Growing and gifting were THE two things that were paramount to my first Saturday of personal downtime. It has been an exciting but busy year, filled with travel, education, and FUN. I seized the opportunity to gift myself by attending an event to grow my circle of contacts and perhaps learn more about ME – my dreams, my desires and my intentions for 2017. Doesn’t sound like a gardening activity does it???
If you think about it, cultivating new relationships is just like gardening. You must show yourself as approachable and interesting (like the cover of a seed packet), invoke groundbreaking conversation and observe how the relationship through networking can grow (like our gardens). The event I attended to fertilize my inner garden was created by Skye Charlie and Chantl Martin, Owners of Thrive Lounge. Thrive Lounge – Unlocking Success For Unstoppable millennial Women…so you know I had to be there. While not a Millennial….I felt I could learn from this Vision board experience, after all, every garden has that “go to” perennial. Trust me there were a few seasoned ladies or Perennials who joined me at the table. Also one of my favorite empowered women was the Keynote speaker – Stacey Ferguson, Co-Founder, BLOGALICIOUS, Fetti Wraps Owner, Business Coach, and just all around amazing woman!!!
A panel discussion started off the morning with Alicia T. Chew, Merav Yuravlivker and Diana R. Ramsey, moderated by Nakornsri Sintaisong. Each of these ladies shared important tips, I like to consider starter fertilizer for 2017.
Diana shared how she prevailed over her Winter (a dark period in her life) to transition to the confident young woman she is today. Alicia shared how after her Spring (a bumpy, not sure season) she decided to take charge of her own success and finally Merav shared how her seasons of Summer (you know the time of year when you can’t get anything done due to the constant watering and feeding of the garden) has made her a success, however, she now understands that she still needs to be herself, cherish her friends and spend time with self to be whole. Just kind of makes you realize that our lives are our gardens. How we tend them might be different, but with a vision and proper planning, we can have that green space that brings us joy. Vision board…it is why I ventured into this millennial playground….to find out what their seed catalog offered……so to speak.
The experiences of these women make you realize that our lives are our gardens. How we tend them might be different, but with a vision and proper planning, we can have that green space that brings us joy. Vision board…it is why I ventured into this millennial playground….to find out what their seed catalog offered……so to speak.
Chantl provided us with scissors, glue sticks, and endless magazines. Explaining that we should be distracted by our table partners to share, discuss what our achievable thought processes are as we gleaned through magazines for ideas. More importantly – it was ok to not finish our vision boards. I grew up in an era where you always cleaned your plate and finished every task. There was always an endpoint…like not gardening after dark. As we got busy, we were sharing our dreams, visions and just got to know each other…as we addressed the mission of creating a vision board that would usher us into 2017 and beyond.
I followed Chantl’s instruction and did not finish my vision board. I guess you could say that this experience was my Autumn. Autumn is a time for gathering leaves to make compost that will fertilize our gardens in the next growing season. I gathered words that speak to my vision of growth in my next season.
Over the Winter, there are seeds that can be sown and roots grow underground that will bring us joy. In spite of a bumpy Spring, if we plan properly we can balance the watering and feeding required during the Summer and be rewarded by a beautiful life experience.
I will be working on adding to my vision board. Gifting myself with more experiences that will help me grow my inner garden and share my thoughts to all who are interested.
Do you gift yourself with seeds to help you grow? Are you fertilizing your inner garden?
From the Cottage in the Court,
Teri
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