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Simply Authentic...Your Soul Voice is Calling. Rest and Play

Writer's picture: Kimberly GenlyKimberly Genly

Rest and Play Martha Beck is one of my favorite writers. You may recognize the name of this quite famous life coach – Oprah refers to her as “one of the smartest people I know”; Martha has written a column for O Magazine for years. I quote her frequently in my own work, and recently – while reading her book Finding Your Way in a Wild New World – pulled out the notepad and pen I keep in the nightstand by my bed to write down this quote. Rest until you feel like playing, then play until you feel like resting. Never do anything else. –Martha Beck. What a radical concept, huh? And the complete opposite of what most of us (including Martha Beck) were taught growing up and experienced early in life. I should probably explain, however, that this book is geared towards people Martha calls “wayfinders” who have always felt a drive to use their inner gifts and art to make a living and life in the world. I have found this is simply not true of everyone. There are plenty of people who love their jobs, or at least like them just fine, prefer the stability of a regular paycheck and benefits, whose deeper purpose may be something like parenting or coaching kids’ sports outside of the day job. Yet there are also many people who feel like their jobs aren’t even close to what they are really meant to do or long to express. I fell into that category for years, and I certainly was not alone in my experience. For those of you who may still be in that space, let me give you some hope. Martha Beck, whom I look forward to meeting in person one day, writes books and articles, coaches, and facilitates workshops for a living. While I haven’t met either of them in person at this point, I’ve mentioned Ann Hood and Kate Christensen, two more of my favorite writers, in previous blog posts and have communicated with both via the web. Ann spends a lot of time writing, knitting, teaching writing workshops, cooking, and hanging out with her family. She has suffered tragic loss and I wouldn’t say her life has been an easy one, but this is how she spends her days and earns her living. Kate also does a lot of writing, teaches writing workshops, walks every single day with her dog, Dingo, and her boyfriend, and they both love to cook. (No wonder I love both these writers so much – I also love to cook and am in the process of finishing up a cookbook! Who knew??!! But I digress…) Then there are the people I know personally. Let’s take my partner, best friend, lover, roommate and fiancé, for example. George may have five massage clients in a day, or he may have one. Or two. Or none. It doesn’t matter…he doesn’t need a business plan…this is his gift. A dear friend of mine once worded it this way. With some massage therapists, you feel the energy from their hands once their hands are on your skin, and then the energy goes into your body. With George, you can feel the energy from his hands when they are about eight inches above your body, and once his hands are on you, you feel it just as much below the skin, into your body. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard a better testimonial for a massage therapist. My voice teacher, Linda Brice, has shared with me in the past there were times when money was tight she cleaned houses for income. I’ve done that, too. Yet almost exclusively Linda has done nothing but teach people how to sing, on the breath, from the most authentic place in the singer’s heart and soul, for over 33 years. And now she, also, is writing a book on holistic singing. Renee Madsen provides intuitive readings and workshops and classes on Reiki, angels and guides, is a hypnotherapist well versed in stress reduction and weight reduction to name a few topics, and also teaches martial arts! She’s a magnificent singer, fellow certified transformational voice teacher and – in fact – is the person who introduced me to Linda Brice. Renee has made a rather remarkable living her entire adult life simply by being herself and sharing her gifts with others. Barbara Stanny’s work has changed my life from the first time I heard her speak and read her book Secrets of Six Figure Women, to attending one of her Sacred Success retreats in 2012, to her latest book release, Sacred Success. Barbara writes books, of course travels to promote her books as virtually every other author does, provides Overcoming Underearning workshops, Sacred Success retreats, and now teaches wealth building. This is what she does for a living. And then there is Barry Dennis, whom I interviewed for my first January blog post. All of these people, most of whom are personal friends or colleagues of mine, express their authentic self in the world in a way that creates their livelihood as well. Please allow yourself to be inspired by them. I know I am! Each species of animal has its own energy: horses are gentle and easily frightened, dogs are joyful and easily impressed, house cats are quirky and easily offended. But cheetahs…oh my. Cheetah energy is one of the most intensely sweet forms of affection I’ve ever felt. (Written after an extraordinarily rare and strictly forbidden personal audience with a family of orphaned cheetahs who had been reared by loving zoologists in Nairobi.) –Martha Beck Whether you’re more like a horse, a dog, a house cat or a cheetah, honor your unique nature. And have fun doing it, with plenty of rest! Authentically Yours, Laura

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