Recognizing What is Not Working

How can you change if you don’t recognize what isn’t working? This not working might be actions, words, or thought patterns. We see the destination we crave but are stumped how to get there. No matter where we turn, the destination seems far away.

I grow increasingly more disturbed by the violence in the world. So focused on what we as individuals want, we lose sight of what the community desperately needs. That need? To care for the most fragile among us. This compassion is for more than the most obvious — each of us is fragile in ways we do not comprehend.

How can the world change unless we as individuals change? That change happens when we look through the illusions and truly see our self while admitting our imperfections — the ways we hurt others, and, how in hurting others, we harm our self. This paradigm shift takes courage and fortitude. 

Maybe this journey to recognition of our imperfections is about caring less about the actions of others and about focusing more on our self — how we respond and react to the world. I recognize that while this concept is nothing new, our ability to consistently live this way is difficult. When we focus on our self, we answer the call — we return to our true self by becoming the light that shining through the pandemic guiding us to a new way of being. 

I, like others, have a lot of hurt and anguish that simmers in the chasm that divides. I agonize over the question: “How can I communicate with someone when we speak two very different languages?” We may both speak English but our words are based upon different value system. I would like to believe that more often than not, mine is the language of compassion.

To create an equitable world, we must bridge individual and collective chasms by identifying our fears. When fear is a nameless, faceless companion, we get stuck in our differences and illusions. We believe in the possibility of change without understanding of what stops transformation. Unless we understand even a part of what is stopping us, we lack the power to confront what simmers in the chasm. With understanding we gain the courage to build the bridge across it.

The knowledge that invites us into an understanding in not one of tacit agreement. It is the understanding that breeds a recognition of why we do what we do; why others do what they do. In this realization are the seeds of our change. When we nurture them, we take that step-by-step journey of transformation. 

For me, the answer to what is not working is not found out there. It is found within. For, it is in the core of our being that we have the strength, the courage, the fortitude, to peel back the layers of hurt and finally own who we are. This powers the way we respond to the world. No longer do we focus on the behavior of another. We focus on how the behavior impacts us and how we will respond with compassion. 

Wishing you the strength, the courage, the grace, to recognize what is not working and make the change. 

 Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an Intuitive, Coach, Catalyst, who uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for personal and relationship transformation. She is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Contact Vanessa  (vanessa@intentandaction.com) for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

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Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2020  

Through the Rabbit Hole into the New Normal

I used to wish that I was normal even in those moments when I wasn’t quite sure what being normal meant. Normal, for me, seemed to be stability, a respite from uncertainty, unconditional belonging. This normal seemed elusive.

But, I never stayed fixated on this “normal,” for long. Little successes and big dreams jolted me from the desire of that perceived normal and into a comfortableness with my own skin. I saw the ways that normal didn’t fit into my lifestyle. I liked the ways that I wasn’t quite normal. 

Then Covid-19 happened. In an instant the door to the old normal slammed shut. The world changed in ways that I never would have imagined. There are some stressors for sure. But, there is a wide openness, a flexibility, an opportunity to draw from the center of our being. To be the person we were meant to be all along. To discover what normal means for each of us.

Now, I am not saying that these aren’t scary times. They are. Unless you are fortunate to have transitioned into a work-for-home situation, times are financially scary. If you have a pre-existing condition, times are medically scary. If you work in an essential job, each moment at that job brings the fear of uncertainty. But, then a voice says: Stop. These not-so-normal times are times of opportunity. Each of us is called us to gather our courage and face our fears.

Maybe, just maybe, that is what this new normal is about. Not spending our day yearning for what was, or in my case, what never was, but being courageous and curious in the midst of our fears. It is abut naming our fears and then discerning what is working. It is about being daring as we try new things. It is about responding with curious daring to the question, “This is the real and how am I going to live in it?”

For me, this new normal invites me to live in the real while being very aware of how illusion’s siren call attempts to seduce me into believing that things, at some point, will return to the way they were before. We don’t have the luxury of believing this. The only luxury we have is believing in ourself. 

So, ask yourself, what are the little ways that you can find peace in these trying times? How does courage call you? How will you connect in ways that create a new normal? It can be as simple as asking for help or responding to a request for help. That help doesn’t mean you need to drain your bank account or do something that just isn’t you. For example, 

• I asked a friend for a mask. She sent one. 
• I sent a donation to a local animal shelter in response to their bid to receive a matching gift. (My gift was small, but it helped them secure the $35,000 matching gift.) 
• I made some simple masks, had some extra hand sanitizer at home. I’ve given them to people who have asked for them. 
• I have discovered my inner artist and expanded my business painting aura portraits. 

None of these would have happened without the courage, the daring, to live within the new normal. And, each simple response to the uncertainty has increased my ability to live in this new normal.

So, no matter how much your new normal differs from your old, I wish you the courage, the curiosity, the daring to live with joy in each moment. 

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an Intuitive, Coach, Catalyst, who uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for personal and relationship transformation. She is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Contact Vanessa  (vanessa@intentandaction.com) for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

Website / LinkedIn Profile / Facebook / Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2020 

Take a Chance

In a fragile moment, the world shifted. Nothing is as it was. For sure, it is tough, frightening time. The ground has shifted giving way to a cavernous sinkhole. We are unsure if it will continue to grow or even what lurks in its depths. We can skirt around the sinkhole ignoring what hides within, or we can call upon the courage to listen to the whispers floating from the cracks and crevices.

What if these uncertain and scary moments are a call to take a chance? What if we take that chance? Now, I am not talking about leaping before you look or doing something equally dangerous. I am suggesting you ask yourself what you’ve always wanted to do. Find something that has you stepping just a bit outside your comfort zone. Sit with feet dangled over the edge or peer over the ledge of your chasm. Discover the chance and take it!

Here is the chance I have taken: I come from a family of visual artists — cousins, a sister, nieces, nephews, even my son. I never saw myself as an artist, but I have always been drawn to watercolor. I have the paints, the  paper, the brushes, yet I was unable to create. Holding a brush my hands felt fumbly. 

Then covid-19 happened. My Tai Chi classes were canceled. This gave me an extra four hours a week. A little voice inside whispered, “Take a chance.” So, I did. I began to paint. This time, I didn’t feel so fumbly. I ask a number of people if they would be my models. They all said yes. I began to paint aura portraits.

I took a chance and discovered that I was a visual artist. In order to take this chance I shifted my perception and judgment about my abilities. What did I gain? Confidence in my abilities to paint with water color and added trust in my intuition. I also gained another way, in addition to writing, to reduce stress and share myself with the world. Painting watercolor aura portraits is now another intuitive-coach-catalyst offering.

So, take a chance. Look deep into the sinkhole and ask yourself, “In this new world, what chance calls to me?” And, then do it. This isn’t about success or failure. What matters is that you take the chance and, in doing so, connect to the core of your being. Because really, what do you have to lose beside fear?  

Vanessa F. Hurst, ms, is an Intuitive, Coach, Catalyst, who uses mindfulness practices and intuition tools to create strategies for personal and relationship transformation. She is a professional speaker & author who weaves inner wisdom into all she touches. Her books are available @ www.wildefyrpress.com. Contact Vanessa  (vanessa@intentandaction.com) for life coaching, intuitive consultations, keynotes, and programs.

Website / LinkedIn Profile / Facebook / 

Twitter: @fyrserpent / ©2020