We all tell ourselves stories.  And much of the time, all of us get stuck in old stories that we’re still telling that no longer serve us.

As much as the stories we tell others, the stories we tell ourself is the most important one.  We can be all chirpy and strong on the outside but if there’s a little girl cowering on the inside, fearful of the dark and afraid of shadows, that’s the story our subconscious is following and that’s the story we will see in the world around us.  That is a story about being small and unable to make choices of action to circumstances that present themselves to us.

This past week Hurrican Sandy passed by Southern Maryland.  For a while it wasn’t looking good:  full moon, high tide, strong winds.  But the wind was against the water and blew it out of the Chesapeake Bay instead of pushing it up onto the shores.  There was flooding but minimal.  The winds took a hike.  My yard didn’t look like much more than a strong thunderstorm had come through.

Do I need to tell you how much we heard beforehand on tv?  and during?

It is good to be prepared.  It is bad to be scared witless.  If your environment is scaring you to immobility, change it.  In this instance, turn off the tv, the newspaper, the web and find something to keep yourself occupied.  I did handwork.  The Spirit Doll you see here was started.  I finished her today for Day 2 of Art Every Day Month.

I was amazingly calm through this whole storm.  Normally I am on pins and needles and restess and unable to focus on anything.  Yes, I spend my fair amount of time on the internet chatting with others in and out of the midst of the storm (because the electric in this area lasted a long time.  Mine never went out) .

Why the difference?

For the past month I have been doing daily practice with Kathryn Yarborough’s Collaborative Manifestation  group in the mornings.  Almost immediately after, I follow with deep questions on Patti Digh’s Project 137.  In other words, I have been doing deep self care.  In the busy-ness of everyday gottadothis, I had forgotten the magic of focused, conscious self-care.

Because I am a solopreneur, how I take care of myself affects my business.  The stories I tell myself are part of my business.  My business has its own stories that I tell and retell.  And believe.

Conscious self-care, therefore, opens into clarity for both myself and my business.

I have rewritten my entire website.  In about 16 hours.  It is coherent because I am clear.  It isn’t perfect.  It never will be – I’m an artist and “perfect” is the next step.  Where I am is only along the path (and I’m okay with that).

So, anyways, that conscious self-care gave me serenity during the storm (I was as prepared as I could be.  I had the means to respond to what I could.  Worrying about responding to things I couldn’t imagine served no purpose. I got it.  I really really got it).

Need I tell you that streams of income have popped up and I’ve had the best two months I’ve had in a very long time?

It isn’t magic!  It’s focus and clarity.  And that comes from self-care.

So the next time you think you don’t have time for self-care, pause a minute.  Take a deep breath.  And remember:  if you aren’t yet the shining hero you wish to be, it just means there’s more to the story.  Or maybe your story needs to be update.  Have a look and see what you find.

What is the story you tell yourself about your life?

What is the story you tell yourself about your income?

What is the story you tell yourself about your business?

What is the story you tell yourself about what is possible and what is not?

What is the story you tell yourself about who you are and what you’re meant to do here in this place and time?

Need a place to take a breath and thank about those questions?  I have 3 spaces left in my gathering of women:  Retreat, Review, Recharge, Return.  Maybe one of them is waiting for you!

Are you ready to step into your own true Hell YES! life?