The water is already flowing… If you’d like to help me save TEN people, you can see my post below… or click here to read more about my charity : water campaign. 
It’s funny what happens as a birthday draws near… the mind tends to linger on things it might otherwise rush past. What’s been accomplished? How far have we come? What remains undone? Depending on your answers you can either be left celebrating or questioning the year that’s coming to an end.
I’m choosing to celebrate.
But, let’s back up a bit. Last Summer I attended an incredible conference known as the World Domination Summit. (Go take a look, it’s not what you’d think from that title.) While there I heard from a man who had come to find his passion in helping others, and more simply in helping them have something we take for granted every day. Water. I’d heard of charity : water before last Summer, I’d even donated to a campaign someone was running on their behalf. But that didn’t make me any more prepared for what Scott Harrison would share that day up on that stage.
For me, the story is everything. We all know this; that’s why we read, watch movies, sit around campfires, write songs. The stories are what stay with us. Scott told a handful of stories of the people he’d been able to help by working to dig wells and give them access to clean drinking water. He also shared stories of those he was too late to help. No one left that auditorium unmoved.
And likewise no one left that auditorium with anything other than a solemn promise, even if only in their own heart, to do something to help.
Which brings me to last week. My oldest nephew turned nine. To say that that fact makes me feel old is an understatement. I’d die for this kid and to be able to see him and his brothers growing up is a privilege unlike anything else. But what kills me is that I know that on the other side of the world is a little boy who won’t live to see nine. He’ll be lucky if he lives to see six. Six. All because he doesn’t have access to clean drinking water. It’s not like he was born with a disease or his parents were reckless or he took a stupid risk. He just lives in a place where the water is filled with crap, and even though he knows it’ll make him sick, he has no choice but to drink it.
When you look at the world today it’s possible to see nothing but need and to feel so overwhelmed you do nothing. We all do this. Which is why this isn’t about saving the world.
For me, to celebrate another year of my own life, filled with joy, health, beauty and love, I want to change the story for ten people. TEN. That’s it. I’m not asking you to help me save a whole village, a whole nation, or a whole continent. I’m asking you to help me save ten innocent kids who will die if we don’t.
They say it costs $65 for charity : water to give one person access to clean water. $65 bucks.
You know how when you ask a kid how old they are they show it on their fingers. We stop doing that as adults when we run out of fingers, and we don’t want to be reminded of our age anyway.
But what if you could hold out your fingers now and count on each one a child who will get the chance to see their sixth birthday because of you?
And then their seventh? What would that feel like? I’m hoping it feels good. So good that you’ll help me do this.
You can click here to donate to my birthday campaign. My goal is to raise $650. I’m asking for my age in dollars, but you and I both know that any amount is incredible. And even if making a contribution isn’t something you can take on right now, you can still help. Spread the word, share this with your friends, send them here so they can see why I’m doing this and they can decide to help me reach this goal.
Ten people. How great would that be?
Thank you!
*rebecca
Water. With the Spring’s thaw its been on my mind a lot lately. But that’s not the only reason. Tomorrow I’ll reveal why water has really been coming more and more into my focus, and it’s good, so be sure to check back.
In the meantime I let my mind follow the water theme as I cruised around on Etsy and here are some of the treasures I found. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Happy Spring thaw!
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Ready to take action by working with a coach? Here’s how to find one that’s right for YOU!
Since discovering coaching a few years back I’ve been lucky enough to see some pretty remarkable things. It’s the nature of the work. But I also believe it’s a product of the kind of relationship that can form between the RIGHT coach and the RIGHT client.
So, how do you find YOUR right coach? Simple, follow your heart…
Google “life coach” and you’ll pull up about 800,000,000 results in 0.27 seconds. Yikes. And if you’re in any of the situations I talked about in last week’s post about why you MIGHT want to work with a coach, feeling additional stress from the selection process might not be super helpful. Here are a few ways to make the search less pressured and more peaceful.
While you might feel like you’re lost in the thick of something so big you can’t even begin to put your finger on it, it’s likely you actually do know what we you’re desiring in terms of an outcome. If you hate your body, go looking for weight loss coaches. If you’re feeling more stuck in the area of your work, then a career coach is who to aim for. If you think you’re facing something less single-issue, but perhaps more life-stage-y, such as the Quarter Life or Mid-Life Crisis, Empty-Nesting or after a significant loss, then include those terms in your search. Most coaches, myself included, know who our particular kind of work resonates with the most, so don’t hesitate to get clear on what you want to see come from working with a coach and contact the ones that talk about helping people in the same spot you’re in.
I know, I know, I just said to get clear on the outcome you’re hoping for and look for a coach that offers help in that area. That’s great, and true, and awesome and if you find someone you fancy that is doing work in your area, go for it. However, if in the process of looking around you find someone who just seems to be speaking your language, but they aren’t necessarily aimed at you/your issue/your group, contact them anyway. If you really don’t seem like a good fit, they’ll let you know. But most coaches I know, even ones who work on specific issues or with particular groups, are always ready and willing to work with someone who feels connected to the work their putting out there. That’s what the intro call is all about people! The relationship is always the most important thing.
Working with a coach isn’t like anything else in the world. You’ll be talking frankly about fears, dreams, hopes, loss… the works. There’s nothing to fear in all this, as you’ll be guided kindly and with compassion as you face what comes up. But initially the very thought of being exposed in such a way can be scary enough to stop you before you start. If that’s the case, spend as much time as you need with your favorite coaches…before you even meet them. Pretty much every coach has a blog, a newsletter, or a Facebook page and each one affords you the chance to get nice and comfy with them before you ever make contact. Let yourself get familiar with how they speak, the terms they use, the vibe they give off, all of it. This is a great way to let your guard down in small, slow steps that will eventually lead you to feeling safe enough to initiate that first conversation. There’s never any rush.
By knowing what you want to work on, who you’re drawn to naturally, and giving yourself time to get comfortable with them from the beginning you can make the choice of which coach is right for YOU. It will come down to what feels right in your own heart, and that’s something you can always trust.
Besides one on one coaching, there’s also often the opportunity to take e-courses, join group-programs, or read self-development to help you get yourself back on your right path. I’ll be back next time, talking about the difference between each of these, be sure to check back for “The Do-it-Yourself Coaching Option?”… Cheers ya’ll!
This is a part of a series called Why a Coach? aimed at unraveling what it means to work with a coach, how to find the best one for you, & how to make the most of the relationship. Here are Part One and Part Two. If you have a question about coaching send it my way, I’d love to answer it in a future post! Email me at rebecca(at)rebeccamurphy.net
This past winter I sent my Storyteller course out into the world. It was a scary moment. I had been forming this idea, working to gather the stories I wanted to tell, the kindreds I wanted to share, the tools I knew could change things for those who would take this journey with me. But I had no idea how it would land. You put your heart into something and sometimes, it just doesn’t come together.
But I was lucky. And it did. I was greeted with a group of awesome women. AWE-some women. They opened up to their stories, each other, and the work like I had dreamed they would. It ended up being six of the most fulfilling weeks of my life. My work had deep meaning and I felt awareness forming that I trusted would extend in ripples far beyond what I’d be graced with knowing.
I’m holding another session this Spring, starting on May 20. I cannot wait. I hope that if you’ve been holding off on finding a way to reconnect to your journey and feel the power of your own truth, that you’ll join us. Here are some of the things those in the last class were kind enough to share…
“Storytellers’ provided me an opportunity to know myself more fully. As I progressed through the course, I was provided with the necessary tools to harness my own personal energies in order to create a positive path toward my future dreams and goals. Rebecca Murphy serves as an ideal mentor and guide throughout this journey. She is unfailingly accessible, upbeat, astute, and kind. I heartily recommend ‘Storytellers’ to any who wish to rediscover themselves and sashay forth, boldly, into greater and more purpose-filled tomorrows!” – Amy V.
“These wonderful things woven together brought to my awareness that I am the story I tell and that I make the choice to tell it and live it whether it be positive or negative, strong or weak, true or false. I want to be positive, I want to be strong, and I want to be true. I am lucky Rebecca’s course is a part of my story.”- Suzanne Lawless
“I have loved taking photographs all my life, and lately I have decided to explore photography more fully as a form of creative expression. Rebecca is a thoughtful, creative, and knowledgeable teacher, and I would not hesitate to take another class or work with her in another way. We also had an amazing group of supportive women in various stages of life, which was a learning experience in itself.” – Gayle Olson
Registration opens April 22. You can find out more information right here, or email me at rebecca(at)rebeccamurphy.net if you have any questions. I look forward to meeting you.
I’m a planner. I like lists. I solve problems. I’m a Planner, capital “P”… I’m not always as good of an action taker, but when it comes to working out the details, remembering the little things, anticipating pitfalls and curve balls; I’m your girl. That’s why this is funny to me; that a dream of mine just totally came true and I didn’t have to struggle to make it so.
All I did was stay open. Oh, and say “yes”.
Those of you who’ve hung with me for a while know that I’m blessed to have been welcomed into a spectacular group of women, and that we call ourselves the Tribe. We gather each summer on the coast of OR in a house with a view of the ocean and knack for holding each of us, individually and as a collective, in the exact way we need to be held. Together we get to be seen, heard, and supported. It’s an unreal privilege to be among a group of women and to be so free at the same time.
This Tribe, the way that it came to be, and the impact it’s had on us all is the subject of a beautiful piece of writing by three of my sisters which is appearing in the Spring 2013 issue of Mingle magazine. Coupled with words that convey a truth we all share, but that each of the three articulate with their own grace and power, are photos from five of us…myself among them.
Once, a long time ago I made a list of dreams. Not goals, but ideas that I felt an energy around. Ones that I considered from a lens of hope, not of determination. It was a sort of “bucket list”, but only in the loosest of senses. I don’t even know where it is right now (though I did consider digging through the boxes that currently contain my whole life to find it). And on that list was “have photos published in a magazine“. I don’t need to see it though. I put it on that list and I trusted that it would come to be if it was meant to.
This is less passive than it sounds.
You see, while I haven’t actively pursued a photography project or even scoped out magazines to aim for, I have done the most meaningful thing: I took photos. Lots of photos. I didn’t do it for the end-game reason of being published, I did it because I LOVE it. Let me say that again: I LOVE IT.
When we set our sights on something, and we proclaim it as a dream or a goal, and we focus all our energy on MAKING it come to life we are always at risk. We teeter on the edge of NEEDING the end-game to make the pursuit worthwhile. And when that happens, when that shifts slides in to our overall intentions, we lose all our power and grace and heart and love. A crack forms between us and what we’ve proclaimed as our goal, and we’ll likely never see it come to pass. At least not in the way we wanted, in a way that feels utterly joyous and fulfilling.
This isn’t about not having goal or dreams. Not at all. I’m the biggest dreamer I know. I love dreams. And it’s not about not working hard for what you want. But I’ve seen, first hand, what happens when dreams and goals become a predetermined destination. A path marked by rigidity instead of flow. A struggle for “achievement” instead of a passion-filled pursuit of what fills us with light.
Yes, I just had a few images I love published. A dream came true. Yesterday was a very good day. But so were all the days before, in between, and after. And so were all the photos that will never see the pages of a beautiful magazine.
If you want to feel yourself dream-soaked and spent from living a life you love: live a life you love.
Forget about the rest. It will come, if it’s meant to, and it will bring with it a sweetness that can’t be matched by struggle & achievement alone.
Cheers my friends,
rebecca
