The Universe Is Screaming At You, Now What?
(and 5 small changes you can incorporate into your life without having to uproot your entire existence)
Have you been feeling restless? Stagnant? Do you feel drawn to dive deeply into the unknown?
🌱Find the things and the people that nourish your soul, embrace them, savor them & take with you the memories.
🌱 don’t be afraid if you feel a tug in a new direction
🌱 or if it awoke something deep inside
🌱 you are a divine being capable of incredible things, don’t be stagnant, don’t limit yourself, come alive and embrace curiosity
🌱without judgement, unearth your inner wild.
Gazing up into the green leaves of birch and aspen and needles of the pines that create a beautiful canopy overhead, as the sun peeks through illuminating their contrasting colors. www.unrulywomen.org
Sometimes our paths cross with someone that awakens our souls.
It’s an undeniable magic that is otherworldly.
Sometimes inspiring, sometimes like a shift in tide taking you in a totally new direction whether you’re ready for it or not and “resistance is futile.” (any Trekkies out there? #IYKYK haha.)
It makes you question everything and everyone and historically in my own life has triggered me to uproot my entire life leaving everything and everyone as I know it behind (some may call this “running away” but it’s more than that -so let’s not try to compartmentalize this vast and ever-morphing experience).
I guess, I find it easier to start over brand new than to make small changes here and there.
Wildflowers covered the sand dunes of Park Point, still facing the direction of the sun, during sun set. www.unrulywomen.org
A lot of the time, it is something that scares me. That makes me suddenly feel like life is too short and what in the hell have I been doing with my time? (even if I’ve been doing plenty) Because it illuminates what I’ve been ignoring, avoiding, or haven’t been nurturing to make me whole.
I believe is soulmates (yes plural) and soul ties (a discussion for another time), but I don’t believe that someone else is out there to complete us. I believe, we are already whole and sometimes certain people and experiences help us find those pieces of ourselves that have been within us all along.
As you are, I’m learning to recognize my patterns, to learn from them and grow from them.
In the past I’ve dated people, thinking I loved them (and I did, just not always in the same way - I love a lot) and when I fall in love I fall hard. All in - or not at all, why wait and find out? Completely infatuated with them as a being admiring how they go about in the world - and then heartbreak, and part of that heartbreak feels like losing a piece of yourself. Consciously I can now recognize that being with them, would bring out a side of me that I thought would/could only happen with them around - unaware that it was all me, all along! Maybe, this happens to you too, or maybe there’s something that you do or try to surround yourself by to bring out certain sides of you that you like- not realizing that it’s all you and you don’t necessarily need that person or that thing or that vice to make you feel that way. It’s all, already you.
Lake Superior is pure magic. www.unrulywomen.org
This past weekend backpacking with Unruly Women in George H Crosby Manitou State Park (stolen land of the Ojibwe - - Anishinaabe) trekking through cedar groves and immersing ourselves in the cold refreshing iron rich water of the Manitou River… it (as it always does) reminds me of the things I love most, what I’ve been letting fall to the wayside, and what in myself I haven’t been nourishing.
In addition to the magical experience of the Unruly Women Backpacking Adventure, I also met up with an old friend that I haven’t seen in 12 years. This friend is intelligent, exciting, inspiring, motivating, playful and embraces absolutely every waking moment of this life.
As much as I’ve been trying to embrace every moment and incorporate things in my daily life to bring me joy, this weekend was a wake up call. Like a smack to the face by a wave I didn’t see coming. Waking me up to a part of me I’d let fall behind.
✨Over the last 5 days I EMBRACED SPONTANEITY✨
✨ swam even when I forget a suit
✨ watched the storms roll in
✨ backpacked in the wilderness with a beautiful soul & soaked it all in
✨ watched the embers dance under the stars in the sky
✨sweat, got dirty, played, laughed & reveled in the magic of it all
My face captured in this picture, sums up the last 5 days perfectly- radiating joy. Photo by Jonny Anderson www.unrulywomen.org
I’d be lying if I said that this whole weekend didn’t make me question everything. My usual trait of dropping everything, selling everything, quitting my job, pointing in a new direction and starting anew.
Although this seems to happen every August/September, this time, is slightly different. After the initial panic, some food, a nap, pages of journaling, dog cuddles, reaching out to an intuitive friend… and a really good nights sleep. I’ve been able to pinpoint the life changes that need and can be made without scrapping the one I’m living - because, like now, it’s not always the right thing to do. Not saying that hasn’t benefited me in the past, but for right now and the place I’m in (as a whole being) I don’t need to or want to scrap everything.
This experience has just illuminated what changes I need to make to make myself feel more alive. They’re doable changes that don’t make me feel like I need to burn my life to the ground. A few of them are:
🌱more Unruly Women Adventures each month
🌱painting - making art - no rules, no judgement
🌱less time in the city, more time out in the woods
🌱fearlessly trying new things, everything and anything and trying to see what works and what doesn’t instead of waiting/thinking/planning the perfect thing or nothing at all - doing what feels like, now, the bare minimum
🌱allowing myself some grace, kindness and understanding - fully acknowledging that I’ve done a lot, I am enough, and during these times of constant devastating news and seemingly constant outbreaks and tragedies - it’s healthy to tune out to tune in, to make time and space to fill my cup so I can better fill others’
Maybe this is completely unrelatable, maybe it is somewhat relatable, maybe you’re in a place that you’ve been ignoring the changes you need to make and now the universe is screaming at you that the time is now because you’ve ignored her for too long - - or maybe… there’s just a few changes you can make without completely imploding your current life situation.
Wherever you’re at, just know, that the pull on your soul’s strings are real. They’re guiding you where you’re meant to be and it is really fucking scary. But, once you make the change(s) that truly align with who you are, it just. feels. right.
Step into the discomfort zone, the universe will meet you.
A view from above, looking down as I carefully scramble over the rocks of the Manitou River. www.unrulywomen.org
Small changes that can lead to big changes (some are big, I suppose it’s a matter of experience and opinion)
Change up your food menu, find a new food blog, or look up a cookbook - have fun and play around with new recipes - you might like some, you might hate some, but the important thing is to TRY! (fun fact, preparing food is great for your gut biome which leads to all sorts of magic! )
Feeling restless? Try adding some grounding habits or try something completely new : make morning coffee with a french press or a pour over, go find yourself some trees to climb or hug - breathe with them, immerse yourself in some fresh cool water and feel your worries wash away, grab some paints and some paper or canvas and make art- do whatever comes to mind and don’t overthink it
Still feeling restless? Change up your scenery. Take a vacation, a staycation, find a park that you’ve never been to, find a creek or a river, explore a new part of town even if you can’t afford to buy anything or eat at a restaurant, have you been sitting too long in your office - head over to a different room, different view - even if it doesn’t make sense, go for a stroll, drive your car somewhere and sleep in it to find yourself awake in a new place - next to Lake Superior perhaps (just a suggestion ;) )
Hate your job? Try to narrow down what you don’t like about it, think about what you do like, and what you dream of. Does your current job/situation suck out your soul and is it killing the person you are? Been there - but still, try to determine the how and why and go from there! Quitting and finding something else is probably in your future, but it’s not always necessary to up and leave - - take a deep breath - - and try not to focus on finding the perfect job. If your new gig isn’t what you thought it would be and now you’re thinking you’ve failed and you need to “stick with it” - hard NOPE. It’s just one more stepping stone in the right direction of where you’re meant to be.
Don’t stop yourself before you try. Don’t think about what other people will say or think, no matter what someone will always disagree, have a different point of view, or have an ideal protection of what they think would be good for you. I often get analysis paralysis and overanalyze and overthink until I do nothing at all - - easier said than done, but honestly sometimes it’s better to just. do. Start. Now. GO!
The Manitou River, on our Unruly Women Backpacking Adventure. www.unrulywomen.org
***Disclaimer: As always, you are your own person, capable of making your own decisions regardless of external influences - take no shit but do no harm.
I believe in you, your feelings are valid and your dreams are within reach - - you’ve got this.
