True North + My Simple Rules
On the sailboat “True North” on Lake Superior - Sept 19, 2023
This year for my birthday I chose a solo retreat to Wild Rice Retreat Center on the shores of Lake Superior. It was the perfect mixture of nature, guided intention setting, yoga and free time to hike, write, dance (in a building all to myself!), and give thanks for all my blessings. I went with this feeling of a need to shed something, I wasn’t quite sure what. It has been a funky last few years with world, community ,and personal struggles. On my birthday, the morning intention facilitator she said, “The lake, she can hold a lot. Maybe release to her whatever you are holding that you’d like to shed. You can trust her to hold you.” It was a spiritual moment of release. And then as I meditated and sat in nature, we co-created. I found my “word of the year” and my simple rules.
My Word (ok, yes, it’s two words): TRUE NORTH
I want a year where I am making choices from what gives me life. Choices that are from my core values, utilize my unique gifts, and give me more energy. I want to live. And as Neale Donald Walsch said, “Life begins at the edge of the comfort zone.” So, more choices that push me outside of the comfort of old patterns and beliefs that no longer serve me. I want to make choices that put me on the path of my “true north.” I landed on “True North” because on my birthday retreat, I opened a car freshener my husband gave me called True North and then got on a sailboat named, you guessed it – True North! It felt very powerful and sometimes just going with what presents itself and keep it simple.
My Simple Rules
Quiet the Mind and Listen.
My mind has been racing and processing a lot, to the point that I’ve experienced some anxiety attacks. Normally, I can wrestle things to the ground, figure them out, get a plan, make a list, get them organized. It’s a strength, but also, I discovered, a way of protecting myself. I’m a little exhausted by all the ways I’ve learned that I protect myself by doing, doing, doing (definitely enough for a few more blogs!) And I know that when I sit, get quiet, and listen to my body, my breath, and my guides (angels for me), I feel what is in the present. I’m more able to make wise decisions based from a deeper place - not a reaction from an old pattern place.
Be as Tree.
I just love this one…to the point that I almost switched my word to “Tree.” “Be as tree” is multi-faceted, but I’ll keep it simple. For me the tree represents lifting my arms to the sky of possibility while having my feet firmly rooted to the ground of now. My trunk representing my core values, my spirit, and what connects my aspirations to the grounded now. This metaphor and frame of reference I learned from my colleague and dear friend, Juniper. The fruit tree gives the fruits it was created and designed to give. It doesn’t look around and say, “What do the animals around me need?” It creates from core-it’s true essence and purpose. In a sense, I realized, this is also about boundaries for me. Give and live in a way that is true me, versus looking around to see how other people want me to live or to give them. I will reach for the possibilities while staying present and listening, so I can act with wisdom. Sounds simple, but this girl has a lot of work to do! Learn more about the metaphor of the tree here.
Choose from Spirit.
Choosing from spirit is choosing from internal motivators, not external ones. When I get quiet I’m able to listen from my core, I’m able to choose more wisely, from the inside. After I listen, it’s time to act, to choose, to create from the place that is me. Full on authentic me. This is for all areas of my life, but the two I really want to zoom in on this year are my relationships and my work. In my relationships, I am focusing on being more aware and hopefully choosing activities, people, behaviors that contribute to me feeling more alive. That doesn’t mean constant harmony, it means living on the edge of the comfort zone where life really happens. In my work, I want to be more intentional about what type of work, what type of clients, and how I do my work instead of just taking what comes. As a solopreneur this can be difficult. What does it look like to choose from spirit versus wallet? What’s the balance of living in this monetized world on a spiritualized path?
When I look back and read my simple rules and word, I realize there is a thread of letting go of protecting myself in the old ways. It’s continuing to practice stepping into trusting my core, my spirit, my wisdom to keep me on the path or True North. It’s time to again listen and act even more deeply. I do not want to waste energy or my precious hours here working/ creating/ protecting/ accommodating in ways that do not align with what is true for me. I trust the Divine Spirit. That might mean I never retire, or that I have to give up certain things, or it could mean that my life becomes even more abundant. Living True north means listening and acting simultaneously from a quiet grounded place, a vibrant in the sky place and an energetic spiritual place. As I enter the path of uncertainty, I enter with an open heart.