003: Belly laughs & making room for the unexpected
The unexpected joy of being open to whatever happens in the moment, regardless of what was supposed to happen.
Episode transcript:
Hello, Daily Peppers, and welcome to the Daily Pep, the only daily dose of Rebel Rousing for creative and multi passionate women just like you and me. So for today's episode, I want to start by sharing a story. A couple of weeks ago, I was taking an online workshop and as part of it, we were invited to meditate. Now, in hindsight, I should have realised that lying on the floor and meditating with a Merlin around was never a recipe for success. For those of you who don't know yet, Merlin is my wildly enthusiastic and jolly puppy. So it didn't start too bad. He was already asleep by the time I laid on the floor. But when I realised I'd leant on one of his really sharp toys and decided to move it, well, in a split second, he decided it was the single most fascinating thing that had ever happened.
So while I was lying on the floor, desperately trying to pay attention to the voice coming out my laptop speakers, doing a body scan and feeling the ground hold me beneath me, I could just hear random noises. I opened my eyes to see Merlin's head was literally millimeters away from my head, chewing a soggy piece of cardboard with his head nearly upside down, looking manic. The cardboard tumbled out of his mouth. It got stuck in his ridiculously big ear. He's shaking his ear, baffled. And it just made me laugh so much. Just thinking about it now, it just starts me off again. And I have a feeling this is one of the situations where you needed to be there, so bear with so I lay there for a good couple of minutes with melon sniffing my armpit getting more ridiculous by the second, and I just laughed and laughed.
And in that moment, I can remember the last time I belly laughed. And in that moment, I realized that this was what I needed. Not to meditate. I realized that I could press play on the meditation another time. I could go back and do that later. But for that moment, I needed the mayhem that was happening at the time. But here's the thing. We are brought up to be good girls, to follow the rules and do what you're told to.
We're taught to sit up, pay attention, listen to instructions, and just obey. But today I want to tell you, you do not have to follow the rules. You don't have to do what you think you should be doing. You get to leap off the page onto a new chapter or fuck, even a new book. Sometimes you'll find that while you're doing the thing you think you should be doing, you will find the thing you actually need along the way. I'm just so glad I decided to ignore the meditation and leant into having a good laugh, because that is what I needed at that moment. And you can probably already record some of these events in your own life. Maybe you intended to go to a workshop and instead of making it there, you bumped into somebody fascinating and grabbed a coffee instead.
Maybe you intended to go to some local thing and instead you got sidetracked by a market you didn't even know existed. Or maybe you sat down to write, put on some music, and ended up stumbling down the black hole of Spotify and finding the song you needed to hear at that exact moment. So today, be open to whatever happens in the moment, regardless of what was supposed to happen. And maybe you'll accidentally stumble on the thing you didn't even consciously know you needed. Maybe you'll end up laughing until your belly hurts. Maybe you'll meet someone you never would have met. Or maybe you'll simply have a better day for it. Just try not to get so stubborn about doing the thing you were meant to do that you miss out on the very thing you actually need.
Dare to break out of the good girl mold. Dare to live in the present and dare to rebel. And remember, there is no one way or no right way of doing anything. And the way that works best for you can change by the hour. And that's okay. So that's it for today's show. If you're enjoying the daily pep and would love to help it spread like wildfire to like minded women who who would also love a daily dose of Rebel Rousing, I would be so happy if you consider rating and reviewing The Daily Pep on itunes. You know what algorithms are like now and it seems to be the biggest thing that helps other women who need the show find it.
So let's spread courage like wildfire and have a fabulous day.
Episode transcript automatically produced by Castmagic.io
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A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!
The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you. Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines
