Exhale, ebb, bust

I got a call last week from a young woman requesting some time with me to help her work through some life issues. I always say yes to these requests for it is an opportunity for me to help someone. But more deeply I have found that whenever someone approaches me with an issue, it is the very same issue with which I am grappling!

Danielle started her marketing consultancy about 7 months ago. The business got going with a bang and she was busy, busy, busy until …. December, when all her proposals were unanswered, calls not returned, work not flowing and cash not rolling in. Panic! Should she have left her job to do this? Should she have waited until she paid off her debt and mortgage before starting her business? Did she make a mistake? Should she have listened to her father? How will she pay her light bill? That was fundamentally the big question!

Such questions are normal in the slow times. When things are good, work flowing, cash coming in, busy busy busy, we have no time to reflect on whether we are doing the right thing, doing it right, should be doing something else or are totally off track. It turns out that Danielle had actually strayed from her business plan and had lost her focus. This ebb in work is a wakeup call. It is giving her time to revisit her business plan, to refocus on her business, to reflect on who she is, what she wants and how her new business will best support her. It is a necessary part of the cycle of her life.

Life is not just about flow. There is the ebb. It is not just about the inhale. We must exhale. It is not just about the boom – it’s also about the bust. The ebb, the exhale, the bust are even more important for our learning than the flow, the inhale, the boom. This is when we have the time, when busyness gives way to the true business of our lives – learning, growing, and being in integrity with who we truly are. These times are to be welcomed and made good use of. This is when we have the space (and the impetus) to create, to look at things differently, to see new opportunities, to try new things, to connect with new people. We may call it a slump and wonder what’s happening to us. Not a thing. We are simply in the cycle of life. When we relax into the rhythm, then we will be able to see the value of these times.

At the end of our conversation I found that as usual, some of the issues with which Danielle had been grappling, were my own. I received a powerful reminder to value and honour the ebb, the exhale, the bust in my life. These phases are part of my life, integral to my wholeness and happiness. Accepting with openness and joy will put me in the space of learning and growing, and of manifesting my magnificence in the ebb and flow, in the inhale and exhale, in the boom and the bust. Enjoy the ride!