For the last week or so I have been on my Summer holiday, of course this year is a little different as we are not away, but having a ‘staycation’ like many families that I know. Whilst we were all disappointed not to be going abroad this year as we had planned, I think the kids were actually quite pleased that they could stay at home, as they can now catch up with friends and do the things that they haven’t been able to do for such a long time.
For the first week we had decided to ‘go out for days’ in my mind I had a list of places that I wanted to visit, places people had mentioned to me, or that I had seen, that looked interesting and as you can imagine, I was very excited to start exploring.
The week started off promisingly, an afternoon out all together as a family, followed by a lovely meal. However, the following day the mini adults weren’t as keen to pack in the car again, and my husband and I turned our attention to ‘jobs around the house’. Over the next few days our days out were swapped to trips to DIY stores, furniture stores, and that wonderful Sweedish shop that we all know and love (the meatballs are amazing!)
On the last day of our first week, I felt a little disappointed, like I had really missed out on a wonderful opportunity as we hadn’t been out at all, my list was completely untouched. The weather had taken a turn and it was now gloriously sunny, in fact too hot to be in a car — especially when the mini adults decided to emerge. However, I quickly fell out of my feelings and we planned a lovely afternoon trip to the beach.
What I didn’t plan for is that often, co-ordinating three mini adults is like trying to herd cats! Several hours later, we eventually set off. By this time I was hot, bothered, and tired from my week. I was so fed up! I couldn’t believe how late we were! My mind was turning over what our week could have been like, how it could have been different. My imagination, creating pictures of day trips and smiles, memories that hadn’t been made. An alternate reality that was not my own, but that felt, in my mind, considerably better than the one that I had experienced!
We did eventually get to the beach, it was a beautiful early evening, it was still really warm, but most of the crowds had gone by now and it was quietening down. As we were walking at the sea edge, paddling our feet, my alternate reality was still turning in my mind and I had an air of frustration as I walked a little behind my family.
However, I then simply happened to look up. I saw my three beautiful kids, my lovely husband and our gorgeous dog. They were laughing and chatting, the dog bravely paddling his toes, and the kids encouraging him. They were having a wonderful time.
It occurred to me that I could stay in my alternate reality if I wanted to, a reality that was making me feel unhappy, stressed and frustrated, a reality that was completely of my own creation. Or I could simply enjoy the actual reality of the moment I was in right now, a moment that was pure and perfect in every way, a moment where there was joy, happiness and love, right there. It didn’t matter what the day was, what time it was, where we were or what we were doing, in that moment I had everything I needed and everything that I was searching for.
It was such a beautiful reminder by the inbuilt system that we all have, that brings us home to the present, to what is. Our minds so often will time travel to the past or future, maybe even go to different realities, that’s being human, but how wonderful that we have a system that sends a fresh thought to bring us home, to exactly where we need to be.
Andrea Morrison is a Transformational coach, speaker and writer, who challenges the traditional Alpha ideology, encouraging her clients to become courageous, acting from their heart not their head. She is passionate about freeing the human mind to achieve potential whilst retaining life balance and enjoyment.
To find out more about Andrea you can visit her website at andreamorrison.co.uk or watch her captivating TedX talk ‘When I stopped trying to be confident I became unstoppable!’