“Enjoy your ‘sacred space’ Amanda.”

Kind words and wise words too, in a card from someone I barely know, but Rachel clearly empathised with the opportunity ahead of me and it’s importance. After weeks of feeling like I’d failed or was running away, seeing it framed as ‘sacred’ up-sold the value and potential of stepping away from work for a while, as something really quite special.

The decision to take a career break feels like a double edged sword. Some days I feel I’m shrugging off a calling and a challenge that has potential to be intrinsically fulfilling, yet I know I need to shed it to recharge, rebalance and re-learn self-compassion, creativity, and to reconnect with my family, my friends and fun.

I’m hoping that taking part in the 2018 Be Yourself Writing Challenge will help me to reflect on whats unfolding as I step into this sacred space. For the next 4 weeks I’ll be sharing a piece of writing every week day. Procrastination with the decision to take part means I’m already seven days behind the other writers but this is where I am. I am here.

The 21 day writing challenge is an experiment and I’m hoping to share with myself the ideas and stories that have been locked up in my head. It will challenge me to start each day with something; action, spontaneous writing, and will help me to stay connected to learn from others stepping into writing; Their lives, their styles, and their challenges and experiences.

Old ‘cramming habits’ die hard though, and as I became more edgy about letting go of my job, I started gathering and squirrelling away a stash of side projects to drag into the ‘sacred space’; lest I should find myself with any free time!

“To begin with you just need to shed everything; make space and time; allow yourself to relax and to pick up whatever feels natural.” Megan Macedo wisdom.

It feels unnatural to make time for me. I’ve taken a deep breath and given myself permission to re-find me, to peel off the layers of work; not just the ‘going’ and the ‘doing’ of it, but the thinking and the headspace I have allowed it to consume at a cost to other experiences and the special people in my life, and the sleep I’ve allowed it to steal, at a cost of not being fully present and functioning.

Writing feels like a natural, outlet for capturing this shedding experience and bringing forward thoughts and reflections that might otherwise remain tacit and unexpressed; tucked away.

Just allow time, and see what unfolds…

We all know the caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly metaphor for freedom and becoming. You don’t often hear though that before coming close to the evolution to chrysalis, the caterpillar needs work hard to shed its skin four or five times to allow it to grow. People rarely talk about that. It’s the shedding that creates the space for growth, transformation and freedom to fly.

My daughter’s good luck card said,

‘Do more of what makes you happy’.

So for the next 21 days I’ll be writing about what unfolds for me as like the caterpillar, I shed work to make space around me, to not question, judge myself or procrastinate, but to just do what feels instinctively natural to find the pathway to doing more of what makes me feel healthy, balanced, creative and happy. Happy living and a happy relaxed home.

21 days of shedding. Time to rediscover the simple, happy things is a privilege. It’s sacrosanct. True ‘Sacred space’.

‘The Power of Time off’