Lamisha Serf-Walls

Setting The Date For Action

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I have written a lot on my blog about flowing with the current of life and being in the moment because these are two things I personally need to practice daily.  And while I believe them to be key components to living a happy and fulfilling life, I also know a good dose of action is important as well.  The key is balance.  So as a piggy back to my post about revisiting resolutions, I am setting a bit of a plan for one of my resolutions.

I decided in 2012 that I really wanted to take my writing to a new level and accomplish my dream of writing a book.  I came up with a non-fiction book idea for adults, but have since decided to get my feet wet first with writing a series of children’s books.  In January I made some progress by inquiring about prices for editing and incidentally made a contact for a possible illustrator for the books that have yet to be written.  In the excitement of finding not only an editor, but also a potential illustrator, I decided I wanted a book deal by the end of 2013.  (Insert face of surprise and butterflies).

The idea that I would be a real life, published children’s author is far beyond my wildest dreams and somewhere in my mind, I wondered if it were possible.  Can I do this?  Can I really write a book that will be successful etc?  Those questions and so many more have led me to put it off and find many excuses for why I haven’t begun.  The ideas are floating around in my head, but nothing has made it to paper…yet.

I have since decided it is time for me to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and let my ideas come to life.  The book isn’t going to write itself and we are already 3 months into the year, so if I want a book deal for not just one book, but for the entire series, I better get moving.  So, here I am setting the date for when I will begin working on my first book of the series (March 20th if not before).  The loose plan is to have the book written and ready for the editor in a month and off to the illustrator shortly after that.

I realize I am diving into uncharted waters now and there is a certain amount of fear that is natural, but the bigger part of me is excited for what I am doing.  I dreamed this dream for a reason and am so excited to get the ball rolling.  December will be here before you know it and I can’t wait to share with you the good news of my book contract, because I know without a shadow of a doubt it will happen.  🙂

So tell me, have you set a date to begin any of your goals/dreams for this year?  What are you waiting for?  Don’t let fear stop you from moving forward even if it is just a teeny, tiny step.

Resolutions Revisited

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I have to say I can’t believe March is here already.  It seems like not too long ago I was thinking, dreaming, and intending my year ahead full of wonder, magic, and awe.  Ah how quickly the newness subsides and everyday life takes over.  Laundry, work, bills, and life all go on and sometimes our dreams, goals, and resolutions fall quickly to the background.  I suppose that is why many resolutions fall by the wayside never to come about again until next year…that is unless you revisit them.

Last Friday it hit me that we are now entering the third month of the year and my excitement for 2013 had dropped dramatically.  So much that I wasn’t thinking of my dreams all that often and my passion was waning too.  The realization that I was no longer as excited for what is to come as I was in January really got me thinking.  How could I let all of that excitement and fire just fizzle out?  Where did it go?  More importantly, how do I get it back?

I don’t know if there is a set formula to finding your fire again, but this is what I have come up with so far.

  • Remember your resolutions/dreams/intentions.  Revisit the goals you wrote down, the things you told your friends you wanted to do, but most of all FEEL them.  Feel the fire, passion, and desire you had when you set them.  Revisit your resolutions and make friends with them again.
  • Know that each month (and each day) is new and you can recreate the newness whenever you want.  Maybe at the beginning of each month you want to set a mini celebration for what you accomplished the month before and look forward to what is coming in the next month.  Maybe you wan to journal about all the gooey goodness that you had in the month before while setting your intentions for the month ahead.  Whatever you do remember every day, week, and month provides a new start.
  • Bring back the magic.  When the clock struck 12, you were likely filled with a sense of wonder and magic for what was waiting for you in the coming year.  I can’t tell you how many times I heard or read “2013 is my year” only to find that thought is forgotten a few weeks later.  Bring that magical feeling back to life.  Read inspirational quotes, stories, and blogs.  Find someone you admire and ask them what they do to keep the magic and wonder alive.  Embrace positivity and allow it to fill you up each and everyday.  Sounds corny, but it works.

I hope the steps above help you to breathe life into your resolutions and goals and you enjoy not only the things you planned for, but also the delicious surprises that await you.

Now it’s your turn.  What do you do to keep your resolutions alive?  Let me know!

Gratitude: Focus

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I have spent several days away from my blog and though it certainly hasn’t been on purpose, I am finding myself changing and growing (again).  Of course change and growth are two things that don’t really stop and are for the most part good things, but as far as my blog is concerned, they sometime cause me to take some time to look inward to process everything.  With that said, I didn’t want to miss my one gratitude post a week because it really is a good reminder for me to practice gratitude on a daily basis.

This week I am grateful for focus.  While my focus has been a bit scattered at best lately, I am finding myself constantly bringing my thoughts back to the present moment.  Whatever task I am completing at the moment works out for the better if I can offer my undivided attention and focus to it as opposed to being split between various tasks.  Splitting my attention is rarely the most effective use of my time, though it is something that has become far more of a habit than I care to admit.

I am also grateful for bringing my focus closer to home, meaning focusing on the things that affect my family and I personally rather than get involved in others business.  Again this is something I am constantly reminding myself to do because for far too long I have been playing the role of rescuer to people, situations, and circumstances that may not really need or want my help.  So, I am taking my focus back a little bit and focusing on myself and my family.  I am beginning to think more about my dreams and how I can create the space, time, and energy for those things I want to bring to fruition.  I am also formulating a loose plan of action and seeing where the tide takes me, because while focus is a good thing, it can often be limiting as well.  So, here’s to having a soft focus on my little world and much gratitude in my heart for all that unfolds.

What are you grateful for today?

Lessons In Layers

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I have had an epiphany this past week and it is one that I believe I have begun to develop over the years, but for some reason this it is hitting me now.  Maybe it is because I have been doing a lot of internal work, thinking, ruminating, and wondering about life and my journey in this life.

I just realized lessons aren’t learned in distinct moments, but instead occur in layers over time.

It seems I have had many “aha” moments throughout my life only to find myself repeating the same “aha” only to a different degree or in a different situation.  A friend of mine posted something a few months back about learning and re-learning lessons and I told her I thought of learning in the form of college courses.  Instead of learning Patience (period), we learn Patience 101 and Patience 202 etc.  It seems that there are various situations that we can learn the same lesson and yet it still feels new.  And since I tend to have a lot of “aha” moments, I would like to think I am learning them on another level as opposed to believing I am just too stubborn to learn.

As I have come to this Lessons In Layers theory, I began thinking of the lessons that I feel I have learned at least on the surface level.  For instance, thoughts become things, positive thoughts=positive experiences, patience, letting go, allowing life to flow, etc.  I truly believe those are things I have learned, or at least understand on some level and yet I find myself in situations where I realize them in entirely new ways.  It can be both exciting and frustrating depending on how you view it (yet another layer) and yet I feel the same way about personal growth.

At one point in my life (more recent than I care to admit), I thought growing and evolving personally and spiritually was not only a journey, but one that actually had an end (before death of course).  I thought I could hurry up and learn these lessons in order to get to a life of unfettered bliss.  Some part of myself thought that my happiness would begin once all my dreams came true and I would finally be able to live happily ever after.  And being the go-getter that I am, I found myself doing all I could to get there, only to find I was losing this beautiful journey by being caught up in a non-existent destination.  If it wasn’t for a very dear, very wise friend of mine telling me (more than once) that life is about the journey and growth is happening all the time, I would likely still be pushing my way to the end..wherever that may be.

So where am I today?  I am not at the end at all and I am ok with that, for the most part.  I have accepted the fact that I am growing everyday and learning lessons in various layers, in various situations and times.  I am learning to flow with life and sometimes I need a gentle reminder while other times I need a good bonk on the head to revive this important lesson.  The most important part of where I am right now in life is my journey.  I am coming to a place of presence in both mind, body, and spirit to how magnificent life is no matter what is going on.  And while this is a lesson that will come and go, I am ok with taking it slow sometimes.  Sometimes we just need to absorb our experiences with our entire being before we take another step and give thanks for the journey.  I am learning that the journey is the best part…

Gratitude: Perspective

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Last week I had a few moments where disappointment had set in and I turned into a negative Nancy (momentarily).  It seemed that everything I have been working for just wasn’t enough and the things I needed to happen were going nowhere.  I felt stuck, frustrated, and hopeless.  It was not a good place to be, and I wasn’t a delight to be around for sure.  I knew in my head that the “issues” I was feeling were just my way of fighting against what was my current reality and that I needed to desperately find the positive in the situation for fear of falling into a dark abyss of despair.  It sounds much worse than it was, but you couldn’t tell me that in the moment.  So, I took some time to sit with my disappointment and while I felt like everything was going wrong, I slowly but surely came back to my normal self.  I began seeing the situation for what it was and decided to view it from a new perspective.

I am so very grateful for perspective because no matter what life throws at you, if you can shift your perspective for a moment, you can see things with fresh eyes.  For me it meant shifting my thoughts away from what wasn’t happening and moving them to what is happening.  It meant shifting my view of what I didn’t have to see the many blessings I do have.  It also meant viewing my current situation as a gift.  A gift of realizing even when things aren’t going as planned or aren’t moving as quickly as I would like them to, I am still blessed and exactly where I need to be at this moment.  For some reason that thought takes some of the heat off of myself and allows me to stop fighting the current of life and allows me to flow.  Of course you couldn’t tell me that in the heat of the moment.  I am a bit stubborn and can be emotional too, so before I can shift my perception I have to first feel the frustration, anger, and disappointment making sure not to let it linger too long.  I will chalk this up to another lesson learned or at least one I am continually learning.

Perspective is truly a gift.  What can you change your perspective on that would change your reality a bit?