I Used To Be Bound But Now I Am Free....

I absolutely love how life comes together.  As I have mentioned in several posts I am taking part in a 30 Day Bravery Challenge.  I have been quite lax in completing the exercises because I was partaking in a slo pitch tournament and I was too impaired and distracted to be able to focus.  Not to mention that there was never a quiet moment to string two thoughts together.

So tonight I sat down to follow through on the exercises.  One of the challenges asked us to comprise a list of five things that we have overcame in our life.  We were to choose one and journal about how it is that we felt when we were in it and also how it felt when we rose above it.

I was able to come up with five challenges that I was able to overcome in a matter of seconds.  The hard part was to chose one to journal about.  In the end I chose the experience of when I was sexually assaulted by an authority figure.  I have mentioned it briefly in a previous blog post.  And the exact event details do not need to be discussed here.  The events that followed are the ones that needed to be overcome.

I am not certain if you can relate to my story.  This event happened in a small community.  In a community that was so close knit I was the new kid because I did not attend kindergarten in that school.  The event occurred in Junior High.  A young girl accusing a school principal of something of that nature rocked the community.  Everyone instantly had an opinion and very few opinions were forged on facts.  My life and the life of my family was turned upside down.  When I returned to school the day after the incident I was filled with trepidation.  I had hoped that no one had found out.  That life would somehow be normal.  Instead what I met was a bunch of angry junior high students who were not mature enough to form their own opinions.  They were only able to repeat the opinions of their parents.  These opinions were steeped in fear and an unwillingness to believe that a principal could ever do such a thing.  Rather than consider it being a possibility it was easier just to slander a young adolescent.  I went from being a tall, skinny, awkward tomboy to a slut and a liar.  Everyone felt it was their right and obligation to tell me that.  Even the teachers were cold and unwilling to step in and stop the running commentary.  The comments only gained more fuel as time went on and we inched closer to the trial date. At the end of the day the courts determined that I was indeed telling the truth.  This did nothing to repair my reputation.  Since I was still considered a leper in the community my parents thought it was best to allow me to complete high school in a different school district in an entirely different town.

It wasn't until I sat down to complete this exercise that I realized that I continued to be a victim of this situation for many, many years after it was over.  My confidence and belief in myself was bruised and battered.  I lived my life based on the opinions of others regardless if they were supported by facts.  I acted out and attempted to live up to whatever label society decided to place on me.  There were times that I didn't see fit to respect myself just because others wouldn't.  It took years for me to realize that I first need to respect myself and then others would in turn respect me.  The way I felt in that moment and in the years that followed is not anything that I would like to feel again.  I can however, say that as I reflect back on the place I was in then and I compare it to where I am now...I have certainly rose above that challenge from many years ago.  And realizing that I have rose above that feels fantastic.  And even though that experience was a painful one, I am grateful for it.  It has brought me to where I am today.  And today - I am Beautiful, Courageous, Strong, Loved, Loving, Lovable and Worthy.

I used to be bound...But now I am FREE!  Free To Be Me!

Tomorrow I will post an article that I submitted to a magazine.  As I reread the article that I wrote a few months ago I realize that it was this event inspired the article.

Do you have any challenging experiences that you have lived through?  I am sure you do.  We all do.  Spend some time reflecting on how you felt in the moment.  And then think of how you felt when you rose above the challenge.  Remember all of the strength and courage that you need to face the challenges in your life already lives within you.  You only need to give it permission to be set free.

I wish you a day as beautiful as you!

Much Love,

Lisa

Have you ever taken a break....

Do you recall the month of July?  You know that month not so very long ago when I wrote every day?  Well it seems like it was many moons ago.  I have been trying to come up with an amazing idea for a blog post.  I know that I could write about the Edson Ball Tournament but I have to make sure that I am not divulging too much information.  In fact one of the things I heard repeated over the weekend is "What Happens In Edson Stays In Edson."  So does that mean that Edson is the new Vegas?  Or perhaps it is just the Canadian Vegas.  Regardless, Edson is certainly not full of peaceful tranquility nor is it a place conducive to quality writing.

Anyway I am sure that this blog post did originally have a point.  And sooner or later I will get to it.  Oh right.  Ok.  So I am sure that you have at one time taken a break from something that you were doing regularly.  Perhaps it was going to the gym, eating clean, meditating.  And when you went to go back to your usual routine you found that it was a bit of a struggle.  I can relate.  It feels that way writing this blog post.  At this moment it would be easier to just give up on the writing.  Just like it is easier to hit a drive thru rather than cook clean food.  Or sit on the couch rather than go to the gym.  However, there are very few rewards with doing that.  So let us get back into the swing of things together.

Step One:  Forgive Yourself for taking a break.  We all need a break once in awhile.
Step Two: Start Back In Your Routine.
Step Three: Remind yourself that it was hard when you first started but you will be right back where you left off if you keep at it.
Step Four:  Smile and Remember Why You Started The Routine In The First Place.
Step Five:  Repeat Steps Two through Four Over and Over.

Feel free to share with me what routine you are going to return to.  Regardless of the length of the break.  I will see you back here tomorrow.

Have a Day as Beautiful as You!

Much Love,

Lisa

The First Of August

Today is the First Day of August.  It brings with it a clean slate, fresh promises and the beginning of a new challenge.  I will get more into this new challenge in a moment.  But first I would like to say that today also marks my Father In Law's Birthday.  His 65th Birthday to be exact.

So this August 1st marks his 23, 741st day on Earth.  He is 3391 weeks and 4 days old.  Or 780 months old. The reason why it is that I broke that down into such detail is because my FIL is a details guy,  It is one of my favorite things about him.  He carefully weighs and measures everything before making a decision.  When I am seeking advice and I want to talk to someone who is going to give me sound advice...I go to Robert.  Not that I don't think others in my inner circle possess good advice.  They do.  But Robert doesn't make decisions from an emotional standpoint.  He looks at all the sides. He gives advice based on years of life and work experience.  And he certainly is not afraid to disagree with me or play Devil's Advocate.  And I appreciate and value that greatly.

Robert, I am so proud and blessed to call you my Father In Law.  I am wishing you the happiest of birthdays.  My wish for you is that you find that this will be the best year yet.  May it be filled with adventures, much love and laughter and pleasant surprises.

Now back to the new challenge.  I am partaking in the 30 Day Bravery Challenge.  Our first day of the challenge asked us to determine the one thing that we want to be courageous about during this challenge and to journal about it.  I was wanting to see exactly how far it is that I could push the limits.  Something that would cause me to stretch beyond my comfort zone and make me work every day.

What I came up with is...I am going to grow my business more in the next 30 years than I did all year. I am going to gain major momentum and become an unstoppable force.

The voice in my head says - You can't do that.  You are crazy. You will fail.
The voice in my heart says - Worst case scenario you only grow for 20 out of 30 days.  It is still growth. If I think of it from an abundant and positive mindset...anything is possible.  And when you are living out your purpose and staying out of your own way the Universe opens all sorts of doors for you.  So...I am going to bring it on.  Look out world...Coach Catalyst is on her way.  

I have also joined forces with my friend, Angela.  We have been compiling a list of items.  Brave things for us to do every day.  Some we will do together and others we will do on our own.  But at the end of the month we will be...BRAVER!!!!  More Confident!  And Better versions of our already amazing selves.

So I ask you...are you willing to get brave? Are you willing to step outside your comfort zone?  If you answered yes....Get Ready! Get Set! Grow!!!!!

Wishing you a Day as Beautiful as You!

Much Love,

Lisa

Happy Birthday To The Love Of My Life!

Today is a big day.  It is the Love of my Life's 40th Birthday.  For the purpose of this blog I shall refer to him by the name of C.

C was born July 31, 1973.  His loving parents figured that he was such a blessing in their lives that they decided to stop there and not have any more children after that.  One thing that I know for certain is that when people say that only children are "spoiled" I would vehemently disagree.  I would like to think of them as saturated.  Children are sponges.  So they absorb everything around them.  Only children absorb a huge amount of love, caring and kindness.  It saturated his every cell and now it continuously pours out to all who are around him.  I can only wish that for our Daughter.










My Dearest C,

Today is your 40th birthday.  Here we are celebrating another milestone together.  May this trend continue on for many, many more years.  As I would like to build a tradition of the birthday letter, here is mine to you.  I bet you are happy that I kept it private and only posted it on my blog.

My entire life changed on April 18th, 2009. I remember being so excited to meet you.  Waiting at the door for you to pick me up for our first lunch date.  Little did I know that I would be waiting for you for many, many years to come.  I am sure glad that you are worth the wait.  I like to believe that one of the reasons you were brought into my life was to show me patience and to teach me to slow down and smell the roses.  That first lunch date was amazing.  I will be forever indebted to Bobbi for introducing us.

You have brought so many good things into my life.  It is improbable that I would be able to put them all into a single birthday letter.  Good thing that I will have many more birthdays to share with you.

You are kind.  So incredibly kind.  And I am so glad that this trait has started rubbing off on me.  You show that kindness to perfect strangers, to your family, and essentially all living things.  You even catch and release flies and bugs that come into the house.

You are incredibly thoughtful.  You think about the details and you make everyone feel at ease.  You take those extra steps to transcend things from ordinary to extraordinary.

You are a pillar of strength and support.  Even when we were first barely dating you refused to let me be unhappy.  Urged me to "do whatever makes me happy."  Even when that ended up meaning you were stuck paying the bills.  LOL.  Truth be told you still do.  I promise that will change one day soon, very soon.

You are an amazing Husband and Father.  I couldn't even begin to put into words how grateful I am to have you in my life.  I cannot wait until you take steps to further your journey.  To really spend time creating and cultivating your dream.  I know that what ever dream you choose to chase will be wonderful.  And it will be a blessing that will reach countless people.  I hope you don't take too long to figure it out as it seems almost selfish for me to keep you all to myself.

I love you.  To the Moons of Jupiter and Back.  May your 40th year be filled with love, laughter, health and wealth.  May the sun always shine upon your face.  May we spend many, many more years together.

All my Love,
Your Adoring Wife,
Lisa

The Final Day of the 31 Day Blog Challenge

Today is the final day of the 31 day blog challenge.  This challenge encouraged me to grow.  It got me writing each and every day.  And for this I will always be thankful.

When I first signed up for this challenge I never really gave it much thought as to what it would bring into my life.  I did think that I would write every day.  I just was not certain as to the quality of the posts that I would be putting out there.  And as I look back at my blog posts from the past months some of them are really quite good.  This makes me incredibly happy.  I have also increased the traffic to my blog this past month by nearly 150%  Now more people know that A Pocket Full Of Rocks Exists.

I did think that I would find some interesting blogs to follow.  Which I did.  I did not learn however, how to ling my blog to theirs...so that is something that I will need to continue to work on.  Here are my top five bloggers. Please note that they are not in any particular order.

DeAnn Malone strategicserendipityblogspot.ca
Tilla Brook      tillabrookcoaching.com
Susan             swrightboucher.wordpress.com
Tami Lynn - She will be removing her blog but I just wanted to include her because she kicked this challenges ass and I loved reading it!
Kieta Lynn      kietalife.blogspot.ca

I have learned to make writing a priority in my life.  I have blogged every day and I have also taken part in a 31 day challenge over at 750words.com .  I did however miss two days there because I wasn't willing to try and type 750 words out using my phone.  I will be sure to try again in August though.

The very best thing to come out of this challenge are the friendships.  Heck I even found myself with a BFF (Blogger Friend Forever).  I know that I have someone out there in the blog world that I can bounce ideas off of.  I also know that this friendship will continue to blossom for years to come.

I also know that I am incredibly grateful for Lesa Townsend who started and facilitated this challenge.  If you are looking for help to market your business on the internet you need to stop wasting time and head to http://conversation2sales.com .  This woman knows what she is talking about.

To you fellow challengers who may be reading this current post - Thank You For Your Support.  Please be sure to stay in touch.

To Everyone Else Who Reads This Blog - Thank you.  Thank you for taking the time to read it as often as you.  It means the world to me.

Much Love,

Lisa

Ps:  Stay Tuned for another blog post celebrating my Husband's 40th Birthday which is today!

Mary Mary Quite Contrary How Does Your Garden Grow?

A thought is just a thought and a thought can be changed!

Lately I have been paying attention to the attitudes of others.  I think about the thoughts that they say out loud.  I look at what it is that have or do not have in their lives.  And look at what it is that they are striving for.  And then I look at what it is that I am wanting to create in my life and what my thoughts are that are surrounding it.

What I find is that if I do not have something it is because I have a limiting belief that is not allowing that into my life.  Some lie that I have convinced myself to be true.  I have allowed this lie to take root in my thoughts.  That lie rooted in fear has grown and started to overtake my positive thoughts.  Much like weeds in an untended garden. These weeds or negative thoughts can grow large and unruly. They can begin to block out our light.  Drag us into depression. We do not need to allow this to happen to us.  As I said in the beginning, a thought is just a thought and a thought can be changed.

All of our power exists in the present moment.  I spend a lot of time reading Louise Hay's book - You Can Heal Your Life.  One thing that she reminds us in that book is that we control our mind.  We are in control of the thoughts that we think.  When we are in victim mode we focus on how hard it is to make any changes to our thoughts.  Especially if we have believed a lie wrapped in fear for a long time.  Here is one thing to keep in mind: Your old thought is already gone; you cannot change that thought but you can take control over your current thought.  If you are struggling to believe that you can change your thoughts here is an affirmation from Louise.  I now choose to believe it is becoming easier for me to make changes.  Repeat that over and over.  Write it over and over.  And soon you will find it is indeed easier to make changes.  Release your resistance to change.  Embrace the greatness that is coming to you.  Release the fear so that you may make room for the abundance.

This may seem like work at first.  After all you could be hacking away at an untended garden that has been that way for a lifetime.  But the work is worth it.  You will no longer be a helpless victim of your own thoughts, but rather a master of your own mind.

I have an area in my life where I have a self-limiting belief.  It surrounds my Women's Camping.Coaching Retreat.  I have one scheduled for the 23rd through 25th of August.  Registrations are not where I want them to be at this moment. Negative thoughts creep in.  "Cancel it.  No one is interested.  It isn't worth the money.  Why would someone listen to you? Don't waste your time."  Today I am tending to my garden.  I am releasing the need to think these thoughts any longer.  It will all work out the way that it should. Benefiting my greatest good.  I know that I have created this program with love.  I have been witness to how it can change the lives of others.  And how it positively influences my life to be part of the experience.  I also know that a retreat that allows women to come together.  To support one another.  To rewrite our stories of our past and to take us from victim to victor.  This program is more valuable than even I can put into words right now.  Women leave the weekend stronger and more confident.  They leave with a support system.  And they pass the message or at least part of it on to others.

What a shame it would be for me to allow some weeds to stand in the way of all of that.

Do you have any areas in your life where the weeds are taking over?  Where will you start weeding today?  Or perhaps you just need to start planting new flowers of positive thoughts. What will your garden look like at the end of the day? Week?  Month?

I wish you a day as beautiful as you.  Remember: You are loved, lovable, loving, worthy and deserving.  So go get your gardening gloves on.  Pull a weed.  Plant a seed.

Much much Love,

Lisa

Days Like These...

We all have days where we feel our hearts swell with love.  We feel filled with overwhelming gratitude.  Today is one of those days for me.  I know that if today were one of my last days I would feel that I lived a great life.  Today was filled with love, joy, laughter, adventure, exercise, family and friends. My wish for you is that you experienced some of that today.  And if today did not provide that for you...may your tomorrows be overflowing of that.

And Kieta and Alissia....congratulations on your engagement.  I lift my glass to cheers you both.  May your lives be ever blessed and overflowing with love.

Much Love,
Lisa