Beginning Again
It is the 9th of April, 2021 and I am just beginning to feel comfortable as a new entrepreneur. This dream has been redeveloping itself for nearly 30 years, beginning as a Bed & Breakfast venture, to a full Retreat Center, to just an Event Center, and several variations on that theme of hospitality and service. Along the way, I have been able to revise and edit my desired offerings in thought and on paper. On January 1st of this year, I was compelled to open Urban Sanctuary, as a ‘retreat-ing center’. . . it took three months to come up with my tag line: Inspiring Tranquility (thank you, Amy). Once I saw that in print, I knew it was right. So, now comes the hard work of setting in place all the tools to help seekers find this beautiful space that truly does inspire tranquility and peace.
My goal is to help those who find their way here, to learn to ‘be still’ . . . likely the two most difficult words to transform into an action (we must actively create stillness)! That is only the first step. Once you have mastered stillness, then comes the work of discerning the voices . . . keeping the helpful ones and discarding those useless ones. Again, the action of creating stillness. This frees up our soul to tap into the creative spirit within each one of us and inform us of its activity. There are some who equate ‘creative’ with artistic, and, those who hear ‘creative’ and think ‘arts-and-crafts’; it’s really neither/both/but so much more.
The creative spirit within is a stirring to bring forth the one thing that you, and only YOU ___(your name here)___ , were created to give to this world. It is your deepest desire and cannot ‘come out to play’ amid chaos, frustration, anxiety, stress or just plain busy-ness. Although, there are times when bogged down in the doldrums of daily tasks, a spark may seem to get ignited, a thought appear out of ‘nowhere’ to remind us that our dreams are still awaiting our action, before they can be turned into reality. But, we have to stop and listen, intently, before we can hear what is trying to be conveyed.
So, you are still, you’ve heard what you believe could be a calling from a space deep within. The only way to tell if this is your true calling is to monitor how you feel afterwards . . . do you feel at peace? . . . or . . . do you feel anxious? . . . or fear? The Source of Love in the Universe, (which I am comfortable calling God, while others certainly are not), cannot live in the same space as fear. The gift of Peace is a gift from this Source of Love. Fear is not. Move towards those feelings, ideas, and actions that produce Peace and you will be well-guided.
Allow yourself to consider that the Source of Love is also the Creator of the Universe, by whom we were created, with and for Love. Consider that we were created in the Creator’s image, so therefore, we too, are creative, Creatives. This desire to create something that begins to unfold in the silence of stillness is the beginning of your incredible journey to be and do the one thing for which you are here!
You are the only YOU___(your name here)___ , in the entire Universe. There is no one else like you. And, no one else can accomplish what you were sent here to do. Many of us have similar dreams and goals, but they vary in such nuanced ways so as to allow for the individual unique properties we will each bring to creation.
So, what then? How can you use this gift, this creative spirit to better the world? It does not have to be a grandiose plan or project, in fact, it’s best to start small and close to home. Quite often, we keep that most precious part of ourselves away from others, especially those to whom we are closest/love the most. We dare not risk them dashing our hopes and dreams, so we often just keep that dream tucked safe inside and the world is not able to enjoy the benefits of such uniqueness.
Once we are brave enough to speak our dreams, and the Universe and it’s Creator receive that communication, the flood gates seem to open with potential, with synchronicities, opportunities and companions for the journey.
This is the crux of my work. Helping you find: stillness, your voice, your creative spirit, your gift to the world and companionship for your journey . . . this creates tranquility and ultimately helps to heal the world of so much tension, anxiety and stress, even if just one person at a time.
I welcome you to consider me your Anam Cara (from my Irish heritage, ‘soul friend’ or ‘soul companion’), and I look forward to hearing the sacred story of YOU and how it develops as you make discoveries along the way.
Blessings on your journey . . .