Hi

You are safe no matter what...

I know this is a challenging statement to begin a newsletter with..especially in these times. But as I sat down to write this newsletter, the thought/image that kept recurring to me was a story from Byron Katie about money and more specifically our thoughts about money. She described sitting driving away from  a repossessed home and still knowing that in this moment, you were OK. I found myself imagining watching that, being that person and realised that in that moment...I would be OK too. But I also know what would kick in would be the mind frantically asking: "What about this?, what will people say?, where will we live now? how will we clear our debts?" And yet, reality is often kinder to us than we are. What is the reality? Our family and friends would rally around to help us. We'd discover resourcefulness and determination we didn't know we had. We might even (dare I say it!) find a way to laugh and find the funny side of the situation. If we focus on just getting through today...we will get through it, one hour/step at a time.

This morning I was speaking to a friend of mine who has had a very tough couple of years: her own illness, husband's illness, business failures, debts. She has kept her grace and dignity throughout and has always maintained there are people worse than her. Fortunately, she can now see the road curving in a more positive direction ..although she hasn't gone around it yet.

And through all that...she has felt safe and supported.

We in Ireland have experienced a dramatic fall from economic grace as we seem to have plummeted into recession within months and there is a joke doing the rounds about the only difference between Ireland and Iceland (who have recently experienced near bankruptcy) is one letter and six months.

But I see two levels.

There is the level of commentators and the media and they are generally feeding on the gloom and doom. One telling skit on one of them had him concluding that every silver lining has a cloud... But let''s face it..it's in their interest to keep the fear going. It keeps their ratings high.

But then amongst ordinary people, there is a generosity and willingness there to take a different approach: to be willing to take the pay cut to support fellow workers, to focus on the positive and identify what changes they need to make in their offerings to weather the recession. They are refusing to listen to the news and get sucked in by the fear...Check out the postings on www.irishbusinesswomen.com to see how people in the west of Ireland (not just women) are just focussing on being positive.

Let's face it..who or what is going to inspire you more? The "yes, it's difficult but yes we can" of Barack Obama or "we're now in recession and let's look for people to blame" approach of much of the media.

 

I've been reflecting on my own business and these are some of the ways I'm planning to help serve YOU in the coming months. I did a survey with you a while back and now based on that I'm committing to seeing how I can serve you better.

If there is ANYTHING you would like me to do MORE of or LESS of, please let me know. I'm always keen to get your feedback.

 

Recommended (what I've been reading and watching this month)  

 

Self care: One of the topics that has been coming up with clients recently is the idea of extreme self care. So I want to let you know about a great virtual workshop (free too!) that's now running: http://www.selfcaremastery.com/ Karen Vizer is involved in this too:

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle: A wonderful book reminding us that what is happening now will be ultimately all for our best. He uses the example of a flower (and how it evolved) to illustrate this.

The Dirty Secrets Club by Meg Gardiner. I've enjoyed her work and she'll be on my list of "approved authors" now. It has a similar premise to the movie "The Game" with Sean Penn and Michael Douglas...

For da wimmin: I've recently come across the work of a woman called Jennifer Louden (The Comfort Queen) and she's about women slowing down, getting present and identifying what they really need. She's got an amazing offer around a "Comfort Cafe" until 1 February. You can read about it here.

 

Take good care of yourself...and let me know how I can help you..

 

Best wishes

anne