Life has a way to show us what we need to learn, and when we get to the other side we often realise it was all part of the journey

For the past 12 months I have endured a rollercoaster of events that literally rocked me to the core. Some of the journey brought up emotions of anger, judgement, feeling lost and depleted; while others elation, feeling fully connected and immense joy and all of them where necessary for where I am today.

Creating a business offering to the world, held with a conviction that everything was driven by my life’s purpose became detriment to my own health and happiness. Not so much on what I was creating, I am very proud of our community and what it stands for, the amazing people who were attracted to the vision and supported it to become a reality (in a variety of ways) and the friendships made – for them I am eternally grateful.

It was my own beliefs that held me ‘stuck’ in the doing, continuing to execute to a fixed plan, not being open to see other ways to ask for/get help, fuelled with a sheer determination of what I believed needed to done, to achieve it and live on purpose.

My corporate upbringing and the ways I had been groomed to achieve an outcome held me well when I was in that environment. Where deadlines were created, politics navigated and objectives met. Surrounded by strong, competitive and results oriented behaviours all fixated on how to achieve a pre-determined 5 year strategy. These were not the skills needed to be employed when I decided to move into an awareness of a different sphere – with the laws of attraction, being present and an understanding of our creative force within it.

My whole purpose in life is to be in my joy and I find when I take the time to sit back, take ownership of where I am, be grateful for my lessons and where I am, then check in where I want to go next, the world and all her wonder reveals herself again. My eyes become open, my heart expands and endless possibilities start to re-emerge – I’m in that wonderful state of gratitude.

Often when we are in the “darkest” moments, these words may not resonate, I am writing them today so one day they will. I have read many times, that people don’t tend to write down their experiences and  share with others, when they are going through a rough patch, and only want to write when they get to the other side – and I seem to be adding to this theory. I want to offer an explanation as to why I didn’t –  the basic truth is, I couldn’t. While in this transition I was empty, withdrawn and obsessed with my own self healing, with nothing to share.

When you go though a transformation that can and will pivot your life, your beliefs are being unravelled and you don’t know what to do next. At this very time, you retreat, you lick your wounds, process your emotions and focus on what is most important – you!

To hold back your energy, giving yourself the time to express how you feel, to allow and let things go, grieve, feel into the void, be kind to yourself with the knowledge that this too will pass, is all you can muster. For the past few months, I gave myself the permission to be in this space.

Gratitude has always been a spiritual practice for me, a place to land when I have nowhere else to go.

So what do I offer now, for those who are still transitioning:

1. • Stay true to the core of your purpose. Your purpose will always be with you, the manifestation of its form may change, and often does. Take the time to see the threads and you will see that you are offering what you are here to do, be it may be another form. The core will always remain, it is the essence of you.

1. • Honour you. You deserve to be happy, living in joy and this comes first with you allowing this to be. Service doesn’t mean servant, your physical needs are important. You are a spiritual being in a physical body, and both need nourishing.

1. • Allow the lessons to go through their full cycle. Often we want the discomfort to stop, we will look for quick answers and want the pain to go away. Discomfort is as much of a human experience as happiness, joy and excitement -we are here to have as a full experience as we can. Feel the hurt, sit in it and honour it, understand what lesson is presenting itself to you – this is where the “gift” comes and once it has been acknowledged and the lesson reveals itself, like all energy it will pass.

1. • Take time to integrate the lessons. Once you get your “gift” allow integrate it into your daily habits/routine, it may be that you need to say “no” when you mean it and set boundaries, be clear to yourself what your passion/desire is and own it, not allowing others to influence you; it could be you need to give yourself the love you deserve and to not look outside for validation, it could be that your voice is ready to be heard and you need to not hold it back due to fear….it could be many reasons why your journey is where it is, be open to hear it, and then take the steps (no matter how small or big), you need to start integrating them it your new way of “being”

1. • Know you are truly loved, unique and have a birthright to be in your joy. What may seem like a set back, is only a refinement. As someone who is living on purpose, we will be given many ways to shed the layers to allow the light to come through – this is part of the process. Embrace them, honour yourself throughout the process and know it is not the destination rather the journey where we receive our gifts. Now go out and live your life, to the fullest – the world needs you.

Deborah Shepherd, Founder of Gratitude

Spanning 30 years of international corporate project, people and event management, and with a focus on community and collaboration she combined her marketing and sales background to deliver a business model showcasing the purpose-driven entrepreneur via wellness festivals, publishing and online marketing platforms.

She also offers consulting and mentoring services to purpose-driven businesses who want to create a way to connect, and share their message to a wider audience.

Big ‘thanks” for the photo by: 
Ben White