Living life as if it's a Treasure Hunt.

I am a Health and Mindfulness Coach and really passionate about "Inner child" work, becoming an expert on self and connectivity to my surrounds through lifestyle choices. I love questions like; "What comes naturally to you"? "What do you love doing"? "What brings joy into your life"? Along with that passion, I love planting seeds for future business potentials and very early on I was reading books with a heavy emphasis on "If you love what you are doing you will never work a day in your life." Add to that combination I have an attitude of gratitude, use food as medicine and I pay particular attention to my life balance. Once I pieced all of these components together my life began to look differently.

My initial thoughts when I first saw this challenge with the title being "Thread the Needle", was to shy away. The title if I'm going to be honest was daunting, maybe it was because as a 15 year old high school student I had received 19% for an overall Textile and Design mark, apparently sewing wasn't my forte. However, the predominant reason for my reluctance was because at the tender age of 50 years young my eyesight is not as sharp as it used to be. This was made abundantly clear to me just last week when my 15 year old son required a button to be sown onto his school uniform. Even with my glasses on I was unable to "thread the needle".

With further investigation, and my intuition constantly guiding me back to it, I discovered the true essence of this challenge and I felt excited, my gut instinct was telling me to stop procrastinating and let my true passionate, fun and peaceful self be written about. I had gone straight from reading about this challenge to a restorative yoga practice and this is where it came to me. It was incredibly clear, I was to write about my Insight Sessions through becoming an expert on self and my"Alice in Wonderland" curiosity.

I have always, well for as long as I could remember, been a bit of a "gypsy". I was lucky enough to have been raised on a sheep farm in a magnificent part of Australia. I love adventure, and in particular adventure where the only fuel required is fun. My curious nature has taken me from one side of the world and back more than a couple of times. My quest was, and still is, to live a "meaningful life", whatever that is for me at any particular time.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this story my school grades were not reflecting my best version, not just in sewing, across the board. How could they be passable grades when the majority of my school day was spent rocking on my chair and staring out the window dreaming about being anywhere else but there or talking and disrupting my peers? At the age of 15 1/2 it was suggested to me to leave school. In the 80's choices in a country village were limited, so once school finished for me my life treasure hunt began.

As a young child I was told by a boy in my very small country school that my Nan and Pop had travelled around the world! That was definitely news to me. I read through all of the telegrams Nan had sent home to family. On their return these telegrams and postcards were stored in an ornate Swiss music box/table they had purchased along the way. I spent a lot of time going through them and my goal as an adult became to own a Passport. Fast forward 10 years and I came across an ad in the Rural newspaper, The Land, for Nannies overseas and my next course of action came into play. What do I need to do to achieve this goal? Needless to say I was living in Canada a year after seeing that ad.

The things that are presented to me on a moment by moment basis I evaluate very quickly and sift through what is worth pursuing and what is not. I view my life as if it is a treasure hunt. For example, the Vocal website was presented to me 'out of the blue' on my Facebook feed on the same day that someone very close to me was diagnosed with Cancer, last week. Ironically my first story I submitted to a challenge (SFS 7: Long Thaw) is very much based on an event that took place in my childhood. I paid attention to the thoughts that were coming to me and the ease in which that story flowed through me was the validation that something great had just happened. The outcome is irrelevant, and cannot be controlled. Being in the moment is where the magic really is. That story was the therapy I required that day, to emotionalise my feelings. Yes I cried my eyes out throughout the entire writing of that story.

I however go one step further, mainly because I, like so many people get caught up in my ego (head) and past limiting beliefs and fears. This in turn causes moments of doubt. It is in these times that I ask the Universe for signs and symbols that I am on the correct path. White feathers and numbers are my validation. The best part about this is that the validation gives me comfort and peace and their literally is no right or wrong answer. The reality is there are no wrong choices in life, only opportunities to grow, learn and change. This is where reflection comes in and the gift of looking at my own role in my life and either choosing differently in the future or redoing a similar experience differently.

I have been practicing this way of living for years and I discovered that my life is full of beautiful adventures that end in finding treasure of some kind.