I was cleaning out some items and came across a honorary patrol badge I received a long time ago. For a couple of years I attended an elementary school in DC public school, and being in the city meant many walked to school. Therefore being a safety patrol meant standing on assigned corners to make sure everyone crossed the street safely.
Today there are times I will drive past my first assigned spot and remember how I stood there just to help one student cross the street. When I was assigned this spot I was told it was a pretty boring spot; there was only one girl to help cross the street and to be honest she was in 6th grade (I was in 4th); so I think she could handle it. However even at this age I remember committing to things fully; the number of people you help doesn't matter.
Over time I moved up to new positions and by 5th grade I was elected the Captain of Patrols. This caught me off guard because I didn't know that others would vote for me. Fact was many disliked the other Captain and nobody else wanted the role. I won the vote and was the first female and 5th grader to ever hold this role at this school. I still had many battles including initially the supervisor had doubts about me and tried to amend the role to a dual Captain position. She doubted my abilities however I challenged this and won my point; which was you can't doubt me based on age or gender. Yes even a woman could doubt someone based on gender. This supervisor would still challenge me in other ways as well, however I pushed forward and had the support of other patrols.
I am proud of this because it was the first of many times in life when someone was going to make me doubt myself; I just had to keep on believing in me.
You can't base your truth off of popularity, numbers or what others will think of you.
Standing up for what you believe often means that you may have go without any support. At times you may have to trust something that feels right and maybe you can't explain where the feeling is coming from. Of course there is a balance between considering another point of view, however learning to figure out which direction to take is where I found yoga to be helpful.
For me my yoga practice helps me to observe that negative self-talk and figure out ways to become comfortable with it. Seeing that the thought doesn't make it right.
This doesn't mean that I have ever reached a point where I am without anger or frustration. I have to work at being with my feelings each day. I am not the void of feelings, however I can allow my feelings to help point me in a better direction and therefore root me back to a place where I can laugh, have fun and find purpose and meaning.
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As we move into the first day of the fall season, it means change is here.
I hope you will find some ways to embrace change and get back to
some ways to help you reconnect with your well-being and purpose.
How could you have fun today?
I also hope this story helps you to return back to place
that has always existed inside of you.
I also hope to see you soon either online or in person
See the workshops, classes and videos below
--Paige