Hopeservations

I Got 99 Problems but the Beach Ain’t One

You had me at “Let’s go watch a sunrise.” Only it is me, asking myself out on my nearly daily morning date.

You know – because you can never have too many sunrise, morning and beach moments in your life.

Even as summer fades and I get back to the steady, daily world of loving and serving my family and others through education, I stay my course.

Why?

Because “Beautiful Beginnings” are important and I’ve been dedicated to my practice for over ten years now. Certainly there’s been some natural changes that organically occur as a result of morning routines that alter every year but some form of beautiful beginnings has always been in the picture.

Now I’m gonna be completely honest, this started as a quick “Beautiful Beginnings” but somewhere along the way of writing, it shifted (because that’s how I roll) and now there’s some pretty genuine and frank dialogue about to go down.

If you’re up to it – keep reading! If you wanna keep it light and fluffy, maybe you should stop right here…

Whew – life!!!

“I got 99 problems but the beach ain’t one!”

So let’s talk about this practice…

Practices aren’t just “practice,” they are also meant to be an actual application so that when life does change or become overwhelming, you continue the application of your practice to help you manage the change.

After all, doing what I do – it’s not just some newly made up practice or ritual I do when I can, or because I don’t have anything else going on or I find myself suddenly having loads of free time so I’ve reinvented & recreated myself in to some kind of self-help, life coach guru…

HECK NO!

Because…

1. There is no free time. You have time. That’s it. That’s all. Time. Time that you prioritize and balance out, time that you spend achieving whatever your greatest goals are and time that you are never going to get back. Because GUESS WHAT?! None of us are getting out alive!

So experience your life to the best of your ability NOW!

AND

2. Like all my various Bio’s have said for a load of years, I am a…

“Florida gal, Sport mom, Storyteller, Lover of all things coastal, serving education, and being real about being human.”

…and that’s pretty accurate to who I am.

AFTER ALL, I AM a Florida gal, I AM a sport mom, I DO love to tell stories about life, I AM a lover of all things coastal, and a lover of serving my career in education and others in all ways and walks of life both in and out of a brick and mortar school, and a lover of embracing all of human nature and the vulnerable intricacies that come with it.

So yeah…I’m mom, career educator, home maker, wife, sister, daughter, chauffeur to some kids who are “living their best life” but first and foremost – I am Hope Elizabeth!

Those super profound “roles” that we sometimes lose ourselves in…uh huh *nod head* – it happens. It’s a real psychological thing for us.

But that’s only if we allow it.

Sometimes it is super hard not too!

I know firsthand. I almost got lost in it somewhere in my 30’s. Then on my own, I took the steps to do some deeply profound spiritual, philosophical heart work and found myself again…and damn, it wasn’t easy! This isn’t uncommon amongst men and women, and it leads to all kinds of inner and outer turmoil.

Let me tell you, ripping away all the layers of STUFF to reclaim the YOU that got lost in the hustle and bustle of doing what all you thought had to be done in order to be some kind of “perfect” that only resides in your mind…yeah, that’s some tough stuff. And doing that hard work while still maintaining your sanity, your home, your career and family is not easy! Truthfully, it was messy and uncomfortable but also extremely liberating and freeing.

I mean it’s not like you get to yell, “TIME OUT” while you get your crap together…or have a couple weeks at a time without the demands of career and kids and life knocking on your door. No sabbaticals here.

Nope…you’ve got to do it on the fly.

But the truth is, I didn’t want to keep up some illusion of perfection, because it doesn’t exist and I also wanted to live a bullshit free existence.

Yeah it’s not a pretty saying but that’s what I coined it.

Living “BULLSHIT FREE!”

Sound crazy? Maybe. But if deciding that your reality deserves to be AUTHENTIC and not just what you feel you have to portray as some false illusion of perfection…then go ahead, call me crazy.

You can front all you want but the universe responds to the REAL you, not who you’re pretending to be…

It’s interesting because I recently read something that said, “the first step to change is to become aware of your own bullshit.”

CHECK…did that.

Additionally, it’s also about not being afraid to call, “BULLSHIT!” when you know someone else is feeding you a false reality. And guess what, people (even our closest loved ones) can do that when they aren’t comfortable with their own stuff, can’t be honest or just want you to deal with whatever is going down.

It’s pretty passive aggressive but it happens and while I don’t like it, I get it. It’s just another human’s way of coping, however dysfunctional.

But…here’s the great part…you don’t have to accept it. You can say, “Naw man, we aren’t going down that road, we are living an authentic, transparent life here – how about we all get real together.”

Sure it can be a little hard and awkward at first, especially if everyone’s gotten real used to the human who tries to do and be all to everyone…you know the super human that takes on the world.

Now, here’s the IRONIC PART.

I’m good with taking on the world. Not in an enabling, know no boundaries kinda way but in an it’s actually kinda fun. My mind is already super geared toward being balanced in nature and finding my place of PAUSE. So whatever I do now is done by choice.

That is the difference!

When it’s done by CHOICE you figure out the parts you want to throw out, the parts that are truly necessary and the parts you take on due to genuine interest and love!

Not simply because you feel pressed to or there’s some automatic default where everyone else gets to hang in the median of life while dumping on the human in the fast lane.

Nope, nope, nope.

“You gotta fight. For your right. To say NOOOOO.” *best Beastie Boys impersonation*

Soooo…as a result, I simply want to keep sharing something I’ve been doing in some form or fashion, both with and without my children by my side over these last twenty years.

It’s been what has helped me get to this place of NON PERFECTION perfection.

Because…I’m digging what I’ve got going on here. The good and not so good. The fun and funky! The extremes, the slow rhythm, the quick pace and the balance of everything in between.

Wanna know why? Because I learned to take moments for myself to run through some checks and balances…

What I’m talking about is maintaining the application of a practice in the midst of all of life. Whatever that harmonious practice might be and whatever life might entail, some elements by design and some just by some happenstance. To help assist the management and balance of inner and outer workings as we trust whatever process comes our way.

Sure I won’t lie, even after all these years, that still is not always easy for me! Boy oh boy, I sometimes still get anxious over the unknown or whatever it is I think I need to have control over!

Yet…like all humans, there’s been enough life lessons and me saying I’m living “BULLSHIT FREE” that I have mostly learned to let it go, figured out how to prioritize, and say no all while keeping in mind the way bigger picture.

ADDED BONUS!

Doing what I do, betters me to leave footprints of love and kindness wherever I go, even when overwhelmed or stressed. The world certainly needs more of both of these things.

Love and kindness.

So go ahead, start or continue maintaining your practice and leave nothing behind but your footprints and a little extra love and kindness (and service to others) along your path as you apply your practice, while also managing your life. It’s not meant to be a one or the other application. It’s meant to be all inclusive.

The waves of the sea, the dawning of a new day, my feet in the sand all help me get back to my BEST me and there is something calming and reassuring about the steady lapping of the waves. The back and forth of the tide-pulled waters. They are soothing to my soul. So I continue to take my time just before I go out into the world.

After all, life!

“I got 99 problems but the beach ain’t one!”

It’s about practice and application, checks and balances and living bullshit free.

Dear Readers,

As always, THANK YOU for reading!

WHAT’S NEXT

1. LET’S CONNECT

I TRULY love to connect! So SHARE your BEAUTIFUL BEGINNINGS or any hopeful observation on how you start your day in the COMMENT SECTION below! Love a spiritual verse, inspirational affirmation or quote, I would love to read it. It might be a future topic!!!

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4. READ MORE

Check out one of my first (and best) pieces!

“How Sunrises Renewed My Life”

Click the picture…

PS – Hopeservations is GROWING!

The ripple effects of SHARING the HOPE are wide and far reaching. I’ve been getting personal comments, private messages, texts and emails – thanking me for Hopeservations – so I want to thank all of you for supporting and being a part of this grow community!

It seems there are a lot of us out there who appreciate personal growth practices and living a lifestyle of spreading hope and sharing observations about life.

I look forward to us continuing our hopeful journey together.

After-all, everyone needs a little HOPE in their DAY and this is just the PLACE.

A place to find Hope everyday!

As always…

Go in love,