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Are you ready to feel more alive? Are you tired of feeling tired? Do you dislike
pushing and hurrying yourself and those around you? Are you done with old
habits, outdated perspectives, and behaviors that don’t serve you any longer? Do
you crave space, simplicity, and unscheduled time? Do you desire to live a life
that is a reflection of your values and desires?
Breaking free is about being open to the internal shifts and course corrections
we need to make if we want to change our outer circumstances.
Now, not next year, is the time to define and claim your ideal life. To embrace
and believe in yourself and your worthiness. Not to fix yourself, but to align and
expand into the highest expression of who you are. To allow yourself to receive
support and guidance for your journey while in the good company of others.
What legacy do we want to leave behind, and who do we want to be in the
decades to come? Years ago, my husband, son, and I visited some old family
friends — and native Irish speakers — who live in a fishing village outside of
Dublin, Ireland. We took lazy cliff walks and farmer’s market trips together; we
fed the seals in the harbor; we ate fresh mackerel, sea bass, and Irish soda
bread with Irish butter every night; and we enjoyed conversations with some of
the warmest, most soulful people I have ever encountered. Like many Americans
who have traveled in and romanticized Europe, I couldn’t stop thinking about how
much simpler life seemed there. Yes, sadly, Ireland is becoming “Americanized,”
but still, the people seem more connected — taking time to enjoy one another
in simple day-to-day interactions, treading more lightly on the earth, and eating
more whole foods. There seemed to be a strong sense of vitality and vigor in
people of all ages, who walked and rode bikes everywhere.
But the thing that stayed with me long after the trip ended was how engaged
the elderly were and how they were treated and revered. The Irish seem to give
special love and care to the very old and the very young. The older generation
was integral to and active in their communities, and they modeled how I’d like to
be when I’m eighty: loving, present, and grateful to be alive.
My trip made me realize how quickly time passes — both how swiftly my first
forty or so years have flown and how fast the next forty will go. It reminded me
that I am making the choices right now for how I want to be and live when I’m
eighty. It’s up to me.
Living an awakened life calls us to go against the grain — to step off the
tracks — and challenge the ideals of our culture to create a life that nourishes us
from the inside out, regardless of the opinions of others.
Move slowly; change takes courage and time. As my Irish friends would
say in Gaelic: Tsg go bog I (pronounced toogguh bug ay), or “Be gentle with
yourself.”
Life balance coach/speaker Renée Peterson Trudeau is the author of the new book
Nurturing the Soul of Your Family. Thousands of women in ten countries are
participating in Personal Renewal Groups based on her first book, the award-winning The
Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal. Visit her online at www.ReneeTrudeau.com
Excerpted from the new book Nurturing the Soul of Your Family 2013 Renée
Peterson Trudeau. Published with permission of New World Library http://
www.newworldlibrary.com
Samantha, thanks so much for sharing this wisdom from Nurturing the Soul of Your Family with your readers. Families are really seeking fresh perspectives and tools right now. So many of us are ready to drop old habits and patterns that no longer work and explore new ways of being. It’s good to know we’re not alone and are all in this journey together! P.S. Every week we’re sharing excerpts, giveaways and articles from the book at http://www.facebook.com/nurturingthesoul if you’d like to check that out.