{Signal}

Back when I wrote a lot, I used to do this "Random Word of the Day" thing.  I would go to this website where you just click the mouse on the "word" button and a random word comes up.  And then I'd write about it.

I've gotten kind of rusty in my writing skills but haven't lost my desire to write and create, so I thought I would give this a go again.  I might publish it and I might not...I'm just doing it for the practice at this point.

Words and books are so fascinating to me.  I have always had a complete love affair with books and reading.  Of course, I love some books a lot more than others, but I cannot even tell you how reading has expanded my world and my horizons.  Maybe when you grow up in a little Mennonite sub-culture, reading is one way of breaking out of the box that you have no choice but to be in.

The word "signal" strikes me as a word that you could go many directions with.  But I want to write about something that is current in my life right now.

You know how sometimes you can feel stuck in a certain area of your life?  You find it hard to see options and you feel trapped by your circumstances, your emotions, or your finances.  You might feel uncomfortable with the way things are, but you aren't willing to take the big steps to change things. Fear is usually what holds us back.  

I've been doing a lot of listening to the wise Elizabeth Gilbert and I've also recently read her book called "Big Magic."  It is an extraordinary book with fresh perspective and if you would like to read it, leave a comment on the Facebook link and I will pick one person to send a copy of the book to. You'll enjoy it...I promise!  

Part of what she talks about in that book is making friends with your fear.  No one is ever going to be completely unafraid.  But her idea is that you just talk to your fear.  You thank it for being there and you acknowledge its role in your life (fear saves you from lots of seriously dangerous situations) but you let it know that it won't be needed right now, because, after all, you're just making a career change or running a 5K or giving a speech.  It is not a life or death situation.  

But back to the signal thing...I feel like when change needs to happen in our world, Life gives us little signals to make us uncomfortable with where we are.  I think for me, sometimes that is the only way I am willing to change...when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of change. When we feel that restlessness and that discomfort, maybe that's a signal.  When we feel our heart being pulled towards certain stories and books and people, that may be a signal. 

I recently coined this quote "True change begins with an awareness of the why".  Why we act the way we do...why we feel the way we feel.  Awareness comes by paying attention to all of those little signals that come our way.

Often, when something happens in our emotions and our heart, our body will give us signals.  Maybe its that sick feeling in your stomach, or a fluttering in your heart, or a tightening in your chest or just a sense of dread.  Pay attention to those things.  They are part of the road map to awareness.

It can be exciting, really. Learning to pay attention to these signals (internal and external) and figure out what they are trying to tell you.  

Maybe it will even lead you to a place of creating some "Big Magic" with your life.  Because we are all prone to underestimate ourselves and I know you've got it in you to do something Big.  

Just start by following the signals.

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