Into the weekend

 

Many of you know that I'm self-employed.  And when it happens to come up in conversation, nine times out of ten I'm told that I'm so lucky because I get to take time off whenever I want.  Technically, yes that is true; I do get to make that choice.  But, truth is, I rarely choose time off.  I'll admit to falling captive to the martyrdom of maintaining an intense work ethic.  Up until just just just recently, I thought I wouldn't be respected enough (or worse, respect myself enough) if I didn't work all. the. time.  Somehow I manage a healthy social life, but I started to notice how- after I'd return home- I'd end up working more and later and later than that even, just to make sure I wasn't falling behind.  These past few weeks have been packed with project meetings and outlining the next big jump in my business (exciting and a little intense).  I'm also still processing this new life after the divorce- little unexpected moments of reminders of what I still need to work through.  I left myself with such little breathing room that, and here's the confession (and I share this because it's important for us to know we are not alone in our darker experiences- would you agree?),  I kind of lost sight of where my light was coming from.  For one deeply challenging 24 hours of numbing stillness; every tiny atom of my life, it all just kind of collapsed.  It sucked, you guys.  It really sucked.   My friends who guided me out (Thank you, Deja.  Thank you, Sebastian.  Thank you, Pam.)... they absolutely do not suck.  Then little pockets of light burst everything back open and I took a huge breath.  So yesterday, at the last minute after a morning meeting, I high-tailed it out of town and headed down to Ventura for the day.  Here's what I saw...

 

 

It was a good afternoon.   A simple shift changes everything, doesn't it?  And, besides, I've got these two friends in town from Copenhagen for the next few days, so win... I'd like to think it was the camera angle that makes me look half the size of Derek :)

 Thank you for allowing me the space to share this.  Your insights from the questionnaire have given me some wonderful guidance as to where this blog and my company are headed.  You wanted more personal stories, more behind the scenes photos of my life, more artists showcased here.  It's all coming!  So here's to the light of new beginnings; however huge or tiny, they all matter.

I'm heading out now for a fun friend-filled day and night.. just getting a little bit of work done; I promised myself this.
More neat stuff coming next week.  Thank you for you, friends.
Enjoy a good weekend!
Love,
Cath
[p.s. the first photo was my last stop before returning home.  Butterfly Beach in Montecito- always beautiful.)