather joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." -- Chris McCandless (Main Character in Into the Wild)

I had the pleasure of renting Into the Wild this weekend and enjoyed it very much.  It is one of those movies that you get to experience something vicariously through this deep character and real life adventurer; Chris McCandless and his story. There is something by my account in this movie that we are all hungry for... freedom.   This movie and account of his life shares a kind of freedom that is truly rare and requires courage and the faith in yourself and the world that you are going to be okay no matter what.  That you can accept the risks, the fear and the not knowing how it will all turn out just for the experience of being alive.  That's what I call freedom!

I won't share what happens in the movie just in case, but by my account Chris McCandless gave us a look and a taste of something that everyone can have if only they "grab it" !

'If you want something in life, reach out in grab it.' -- Chris McCandless

Grab the movie too if you get a chance, it's an appetizer for anyone who is hungry for freedom.

Wendi :0)

Bliss Board (a.k.a. Vision Board)

At the beginning of the year I was invited to join a group of friends to put a vision board together.  I know it is a very coachy and common for go getters and the goal oriented.  This was my first and it was fun and now I am kind of hooked.  I have to say when I put it together I wasn't thinking of what I wanted to get really... but where I wanted to be and how I wanted to feel.  Putting it together felt like a ritual like planting a seed, the ingredients to a delicious recipe, or mapping out uncharted territory.  It felt good and as if something had been set in motion.

                                                                                                                                                                                         

I had been saving a file with pictures in it for quite some time and in fact since I put this one together in January I have filled a folder and could probably wall paper my room :0).  A file full of feel good you could say.

The great thing about doing this with a group of people was the feeling that we were all working on something very special and unique for each of us.  Different color backgrounds with different meanings, different pictures and arrangements.  You could feel this was a ritual for everyone and what started as nervous excitement and adventures in cutting and gluing became quiet, focused and powerful.  Because seeing it and pasting it permanently to the paper made it real.  Seeing it everyday makes it real and makes you feel.

I am not sure I could describe what this means to me, I just know it feels like me and it feels good, not just the pictures but this feeling and design like a tree was meaningful for me, with strong roots that run deep, and limbs that bear fruit.  I also noticed some themes that have always been important to me in my life playing a major role on my board, like travel, sailing, water (big portion of my board) my mom always said I was a fish.  The word a million came up many times on my board and it surprised me... initially I will admit a million bucks sounds pretty good and I fully intend to create that over and over throughout my life time, it took on new meaning as I built the tree that if I were to touch a million lives the rest would be taken care of. It seemed to evolve on it's own which was why it was so fun and it is always great to be able to surprise yourself.

So I look at it everyday and it makes me feel good, it reminds of the ritual of creating and that is how I imagine vision boards as being powerful tools of manifestation and in my words creation.  It's fun, call your friends and start to create, it might surprise you what gets glued and what gets left behind, or a major theme or shape appears seemingly out of nowhere and into creation.

Stay tuned for Bliss Board #2, becoming a new art form for me!

Wendi

Have you taken a LEAP today?

This week I received a call from someone who found my website and really needed some support.  It was apparent in the first moments of the call, this person was suffering…and my heart went out to her.  It did not take long to see why and the fact is that almost everyone experiences what this person shared with me at one time or another and it is what this person became acutely aware of on the day we talked.

You know that place between where you have been and where you are going?  You wake up one day or over a period of days or years to realize that you are capable of far more than you have allowed yourself so far.    I’ve heard it so many times with the people I have worked with and lived it myself. Whether it is a long term relationship, a career, a group of people or even living in your own skin that doesn’t seem to fit anymore… The growing pains and the ache of unrealized potential can shake you to your core.

The fear and discomfort alone is enough to have us running for the carbs, the next guy or girl or even the stereotypical convertible.  All to fill the hole of the past we just left behind.  It might be what some have defined as a midlife crisis… and while it may not feel good or easy it serves a purpose that is often misunderstood.  I see it as an opportunity to grow and expand and see just what you are made of.

This does comes with some side effects that if avoided can be detrimental to your growth, expansion and pursuit of happiness.  First you need to bask in the un-comfortableness of not knowing PERIOD… and I mean not knowing.  Try that on for a moment… feel like running?  Or has your mind just gone into overdrive grasping at straws and saying yeah but?  Or maybe you’re tempted to stop reading now?….  I understand… I do and there is something special about this wide open space called the unknown that few of us allow ourselves because of the fears, anxiety, the avoiding with the tricky seductive carbs, flings and convertibles.

Okay, back to what is so special about this space called the unknown.  It is in this space that the new has room to show up. That’s big don’t you think?  So often it is tempting to go back to what you know or settle for less than what you want.  But what if it is in this space and this space only… you get the bits and pieces or the epiphany that changes the course of your life. 

Once you get the bits and pieces, the AHA’s then you LEAP.  The truth is if we practice leaping often… like the apple a day theory, it may have prevented the crisis or the sudden uncomfortable awareness that we are not where we want to be.   It is as if all those leaps we thought of taking… but didn’t, caught up with us to say, “you still have time”… what will you do with it?

So that is the question right?  Whether you are in the murky middle… the in between or even just starting to feel an ache or longing for something more.  You are being invited into the unknown even if just to be curious, to know something you didn’t know before and when you know then and only then you have an opportunity to LEAP.

You still have time… What will you do with it?

Wendi

The Bliss Chick

P.S. For help with painful discomfort and side effects or to remove the fear of leaping I recommend joining me at the next Bliss Bootcamp!

"O" Knows Best

Every time you supress some part of yourself or allow others to play you small, you are in essence ignoring the owner's manual your creator gave you and destroing your design. ~ Oprah Winfrey