Nature is a source of inspiration for a lot of the work I do. Not only do I look to nature, for art ideas but I also look to nature for guidance on things that can seem challenging in life.

A question I ask myself frequently is:

What would nature do?

Last week we talked about having a ‘Clear Direction’ in our lives, and knowing the essence of what we want.

Once we know what we want, or even have a sense of it, the inevitable happens….. we are suddenly called to become MORE!

In order to stretch into our desires and goals, we have to stretch ourselves into new territories. This is the beauty of desires, as they call us to evolve.

With evolution, growth is required. Which leads us to the topic of today…

BEING WILLING TO STRETCH BEYOND WHAT YOU CURRENTLY ARE

Think for a moment about where you are now in your life. Now, imagine an expanded version of yourself, a vision of where you would like to be.

What about you is different in the expanded version of yourself? The aspects you noted as being different are the areas you need to stretch into in order to fully step into the life you envision for yourself. The first step is being willing.

So, what would nature do? How would nature be ‘willing’ to stretch and grow into an expanded version of itself?

When nature has a vision of becoming a big tree, and it is only a little seed to start, it allows itself to receive the nourishment that is available to it. It receives the sun, and it receives nourishment through the soil.

Are you allowing yourself to receive the nourishment that is available to you?

Look around at what is available to you, and let yourself receive it.

How else is nature ‘willing’ to stretch into a grander version of itself?

Nature adjusts to its surroundings. Think of a tree growing in a forest, amongst all the other trees. It finds the space where it can grow, it bends and moves, twists and turns.

Are you being flexible and adjusting to what is there in your life now, while still moving forward?

If you feel stuck just look at nature and ask:

What would nature do?

As you are changing and evolving in your life:
Be kind with yourself
Be conscious
Have fun!

Ever notice how life keeps changing and evolving?

It is easy to embrace change when it feels better than where you were before. But when you feel uncertain as to whether the change is better or not, it is easy to resist it.

For enjoyable change there are two main ingredients:

CLEAR DIRECTION & WILLINGNESS TO STRETCH BEYOND WHAT YOU CURRENTLY ARE

‘Clear direction’ happens when you know what you want. When you know what you want you can direct everything about yourself towards it. So even when things seem to be going wrong, it is easy to get things back on track when you know where you ultimately want to go.

This can be comparable to goal setting, although I view it a bit differently. To me, ‘Clear Direction’ is about having your intention solidly in place.

To find out if your intention is solidly in place, ask yourself this question:

What is the essence of what I want?

To be able to answer this question, you first need to know what you want, and then you need to be able to identify the emotion underneath it. This means, you need to know what you believe you would feel if you got what you wanted.

For example, if I say “I want a new haircut”, and I believe that if I get the new haircut I will feel more
stylish, than the essence of what I want is to feel stylish.

So, what is the essence of what you want?

If you can answer this question your direction will feel clear. If you can’t answer this question just yet, I invite you to ponder on it further, as it will reveal itself to you if you keep asking.

As you are changing and evolving in your life:
Be kind with yourself
Be conscious
Have fun!