“Perhaps loving something is the only starting place there is for making your life your own.” -- Alice Koller
Just a few short weeks ago, Lee Farrington opened the doors of Figa. With her restaurant’s opening, Lee has invited us inside her intimate creative world. As I sat enjoying one of her delicious, Brazilian-inspired meals on a blustery Friday evening last week, I felt wrapped in love. There is a sense of community here, with tables snuggled in close proximity and a kitchen open to diners’ curiosity. I watched Lee bustle joyfully at the cook stove with her talented
assistant chef, Justin, and marveled at what she’d given birth to here at the foot of Munjoy Hill. She had brought a dream to reality. She is sharing the delicate flower she has nurtured from a tiny seed deep inside herself. Her joy is palpable. She has and will continue to succeed.
A few months ago, Rickie Bogle bought a sailboat on a shoe string. She was in Florida at the time, helping out her family in the aftermath of a tragic accident which left her 20-year-old brother paralyzed for life. Maybe it was Cruz who inspired Rickie to reach for her dream despite the absurdity of life being turned upside down in a heartbeat. Somehow, Rickie made it happen. She named her boat “Isla” and after pouring hours of sweat and love into making her sea-worthy, Rickie sailed Isla from Florida to Portland. I delighted in sharing Rickie’s journey through her blog posts as she braved her way through storms and beauty up the east coast. She is a passionate young woman, guided by her spirit. She dares to risk and to reach....every single day. In the face of pain, of not knowing where or how, Rickie is making a passionate life.
Four years ago, I was deeply disillusioned in my work life. Two degrees and many professional incarnations had left me feeling empty, frustrated, defeated. Again and again, I turned to the Universe and asked “What is my purpose here? What gift might I bring to better the world in some small, personal way?” I followed my joy....sometimes blindly, often times fearfully. I was moving toward my passion: a dog-centered creative life. I quit a well-paying, “safe” professional job where I was well-respected without having any real idea where, exactly, I would land. I jumped off the cliff trusting that the rest would come. I had to close a door completely in order to move in a new direction. Four months later, Dances With Dogs came into being.
Lee Farrington loves to cook. Rickie Bogle loves to sail. Julie Bernier loves puppies. These are simple statements, simple truths about three women who dared to move toward what they loved, not knowing the outcome...but trusting that through conspiring with the Creative Force and being willing to surrender (again and again and again) along the way, something magical, wonderful and truly their own would surface.
The journey for each of us has been deep and personal....painful and exciting. Suspending fear, ignoring negative crap clogging up the path....we simply HAD to do this work. For me, there was always a sense that I was not alone as I carved out this new life for myself. I felt this other divine energy carrying me along. At times, I even felt that I wasn’t in the driver’s seat...and I was oddly okay with that. I had a faith and a belief that all would be well and that I was involved in a co-creative process with the Universe. I had, after all, offered up that desperate prayer (many, many times) asking for the way to be revealed. A stitch at a time, I began to mend my heart and my life. And here I am, four years later, piloting a wonderfully-successful, ever-evolving puppy nursery school which is completely heart-centered and entirely a reflection of who and what I am. It is my gift to my community.
"Where there is great love there are always miracles.” -- Willa Cather
Lewis Carroll said, “Today isn’t any other day, you know.” So today I ask you, friend: what is YOUR passion? What is your gift to bring? What do you hunger for and deeply desire? Action is eloquence. Time does not stand still. I promise you...if you reach for what you love, you will not be disappointed. You will find a well-spring of energy to do the work. Mind you, the work is not easy and the way is not clear. You will be okay. Hour by hour, you will make a life. Step by step, you will find your way. Conspire with the Gods and the Universe! Give birth to the beauty inside you....and by all means, share yourself with us. We will delight in your success and your joy as you reveal your original face to the world. Namaste!
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