It’s worth showing up. Friday Reflections #1

There are times our faces are in the light, our whole body a glow with love and happiness, arms outstretched welcoming the birth of a new day, basking in the warmth of love, light, confidence and security. Other times we live in the shadows of darkness, we feel cold, anxious, uncertain, we are a flicker of light born into a world of the unknown. We shine so bright for an unknown amount of time and then we too, fade into the night.

This is the yin and yang, the storm and calm, the rain and sun, the dark and the light. But if we lived in constant states of either, could we survive? Do we need the pain to appreciate the pleasure, do we need to cry in order to embrace the smile? If the sun always shone upon your face would you take its warmth for granted?

The ironic thing about us humans is the more we have and the more we love others or possessions, the more anxious we become, because we believe we have more to lose. We search for love and great jobs, we build great big houses and work hard to drive a nice car and have holidays, but we are constantly looking towards the future, so much so that we often don’t stop and enjoy right now. I am guilty of this. Sometimes I feel so blessed that I fear the bubble will burst. I wonder what I did to be so lucky. But in truth it is not about luck. It is about choices.

I am happy because I am choosing to focus on what I have right now. If I look back I see both pain and happiness in my past, and I could estimate that if I could look forward I would see more pain and more happiness. If I was to put all my past pain, the broken relationships, the loss of my babies, the death of loved ones, physical injuries, my battle to survive my last pregnancy, nearly losing both my parents, if I put that into one cup the pain of the past would overflow and all I would see and feel would be pain. I would struggle to lift my head, I would struggle to step into the future knowing that I am likely to experience even more pain in my future.

If I put all my past happiness into one cup, the birth of my children, loving of my family, amazing holidays, weekends with friends, parties, dancing, laughter, love, passion, my writing, amazing breathtaking sights, snuggling with my puppy, singing, travelling, everyday waking up to my husband and my adorable children’s laughter then my cup would over flow, and this too will be in my future.

Both pain and happiness exist together, there are times where one is more prominent, but I can choose how to feel right now, and what feelings I want to focus on. It is not always easy, but it is a choice.

This week has had it’s highs and its lows. And for this weeks Friday Reflections prompt I have chosen

• Reflect on the week just gone, listing one high point, one low point, and something you have learned

My highpoint is starting this Link-Up with the amazing Janine Ripper. I have had some wonderful moments this week, but the reason I have chosen to mention this one is that for me starting this Link-Up is more than just a new venture, it is a whole new me! I started writing again (after years of denying myself) only last September. And I started my blog only 4 months ago! I messaged Janine one day to tell her about how my hubby had found her by accident when trying to find my website (both of us starting with Reflections From), I never expected her (this amazing published author who was celebrating 4 years of blogging) to contact me back!! I had been blogging at that point only a couple of weeks, and felt like a fish out of water (I had never even read a blog ever before I started!) Not only did Janine get in touch but she became my friend! 3 months on she approached me about a link-up and here I am today hosting my first one! So yes a lot of work has gone into this weeks launch, but what a high! Yey us!!!!

My low point this week was my mood last Friday, a whole week ago, out of no where I felt completely overwhelmed, my stomach ached, I had a headache and I just felt tired and sluggish. To be honest I felt miserable. I forced myself up, took the kids to school, even attended a morning tea for the new school mums. I then got chatting to a mum I had known for years, but not well, and it turned out we share a passion for helping people through our life coaching (her), life guiding (me). It ended up being like a ‘meant to be moment’ as we shared and bonded over our new found connection. Although I felt physically terrible all day, I was glad I forced myself to be present in my life that day, or I would have missed out on a lot and a new found friendship. I guess a low point can turn into a high point too. Oops am I cheating by sneaking in an extra high point????? Sorry!

What I have learnt?

Well I guess I have covered that, but here’s a refresher. This week I realised that by pushing ourselves to show up in our own life, forcing my face into the sunshine (when I really craved a poor me, stay in the shadows kind of day), I gave myself power to change my day for the better, and someone else’s too!

I also learnt that although we have bad things happen, we need to focus on both the good and the bad, and stay in the here and now. There is no point worrying about a future that I can’t change until it becomes my present.

Click to Tweet:  ‘Stay in the here and now. There is no point worrying about a future that you can’t change until it becomes your present‘.

So what about you? How was your week? I hope you had more highs than lows, but remember even if your day begins as a low, it can end in a high!

Thanks for joining me, love Mackenzie xx

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Click to Tweet!  “I’ve joined #FridayReflections first link-up. Yey Me!”

“If I do not trust myself to risk experiencing anything new, if I am too afraid of change in my life, then I can not open myself up to new experiences, to change, to the amazing opportunities and beautiful sights I am yet to discover in my life.
It is time to take a leap of faith”
Mackenzie Glanville

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Check out the 3 prompts we have provided for the week and let your inspiration take over! The prompts for the kick off on 6 March 2015 are:

6 March 2015

• Reflect on why you started blogging
• Reflect on the week just gone, listing one high point, one low point, and something you have learned
• “If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.” -Martin Luther

Don’t forget to grab our super cute badge to display 

Find out all about the Friday Reflections Link-Up Click Here

We are Mackenzie and Janine your hosts. We are inviting you to join us every Friday for a cocktail, mocktail, or a good cup of tea to reflect on your week, your thoughts, life, love, adventures, all from the reflective prompts we will provide you with.

Our Vision:

We wish to inspire your creativity. Through reflective thoughts and writing we hope to help you fulfil your life’s dreams and support you in discovering your true passions.

How it works:

Each week we will supply you with 3 prompts to choose from. You simply choose the one that inspires you and start writing! Our prompts will range from quotes or questions to reflect upon, perhaps an image or a statement, whatever we feel inspired by we will share with you, our lovely new Link-Up friends. It is reflective, it is fun, and it is a great way to connect with amazing writers and unleash your creativity.

What will you get out of this experience:

Linking up with Friday Reflections is a great way to find fresh inspiration for your writing and blogging. It provides you with endless ideas to write about! You have the support of other bloggers visiting your site, offering advice and support. It is a great way to connect with other passionate writers and make new and wonderful friendships! Linking up with us will also increase your site traffic and adds many more comments on your post and opportunities for your work to be shared on social media.

On top of all that Mackenzie and Janine will be putting their heads together each week and choosing their favourite post.This could be you!  If you are chosen you will be the ‘Friday Reflections featured writer‘! We will also tweet a link to your post, and a link on Facebook to let all our followers know how fabulous you are. It’s a great way to grow your personal following.

Want to know how to become involved? Click here

Next weeks prompts 13 March 

Enjoy and start following your path to happiness, with Mackenzie and Janine at Friday Reflections.

You can follow Janine on Twitter and Facebook or on Instagram.

You can Follow Mackenzie ‘mg’ on Twitter and Reflections From Me Facebook Page, or mg Facebook and now on Instagram macglanville