I almost skipped this post altogether – new year, new energy, bright new intentions – but something kept tugging me back towards it. So here we are.
THE JOURNEY.
2013. What a year. It stretched me. It captivated me. It nudged me in new directions, dragging me hair-first over unexplored terrain. More often that not, though, 2013 absolutely astonished me – cracking me wide open to possibility. Both the sacred and the simple. It was big with a capital B. And I loved it… even when it pushed my buttons.
2013 was the first year (that I can recall) that I set zero intentions as we shimmied our way towards January 1. The annual tradition my husband and I have upheld for years is to head to Byron Bay for a day of ‘dreamscaping’ on the beach, notebooks and pens and big dreams in tow, so it felt foreign not to lay down plans to kick off 2013. Some (I think, logical) part of me knew that the beginning of the year would require me pull on my big girl knickers and step up enough without defining my ‘goals with soul’ at that point in time.
Those intuitive whispers proved correct, and as I found my footing as a full-time entrepreneur – literally learning on the job, feeling my way through uncertainty and anchoring in to what I already knew – tackling what was directly in front of me was where it was at. It was exactly where I needed to be. The vision board and the intentions could wait.
After resigning from my digital PR job at the end of 2012 and launching my coaching business (in a completely unorthodox way!), I started working with my gorgeous clients one-on-one on January 2, 2013 – and as I sat down at my desk and opened Skype that first time, my heart pumping, bushflower essences beside me, slightly shaky but with a huge, grateful smile on my face (“Oh my GOD, I get to do this and call it work?”) everything shifted.
Holy shit. The dream had become the reality! Those high-hopes poured onto the pages of journals and beaming off vision boards were now REAL. It had happened. I was doing My Own Thing. It was the greatest feeling in the world.
There are years where I’ve been swept away by the wildness and wonder of The Volume of Things that Unfolded in One Twelve Month period, and last year was no different. It WAS huge. But while there was so much to be deeply humbled, fired up and ecstatic about on the surface, it was the internal shifts that felt most potent.
Let’s dive a little deeper…
THEMES + LESSONS.
The power of collaboration. One of my favourite things about 2013 (in fact, I would say it tops the list) was the magic that was made when my girl Tara and I joined forces – for our BSchool offer in the first half of the year, and in the final three months, to create the two ebooks that have since landed in the hands of thousands of women worldwide, Spirited: Soulful Lessons on Clarity, Connection + Coming Home (to You) and the Spirited 2014 Companion: Spirited Solutions to What’s Holding You Back.
I’m often dedicating my gratitude practice to this gorgeous, lionhearted woman; yes, I adore teaming up with her (and there’s more to come on that front soon), but above all else, because her friendship is undeniably pure and honest and sister-like, and her capacity for love is something to behold. We get each other. We really do. Love her so much.
Befriending fear. No doubt about it, it was a year of ‘leaning in.’ Breathing in deep, choosing bravery, saying yes. From starting my coaching biz, to speaking to hundreds of women on stage in Melbourne and Brisbane about Soulpreneurship and later in the year, alongside mega-blogger Gala Darling on Radical Self-Love, courage became a guiding theme. And may it continue to be. I don’t want to sit still. Fear is the messenger. It tells me I’m doing something meaningful; that I’m growing. Show me what you’ve got, Life. Evolution is what I’m here for.
Embracing contradictions. In 2013, I started happily owning my contradictions. I swung from strategy sessions straight into stillness, had soulful convo’s over a cocktail, allowed myself to colour outside the lines. I embraced – and revelled in – being a shape-shifter.
There can be a certain tension that comes with the dance between these sides of ourselves, feeling like we need to fit into an ‘identity’ and shunning anything that falls outside that pretty box we’ve placed ourselves in (and my gosh, can the Internet perpetuate this, or what?!). If 2013 taught me anything, it was that to TRULY come home to ourselves, we have a duty – hand-written in our soul contract – to celebrate all of who we are. Light and shadow. Soulful and practical. Poised and jumbled. High-energy and reserved. Extroverted and introverted. Each and every part. Ever-changing.
Feeling more myself than I’d ever felt. I created In Spaces Between because I felt there was a big part of me being hidden away when I worked in the corporate world. It was time for the inspiration-lovin’, self-empowerment junkie to be let out of the cage, and going out on my own allowed me to be ‘her’ full-time.
Casting my gaze over 2013, I’m mighty thankful for: the daily conversations. The women that showed up in my life. The women that bravely shared their dreams, and allowed me to share mine. The opportunities to shed another skin. The feeling deep in my bones that this was the world I was meant to be spending my days exploring. Finally living ‘on purpose’ felt like whipping off a too-small bra and slipping into my favourite sweater. The sweet relief.
Detaching. From the way things should be, from outcomes, from past conditioning and from my own expectations. I have no qualms about saying that I worked my booty off in 2013. And in my enthusiasm, I took on too much, which on occasion resulted in: skipping exercise and stillness – those favoured soul salves – accidentally missing lunch, skimping out on snuggles in bed to dive into my inbox and pushing family dinners back a week – in the name of getting it done.
It certainly didn’t feel good - with ‘good’ meaning free, spacious, radiant, energised, connected – when I did that, but what I found was attaching to the ‘story’ (‘shouldn’t I have more balance in my life right now?’ OR ‘I’m working too much!’) brought me more anguish than the actual doing. Because sometimes we’ve gotta immerse. And see it for what it is. Temporary.
On the flip side, other times, we need to give ourselves permission to take our foot of the peddle and be cool with doing pretty much nothing. After much to-ing and fro-ing, surrender, detachment, acceptance and bringing awareness to the ebb and flow of life’s rhythms were themes I made peace with in 2013. Thank goodness.
(meditating on a White Light retreat – hence the white pants).
Learning I was extremely Vitamin D deficient. And this may seem like a ‘oh okay, cool’ kind of discovery (at least I thought so) but how the deficiency played out for me for a while there was through often non-existent energy, a sense of nervousness that something wasn’t quite right, and occasionally, total apathy. It was the opposite of how I’ve always felt. I’m blessed that Belinda (my incredible mentor – more on Belinda next) and Tanya (my naturopath) identified the issue and the impact it was also having on my parathyroid, because once I was tested and started supplementing, I felt infinitely better. (Side note: If you intuitively know something’s not quite right with your moods and energy, it’s absolutely worth getting a Vit D blood test for peace of mind. Many of us are deficient).
Receiving guidance. 2013 was a year of being beautifully guided by people I have the utmost trust in. It would be remiss of me not to start with Belinda – my mentor, soul guide, friend, and the woman who I find, quite frankly, staggering. Belinda is so gifted, so generous and wise (and incredibly funny), and with her support, I have gotten to know myself in such a profoundly personal way. From our first session, I was able to see myself through a whole new lens of compassion and curiosity, to release stagnant beliefs and energy blocks and to dive deeper on my journey. Confusion made way for clarity. I am endlessly grateful for her love and presence.
I also received coaching from Julie Parker (my gosh, I can’t speak highly enough of this love-beam of a woman!), intuitive guidance from my gorgeous friend Helen from The Little Sage whose insights are SPOT. FREAKING. ON, kinesiology from Anita, and on the astrology front, Tali from AstroStyle and Ezzie from The Spencer Method blew me away with their cosmic know-how. I felt truly supported.
Gratitude and celebration. Lighting the way, all the way. It still stops me in my tracks to think that my coaching biz supported me the way it did all year. On celebration – it became super important to carve out time to acknowledge the good stuff before diving headfirst into the next project. That was a key learning for me.
In no particular order, a random mix of magnificence: limiting beliefs around abundance and deserving were shattered, and my eyes were opened. My husband’s (mind-blowing) love and support carried me through always. His ‘I am SO proud of you baby!’ text messages revved me up, melted me. I bow graciously to Yvette from Earth Events for her belief in me and for putting me on her stages, and to Susana for the soul-filled phone chats that would stretch into hours. Sian and Steph – design goddesses. My girls for their love, my beloved clients who inspired me daily – whose warmth would trickle through the screen and take up residency in my heart. To you – my readers – who shared, commented, understood my absence as my creativity was poured into my first year in biz, for your emails and your kindness.
Whoa. I need to pause for a moment to let all that sink in.
Ok. I’m back. And there are a few more things to share. I also:
// Spent a glorious month exploring Italy and Switzerland (Rome, the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Florence and Portofino and the Swiss Alps) mid-year with my man for our (belated) honeymoon. Had our first wedding anniversary over there. Total love-fest.
// Went on a winter retreat on the Sunshine Coast with my soul sisters in June, and on an 8-day retreat to Byron Bay with Tara in December.
// Stayed at Gwinganna with these two angels.
// Moved my body plenty. Teamed up with the Lorna Jane crew on several occasions. Ran. Yoga’d. Meditated. Nourished.
// Went to the Problogger event, and the Hay House Writer’s Workshop and The Blogcademy (both in Melbourne).
// Started training with the effervescent wordsmithin’, mind-body-spirit magician Brie-ann Boal. Fell in love with her special energy.
// Was attuned to Reiki energy.
// Started my Master Energy EFT Practitioner Certification.
// Upgraded my computer, car and website.
// And lots more that I’m sure I’ve forgotten to mention.
2013, you truly were golden.
From the high perch of a New Year, I look back at the year that’s passed and marvel at its beauty. A year of rapid-fire growth and deep, deep love.
And now, it’s all about 2014. HURRAH. This year feels incredibly rich, potent, large. Like it’s going to shake us up in the best of ways.
My vision for 2014 is a whole ‘nother post (coming soon) so hold tight, beautiful, and leave me a comment below about this post, or your big themes and lessons in 2013. I’d absolutely love to hear from you.
Spirited photoshoot: Hannah Millerick