I am light and dark and somewhere in the middle is me......

I am me - warts and all….this photoshoot was taken by me, myself and I ;)

**Hit play above on the audio if you might enjoy me read this letter to you….I’d love to keep you company x

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Hello dear friend,

How are you doing? I hope this letter finds you well and I hope you know I am sending you good feelings and vibes your way always. I’m so grateful that you opened this email and are now reading my letter, my words. That means so much to me. Thanks for never giving up on me and supporting my work! Ironically I’ll never have enough words to tell you how much you opening my letters means x

Righteo back to the letter ;)

I can’t believe I am writing to you on the 18th day of January. We are getting there folks. January is a seriously long month - as I always say there is a reason the months at the start and the end of the year are long in letters, because on both ends of the year, I believe ( a little louism) the months were given long words because these parts of the year are meant to be taken slowly. Yes on both ends of the year - whether beginning or ending our twelve month calendar, we are definitely not full of any huge energy but also I really believe the seasons and the months are trying to encourage us to take it slow and steady at these points and that is exactly what I do.

I retreat intensely into my shell in January, digging deeply on myself. Looking outwards to the people who I spend my time with, reviewing that I am serving all my relationships fairly and with love in my heart and equally checking with deep reflection, that all the relationships I am putting energy into that they too are serving me in a healthy way.

I look around myself and look inside myself. Who am I and what parts of me, are failing me? What parts of me might be failing others? What bits needs tweaking? My weakness, my warts, my shadows. Without looking at the weak areas of myself and my life, I am not serving myself wholly and as Aristotle stated ‘Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom’ so the only person who can help me, be a better me, is indeed me!

I also look at my life as a whole, my life in the big picture, my life on a small day to day picture, questioning if there are parts that I don’t engage with in the faster pace of the rest of the year and now that my mind is quietening, I can see inside myself better. I am not a perfect human, flaws galore I have but as you all know:

I don’t believe in perfection.

I believe in real. I believe in authentic. I believe in kindness. I believe in love. I believe in patience. I believe in acceptance. I believe in courage. I believe in looking for the good. I believe in not hurting another. I believe in allowing ourselves and others to make mistakes. I believe in life not being easy. I equally believe in life being amazing. I believe in connection. I believe in disconnection. I believe in silence. I believe in conversation. I believe in listening. I believe in two sides to every story. I believe in second chances. I believe in third and fourth chances. I believe in learning. I believe in not knowing. I believe in friendship. I believe in sacrifice. I believe in suffering being a real part of this world. I believe in fate. I believe in faith. I believe in me. I believe in you. I believe in trying my best. I believe in you trying your best too. I believe in changing my mind. I believe in your changing your mind. I believe in CHANGE. I believe in holding the people we love close in heart and mind. I believe in working on myself to bring a better me to you and a better me for me!

For me, this life is all about balance and the middle ground. I want to step in there as often as I can especially when things go astray. And when things are going right for me, I want to acknowledge the need for me to work on myself, to love myself, to learn about me so that the knowledge of who I am will help me travel through the storms and dark chapters of life which will indeed occur. Nobody escapes the crosses falling on their shoulders and neither me nor you will avoid tough times. They are indeed the making of us in ways, I know that’s easy to say, a total different ball game when you’re in the middle of trouble, heartbreak, worry or stress, but from my own experience, every hard part of my life has taught me a great deal about who I am, what drives me passionately, what drives me bonkers, what drives my shadow self and in turn, it offers me the opportunity to change what needs to be changed and highlights the light inside me too. And you know how I feel about the light right?

The LIGHT!

The light is the magic that lies inside you. The light is the real cool stuff. The light is that beautiful smile you give your much loved friend when you meet for a cuppa and a chat. The light is the wave you give someone you love when you meet them out on the road. The light is the hug you feel when you embrace someone you really care about. And the light is very much the hug you are given when someone that loves you embraces you too. The light is the joy you feel when you are being you. The light is your innately kind heart that gives out love like it’s endless - because it is ;) The light is you looking for the good in the world, in your work, in your colleagues, in your friends, in your family, in the sky….everywhere.

YES that’s the light - and it’s YOU!

Nobody else is like you that is the magic of our wonderful world so never forget that. But we must look inwards and spot the shadows. We can deny them but if they are hurting others in a way that you can change, then it’s important to see what’s going on. We can expect everyone to fit in around us just as we are, or we can really seriously consider the fact that we are not perfect, and we always need work. Nobody is perfect. But in a world where people are clearly at war with themselves, it’s up to all of us, to look inwards and keep our focus on bringing our best selves forward. By looking inwards, we are taking responsibility for what we bring to the table of life. If we don’t look inwards, we will continue down the path of blaming others for not meeting our needs or expectations, we will point the finger, we will shove people away, we will close down the shutters of love and light and simply say ‘they’re not for me and we will keep moving on’……whilst what would be much more healthy, would be for us to stop and check in with ourselves….We actually need to open ourselves up to the idea that we are not all the same, and that’s the magic…. and equally in that magic we can meet in the middle and allow all lights shine bright. Just we need to be less offended by what makes us different and move closer together to unite in love, hope, compassion, kindness and peace. I’m not surprised we have wars of the past being relived in 2024 because people on the ground are not happy. Their faces are the epitome of loneliness, selfishness, disconnection and sadly a widening of the gap of community and togetherness. We are a world of words, ideals and often I think we have way too much of everything. Stuff, material, status or just the power to isolate ourselves (ironically) from each other in whatever way we want whenever we want is not a healthy path for society. And it is definitely not healthy for the next generation. What kind of world do we want to leave for the people who are coming next? There is only one way to improve that situation, we need to look in, and work towards all bringing forward a better version of ourselves. Love, hope, charity and compassion need to be our focus. We can disagree and let it be. We don’t need to build walls, nor do we need to block, delete nor create a silent chaos in the underbelly of humanity.

Nope………

it’s actually quite easy………..

we just need to love each other more!

Keep looking up and keep being you (while keeping a check on the inner self too),

Love and loads of it to you,

Please do leave a comment below if you enjoyed this or you might share it with someone you love ;) That would mean a lot to me.

Lou x

If you might live in Ireland and you might like to come hang out with me in real life, this Saturday 20th January at 3pm I am honoured to be part of the Wellness Retreat Weekend at Solas Eco Shop in Portarlington, County Laois - More details can be found on www.facebook.com/livingandlaughingwithlou

The talk is titled: How to Live, Laugh and Love More in 2024 and promises to be a warm, cosy hug from me to you. If you do make it along, I invite you to stay a little afterwards if time allows in your schedule and share a cup of tea with me and a catch up. ‘Solas’ is the Irish word for ‘Light’ so as you can imagine, this location is one of my favourite places and I promise you, you will love it too. My talks in 2024 are taking a new twist going forward so I look forward to moving in new and exciting directions as the year moves along. I’m working hard on myself personally to bring that more awakened, more open Lou to you and hoping that my light will shine brighter than ever going forward x

Also to mention, as many of you know I begin my new year on February 1st - St. Brigid’s Day here in Ireland so I look forward to that and offer this idea to you as something to consider in these last weeks of January - This could be a a new way of living for you, a new way to begin, a new way to be kind and compassionate to yourself and as the snowdrops and daffodils raise their heads, you could do that alongside me too ;) It’s not for everyone but I promise you, if you were willing to give it a go this year, you will never look back! Come join the lou train to joy, peace and contentment and begin on February 1st. I have a yearly tradition on February 1st but this year I need to move it forward as I will be at the side of one of my best friends as she moves through something very heavy. Once she is through this moment, things are going to lighten a lot for her so my commitment to be by the side of one of the lights in my life as my new year begins reminds me of how I am living my life in a way to serve, love and help people and in that, I realise that this year, my willingness to let go of my plans for someone I care about dearly, is me serving the big picture of my life. When someone else needs my light, I’m going to give it heart and all and together the wheel of love, light and peace will turn ;)

**There’s a special prayer in the audio above so if you need an extra little lou love, hit play up at the top of this piece…I make great company on a walk if you might like to bring me along in your earphones x

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