Finding the 'New Normal".

Well Hello there!

Been a long while since the last Blog and really, at the closing stages of 2021 what can anybody really say??

What a crap few years? What is 'Normal"?? Where did the last couple of years go?

We had fires in 2019, then some minor flooding, then Covid hit and shut down a world.

Who would have thought though that seven lockdowns later, financial hardships and a ton of self evaluations later that I really feel a lot of us are in a better place.

We have learned what is important to us, the simple things of catching up with friends and family, of having access to freedom of movement. For some it was social gatherings that they missed most, live music, theatre and food venues. Others it was Sport, Art, Education or simply being able to trade and earn a living.

A lot of us struggled with the lockdowns, finding that new rhythm while trying to quell anxiety, anger, fear, boredom. The latter activated us into self reflection and inventiveness, how to direct all this time and energy?

How do we fill the hours now? How do we still connect with the world and help our loved ones through this?

People found ways, creative ways to still be part of the wider world. To connect with others and our passions.

Sport, music, education, and art all flourished in the cyber platforms, I took on a watercolour class!

At a more prosaic level though I really did find myself reassessing what I actually needed/wanted in my life.

I looked hard at that layered stress model, really hard. What brought fun, laughter and joy to my life? What brought more stress than gain? What made me feel calm, appreciated and fulfilled? What didn't?

So I started to restructure my work/life model and not unlike going through the wardrobe I started to throw out the things in my life that had been weighing me down. Some things were quite minor and made little difference and others have given me room to breathe and create again. The shedding of extra responsibilities has given me back the Mojo I had lost. I had struggled with Mojo, that constant finding of 'couldbefucked' every time a lockdown lifted and the frantic pace of catchup would kick in again. Trying to find my filter, tolerance and energy to deal with clients that were needing my help when I was struggling to even help myself.

Alongside all of the mental side of things I also had to find solutions for the chronic pain of two knee's now lacking full cartilage. The loss of free movement and stability really messed with my head. I have had to change so many things about my lifestyle, as well as how I work with dogs. What equipment must I use now to stay safe when dealing with reactivity? What training grounds can I use and still be able to function the next day after new tears? What parts of my life have I had to give up and how to deal with the resentment, frustration and grief? Getting older sucks.

Moving forward i have dedicated three days a week to service central training locations for consults and classes.

No more rushing from house to house and worrying about stairs, access, shade for my dogs and general safety issues. I schedule according to other work commitments such as Snake Avoidance or time away. I turn my phone off on Sundays and spend the day on farm catching up on years of working away for other organisations. The other three days I have to work 'on' my businesses not just 'in' them. There is a lot of catch up there to do as well!

My skill set as far as socials needs a lot of work for starters. Keeping up with sourcing, making and packaging stock for my online shop takes time and energy

Moving forward I will be more mindful of where my time and energy goes, I have learned to cull and say NO!

Such a scary but liberating feeling for sure. So for all of you good folk out there who have struggled through these last few years and prevailed then I salute you! Find that Mojo, be kind to yourself and spend that quality time with those you love and doing the things that make you smile and feel content in life. Keep it simple.