Last year I was introduced to the beautiful world of lunar (moon)/ cycle tracking. A whole new world was made available to me. One part of this was setting an intention with a new moon.

The purpose of this intention is then to use it as a guide for the next 28 days and to experience it coming into being.

Even if I participated in this practice for 5 or 6 months, I never completed a cycle. I will begin with an intention but never let it grow and develop. Until I read the book Chi-To-Be from Stacey Ann Hall and I realised the value of intentional living.

In this blog post, I will share with the five biggest lessons I learned from being more intentional with my life.

My intention for this moon cycle is: AM I SHOWING UP, DAILY, TO LIVE MY BEST LIFE.

This means that every day I get up, dress up and show up. Even if all I do for that particular day is to enjoy a hug from my children or having a cup of coffee with my husband. Every day is an opportunity to live the best life.

Some days showing up is slow and gentle. Other days is focused and productive. But I am showing up every day.

Lesson 1: Accountability

Accountability is to take responsibility for your own actions.

I always thought I was responsible. Well, I am responsible, for everyone else, but never for my own actions. Life happened to me and I made excuses for everything, even for the nothings. I didn’t create my life. I didn’t live my life by design. Life happened to me, not for me.

One of the most fundamental things I had to take accountability for was my own self-care practice. There is this conception that self-care is an indulgence. I was stuck in a place of guilt because I had the desire to take the time to look after my own needs.

Self-care isn’t indulgent.

Self-care isn’t something I need to feel guilt about.

Self-care is the most important practice I can do for myself and my loved ones. I know from personal experience that I cannot give from an empty cup. I cannot give what I don’t have. I cannot give from a place of fear and overwhelm and scarcity.

When I am showing up for myself, daily to live my best life, I am first and foremost accountable for myself and my well-being.

When I have a self-care practice, I can now give from a place of fulness and abundance.

Self-care and accountabilty allows a place in my heart to experience a deeper connection.

Lesson 2: Connection

A connection is all about relationships. Relationship with the Divine (in my case God). Relationship with myself. Relationship with my loved ones. Relationship with my tribe.

For this post, I am focused on the relationship I have with God. A spiritual connection.

I was ashamed of my relationship with God. The reason I wasn’t aligned with Him and with my purpose. Did you know that I come from ministry? I have a degree in Theology, I studied the Bible and I taught people from the Bible. And then I lost my job which I loved very much.

And with that my sense of religion. Yes, there is a great difference between religion and spirituality. Religion is a bunch of rules created by people who think they are almighty and then they get their panties in a twist when you dare do something that is not part of their rules.

Spirituality is about being aligned with the Divine. It is about being connected and trusting His (or Her) guidance. It is about creating and living in the awareness of this guidance. Abraham Hicks shares that there is a stream of well-being. You can either choose to be in the stream of well-being or not, but the stream is flowing nonetheless.

I am showing up for myself, daily, to live my best life. This asks of me to enjoy the stream of well-being. To live from a place of alignment, trust and guidance in God.

I was ashamed of my relationship with God, because I was living from the rules and not the connection. Today I enjoy a spiritual connection. This allows me to enjoy and intentional life.

Lesson 3: Intentional living

To live an intentional life means to be deliberate about every thought, word, action and habit.

In my first paragraph, I wrote about the beautiful world of the moon cycle. Let me elaborate. The moon has a cycle of 28 days, moving from a dark or new moon, into a waning moon, then a full moon, and into the waxing moon and then the cycle repeats itself. It is a beautiful and rich cycle.

There is nothing magical about the moon and her cycle. But it is ever changing and moving through darkness and light. When the moon is dark or new it gives me the opportunity to move within, to reach within and search what I am seeking in life. The new moon allows me to explore the possibilities about life. When it is a new moon, I set an intention for the next 28 days.

I AM SHOWING UP, DAILY, TO LIVE MY BEST LIFE.

As the moon is moving through her cycle, I can also track how I am showing up for my life. It allows me to connect with my own wisdom and knowledge. The moon cycle allows me to move through life with a little more ease, because I am checking in with myself and my intention for my life.

There is a beautiful book you can read about the moon cycle. It is called Lunar Abundance from Dr Ezzie Spencer.

The intention I am setting every 28 days, allows me to explore which areas of my life is not yet where I desire it to be. This intention allows me to create the next step in my personal growth and development plan.

Lesson 4: Personal Growth and Development

I am in constant pursuit of better myself in order to experience a fulfilling and meaningful life.

The first time I heard these words it felt weird to my ears: “let go of the things that no longer serve you.” Once I began to feel the words deeper in my heart and allowed them to settle into my being, I realised the value of these words.

Because of the importance of personal growth and development in my life, I am asking myself more and more, what is not serving me at this moment. These include thoughts, habits, people, limitations.

Remember I said I lost a job I loved. I didn’t lose the job, I made the decision to terminate my contract. For the financial gain for my church. When I made this decision I made it because I was guided by God that there is a bigger plan for my life.

In the beginning, I was feeling sorry for myself. I was feeling that I should be missed. I was feeling that people should contact me and ask how I am doing. None of these thoughts was serving me in any way, Instead, it caused anxiety. Instead, it caused resentment. It caused me to be stuck in a spiral that was in no serving me, my loved ones or my purpose in life.

I had to let go of what I perceived should be my new reality.

I had to let go of expectations.

I had to let go of the need to hold onto the people I served.

I had to get into alignment with my purpose (calling/ legacy/ destiny). I had to start showing up for myself. I had to become intentional about the journey I am pursuing. I had to trust that God and His Guidance won’t let me down.

Personal growth and development is about understanding my mindset and how it influences my whole life. Change your mind. Change your life.

I AM SHOWING UP, DAILY, TO LIVE MY BEST LIFE.

This intention is to play, explore and discover. Daily. To enjoy life and the abundance of blessings available to me and my loved ones.

In my own personal growth and development journey, I became more attuned to my passion and my purpose.

Lesson 5: Personal Sense of Purpose

This is my reason for being created.

I wasn’t supposed to be alive. That is what the doctor told my mom when I was rushed to an emergency c-section. “Ma’am I cannot promise you that your baby is alive.”

Since I am deeply connected with God I am so grateful for the opportunity to be alive. I haven’t always felt this way, but since I became deliberate about pursuing my purpose, I never take one day for granted. Every day is a miracle and there is beauty in every moment.

As I am writing this we are in the middle of Covid-19 pandemic. We are still in lockdown with limited movement. Yes, there are days when my children are having difficult days. Yes, there are days when I and my husband are out of sync. Yes, our home isn’t clean and there are crumbs over the floor and the washing isn’t up to date. And yes, there is great uncertainty about what the future holds.

Despite all of that is happening around me, I am choosing to revel in the beauty of it all. I am with my loved ones 24/7. We can enjoy each day without the strain of a routine. My husband doesn’t need to sit in traffic for 3 hours each day.

Miracles happen in the light. What miracles are happening around you?

I have a deep sense of personal purpose, especially since I came face-to-face with the limitations that I put on myself, my life and my destiny.

My reason for being is to be seen as an expert in the health and wellness space. To show up for my tribe daily and share tips and secrets on how to create an abundance of health and wellbeing. This all fits into creating an health and wellness online hub/ centre.

I didn’t just decide to do this one. I wrote about my spiritual connection and being in the flow. My purpose was Divinely Guided. I asked God “what would you have me do” and day by day my reason for being was shown to me.

Now that I know my purpose, I can be intentional and deliberate about my goals and my daily activities.

Therefore I am showing up daily to live my best life.