My favourite place in the entire world is a national park in Canada called Waterton. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up (who could, with five children and an assorted array of pets?), but my parents always managed to take us on a long (week or two week) camping vacation to this national park.
We children were enthusiastic (but probably unhelpful) in setting up the tents and getting the camp in order (two tents, one for the boys, one for the girls). This was the blissful 80s, so my parents also preferred to sleep in every morning they could (they are early risers, so sleeping in meant 7:30 or 8:00). Still, that meant we could all slip out of the tents at 6 am and go wandering through the forest and mountain trails and still be back by breakfast. (And no, we were not scared of bears or mountain lions, we had been educated and we knew what to do. Plus we were kids and therefore indestructible.)
We often went to a waterfall that’s located near the campground, called Cameron Falls. Here’s a picture of us (I’m the oldest girl, on the right).
Cameron Falls continues down a rocky creek and empties into a nearby freshwater (and freezing cold) lake. I think of that lake sometimes, I picture how I saw it perfectly calm (very rare) with a big pregnant moon hanging in the sky above and an entire net of stars. I felt so big and small at the same time.
Let me tell you another short story.
I recently attended Nina Hanakova’s Festival for female ELT entrepreneurs. (ELT means English Language Teaching) I felt bright and strong, completely in my element. The workshops were amazing, I was incredibly inspired, I strengthened my connections with others in the group, and made new friends. A moment that stood out for me was in my masterclass when my friend and mentor, Nina herself, looked at me and told me it’s time for me to step up and be a coach.
At the end of the festival, I said I was finally ready to step into my personal power and make this change. I was fired up, enthusiastic.
Do you have any idea how it feels to step into your power?
It feels like leaping into Cameron Falls and trusting the flow to take you where you need to go.
I’ve never been a wallflower of life, just standing aside and watching it go by. I’ve been an active co-creator of my life since the age of 31. And I have felt moments of power before, like dipping my hands into this mountain stream.
But I have never in my life felt the way I feel now.
Because the waterfall is inside me. It’s in my chest. It’s not filled with water, even, it’s filled with love. Golden, sweet, rich, juicy love that is so big my heart can’t contain it and it spills out in my eyes, my voice, my way of moving through the world. My throat chokes up, tears come to my eyes, the joy is that big, and I feel it when I’m on the bus, when I’m meditating, when I’m in the middle of a lesson. Instead of being a once-in-a-long-while sensation, it’s almost permanent.
That’s how it feels to step into your power.
What is this joy? This bliss?
I’ll tell you what it is.
It’s life, how it is meant to be lived.
“Joy is life expressing itself through you without resistance.”
(Quote courtesy of Richard Rudd’s Gene Keys.)
You may say you don’t resist life, but the moment you start worrying about the future, you are resisting. Life will provide you exactly what you need when you need it. Always. Boom. Done. Right?
Wrong. We humans LOOOVE to meddle. We think that there is something we can do to bring about our happiness, or our power, surely a vision board or a retreat or even Jen’s summer of self-love course will make us happy and help us feel this power.
It won’t. Power cannot be created by you.
It is a force you step into. Knowing you might be carried down the stream to areas you’ve never imagined. Here’s the paradox, this force is always inside you, but it’s so big and scary and vital that you might never have thrown yourself in before.
Stepping into your power means truly realising that the future does not exist, there is only the present moment, and you stop projecting yourself into the future. Imagine that. Your life force, once projected into the future, now becomes yours to use here and now.
What will you do with that power?
For me, I will go to Budapest. :) I’m giving a speech and a workshop at the 3rd annual ILCA (International Language Coaching Association) Conference in June 2024. I’ve decided to focus on service instead of selling; a shift in my own perception since January when I applied to be a part of the conference.
I dream of the day we all step into our personal power, and reconnect with the living golden frequency of love that is always there, waiting to be entered into.
Because love is power.
With love,
your Jen
…
Do you appreciate this content, filled with love, warmth, community, and joy? Be part of a soul-ful community and sign up to receive my regular emails! Visit me online at www.thewildgardenofjensheart.com to get weekly(ish) updates and early access to my heart-and-dreams courses and coaching.