People often leave comments on my instagram along the lines of “You live my dream life” or “I want your life”.

Depending on how you look at things that could be saying I want to live with a life altering injury that makes me incapable of many things, saying goodbye to life long dreams, no longer living independently and having someone cut up most of my meals that require a knife and fork. Hmmm…some how I don’t think it is that! Or  maybe they just want to shift into Fairy Wren Cottage, but it wouldn’t be the same. 

 

Sometimes I remind myself of when I sat in a run down garden, exhausted, a tiny baby Lil in her pram sleeping next to me, feeling overwhelmed with buyers regret after shifting into a dilapidated Miner’s Cottage and looking at a home/garden magazine. If the goal is to live in a lovely old home with a big garden and grow our own produce, I need to look at things differently I thought and everyday take some small step to work on my plan. I want my obituary to read like my ancestors, they were known for keeping a lovely garden and looking after the animals in their care.

Each day we all  do something that contributes to moving forward and holding onto the life we have, sometimes it is only even looking at recipes or gardening tips to help us be more self sustainable, sometimes it is saving for a big ticket item like a water tank or raised garden beds. Sometimes it is about changing our routines or tweaking them a little, step by step we have crafted the home life that fits for us. Holding space for how we wish to live.

(And can I just say this firmly and plainly, my choices have nothing to do with you, they don’t mean you are doing anything better or worse than me. It doesn’t mean I am better or worse than you, we are all equal and we should all be treating each other with respect and kindness, leading with kindness and empathy not looking at each other with judgment and criticism to make ourselves feel better or worse!)

We don’t live a “dream” life. We live a life that has just as many ups and downs as everyone else. We aren’t special.

This is what I have learnt, if I feel like something is lacking in my life or I yearn or strive for more of something (and I don’t necessarily mean material objects) I think to myself how can I bring more of that, how can I work step by step to bring that about. eg. on the weekend I looked down and realised  all the clothes I was wearing were made of linen, five years ago I had made the commitment to myself to either make or buy my clothes made from sustainable fabrics, I couldn’t afford to just throw out  my existing wardrobe but I committed to myself to make different choices when I had the option. Everything adds up.

You are smart and strong and worthy of all good things. How ever you wish your dream life to be, what ever you put your energy into expands. I truely wish you well.

Sending Light & Love,

Jude x