By Terez Hartmann
Exploring a New Groove
Once upon a time, there was a girl who reveled in being a woman-about-town. She was constantly seen flitting here and there, socializing, performing, speaking and hosting events. Though she would occasionally get a bit tuckered out, she did indeed enjoy her very out-and-about life.
In 2015, she started to feel a bit of a shift and was wondering if her destiny was moving more in the direction of an introverted, behind-the-scenes lifestyle. At this point, she found herself leaning more toward spending time in nature, connecting with only her hubby and family, and otherwise flying solo a great majority of the time. This was indeed quite a change for her, but she knew there had to be a reason for this shift, so she decided to roll with it and give her lesser-known introverted side some airtime.
In the spring of 2016, the girl was presented with two glorious opportunities: The first to align with, move into and beautify a magnificent new home; the second to compose the score for a fabulous, feel-good musical—both incredible, life-changing experiences she may very well have declined or even missed altogether had she been in full-blown out-and-about mode! She accepted these beautiful gifts with open arms, and off (or rather, IN) she went to create a world of spatial and sonic beauty.
Monkeys Running Amok!
As time marched on, the formerly out-and-about-artist, now artist-very-much-IN-residence, started to feel less-than-fabulous. Though she had more than good reason to wake up celebrating EVERY day, and she was deeply enjoying all that she was doing with her home and the musical, the moment things quieted down her monkey mind would run amok and take her into some very dark places.
Once the girl realized what was happening, she started reaching for any and every thing she could to infuse more lightness and joy into her idle time. She would get outside as much as possible. She picked up books that felt good and inspired her (and was particularly moved by the wonderful guidance and inspiration in the Transform Your Life! series of books from Transformation Publishing). She would take an online class to continue to fine-tune her skills and abilities as a vocalist and artist. She would go over choreography and host a few dance classes that did not interfere with her tight production schedule. She would watch movies or shows that felt fun to her. And little by little, she would start getting back OUT to meet the world again.
Though she was feeling better overall, the girl found that her monkey mind was still having its way with her during certain mornings and, especially, at bedtime. This was really getting old, so the girl decided to that she would do whatever it would take to get her groove back and proclaimed to the Universe that she was open and willing to feel better in her idle times.
Giving the Monkey a Banana!
One morning, just as her monkey mind started to bounce around, she found herself asking the question, “What am I reaching for?” In an instant, the angst that she was starting to feel faded, and she found herself feeling immediately lighter. “Whoa,” she thought. “What just happened here?” And then it dawned on her: Instead of fighting with the monkey or letting the monkey have ITS way with her, she made friends with her monkey by giving it a “banana” (a productive question to ponder), and thereby changed the momentum of her thoughts!
Later that day, she was inspired to open her own book, Allowing Your Success!, and revisit a tool she had created years ago called “Harmonious Belief Upgrade.” Her (bogus) belief at the time was that unless she was in full-blown work-mode or was VERY actively engaged in something, feeling good was a hard-won battle. When she realized that SHE had created this belief, which meant she also had the power to create something ELSE, she decided that a belief upgrade was very much in order. With that, she decided that she was open and willing to embrace the belief that feeling good for “no good reason” can be EASY.
Souvenirs and Gifts
Now armed with an attitude of openness and willingness to believe that feeling good during idle times could be easy, paired with a tool to help her do just that (via asking productive questions), the girl started feeling stronger, happier and clearer each day. Though parts of her journey may not have been 100 percent sunflowers and hummingbirds, by choosing to embrace this journey inward and keep a keen eye out for treasures along the way, she managed to bring home several souvenirs and gifts that, to this day, keep on giving:
She realized that it was SHE who had invited the opportunity to “try on” a more introverted, “behind the scenes” life, and during that time, discovered SEVERAL new avenues for experiencing joy and fulfilling her sense of purpose. Who knew that creating a musical score was at the top of her “I was born to do this!” list?
She recognized that SHE had also invited the opportunity to cultivate and maintain greater contentment and joy during the quiet times—something that will continue to serve her well all the days of her life. She actually did truly LOVE performing on stage for the pure joy of it, after all, and that this was no less “noble” of a desire than her passion to empower and inspire.
And through all of this, she realized that having BOTH out-and-about-rockin’-n-rollin’ time AND contemplative IN-residence time are the winning combination for her to live the life on FIRE that she and her Creator had intended!
…Talk about bonuses, upgrades and HAPPY surprises, indeed!
The Bottom Line: From Woman-About-Town to Artist-IN-Residence
Whether you are setting out on an epic journey to explore the far reaches of planet Earth or the many beautiful textures and colors of your inner landscape, may you remember that life happens in your magnificent mind, and that you most certainly DO have the power to direct your thoughts and summon experiences—and from those experiences, make NEW discoveries, choices and decisions at any moment! The one thing about journeying inward is that, just as the universe-at-large seems to expand eternally outward, the music of YOUR heart and soul’s desires will forever play on and offer infinite ways and means to call you to YOUR greatest experience and expression of joy in the moment.
From one extroverted-introvert (or is it introverted-extrovert?) to another, here’s to all the bonuses, upgrades and HAPPY surprises your lovely heart can handle. Happy trails!
Terez “Firewoman” Hartmann,“Your catalyst for all things Fab-YOU-lous,” is the author of Allowing Your Success!, a proud contributing author of Transform Your Life! book one and two, a professional Keynote Speaker/Workshop Facilitator, Singer-Songwriter/Recording Artist, “Allowing Adventures!” & “Savor Vacation” Facilitator, and true Renaissance Woman, and Visionary. She keeps her fire lit by embracing and promoting a lifestyle of “Allowing,” and by using creative expression to elevate and ignite the human spirit, a passion that she shares with her husband, soul-mate and creative partner of over 15 years, John Victor Hartmann. Together they share “Allowing TRUE LOVE” workshops and experiences designed to help others attract, allow, and maintain extraordinary relationships, and create custom jingles and voice-overs in their Safety Harbor-based studio, THE Creativity Express. Visit: www.TerezFirewoman.com
