Why I must do a little more…

A few weeks back I got an email from the Co-founder of Cycle Against Suicide (CAS), Evelyn McLoughlin. She asked me if I would be interested in talking at some point during this year’s cycle. Within a few days I got a call from Jim Breen and decided that I would talk and cycle for some part of the journey. I put down the phone, then immediate panic and hysteria set in, partly because I realised I would be speaking to large crowds and also because I am not the most prolific cyclist, ok ok…I am not much of a cyclist at all. Before embarking on my first every CAS journey I was away in Berlin, where I decided to do a bike tour, I even convinced myself it was “training”. It was neither training or helpful as my panic went up another notch! I had a few days between coming home from Berlin and heading off to join CAS, and I spent it thinking about what I wanted to achieve from my experience. I wasn’t quite sure what exactly that was but I knew for sure that I wanted to leave everyone with something to remember, a positive message or just simply to know someone cares. The day finally came, I packed my bag, grabbed my helmet and off I went on my journey.

Before I talk about that journey I want to be 100% honest and open, and I also want you to do so with yourself. I had decided that at each point we stopped on the cycle I wanted to write something down, something memorable or positive. After 25k we stopped for the first SoS Beag (Small break). I typed these words into my phone; ‘Am I going beyond what is required of me?’ and I mean this in relation to helping people. That question stayed with me for the whole journey. I spent a lot of my cycle mulling over that question. I thought about the excuses I sometimes use when I don’t act; I don’t know that person well enough to ask how they are, that person is a stranger I can’t intrude, Im not close enough to that family member to offer a hug, it’s not my job to ask. Sometimes I even think that my action may be too insignificant so why bother, or other times its a kind of selfish reason and I think, well that person doesn’t do anything for me so why should I do anything for them. I am human after all, I sometimes get caught up in life or thinking like so many other people do, about myself. I often get caught up thinking about my action in relation to my roles or responsibilities as a family member, a friend, a stranger, a colleague. Do you ever think like this?
I must also emphasise that when I say act, I mean to ask if someone is ok or how they are doing, even offer a hug or just tell them you care. I do not mean try be a professional!

Ok so back to my cycle. The morning started off positive, the sun was shining, Christ King’s girls school in Douglas was buzzing with excitement. I stood by the side of the stage unaware as to what was to come. The music begins, and Jim starts to bounce around the PE hall, interacting with students, cyclists and teachers. The energy raises another notch. There are some talks and then its time to cycle. I take to my bike alongside an old colleague Breifne Earley (check him out, his story is amazing!). As we cycle, we chat and catch up. Every so often I can hear shouts of ‘HOLE”, Breifne informs me that its the more experienced cyclists at the front warning people behind of potholes. The road got a little steep and the wind picked up slightly, Breifne and another experienced cyclist started to cycle on front of me, when I asked why? Breifne said it was to shield the wind off me so I could cycle without a struggle. I noticed they weren’t the only ones doing such acts, some cyclists were pushing others along or just offering words of encouragement to each other. As we approached the first SoS Beag, I again noticed cyclists helping each other with punctures and likes. I sat on grass and asked myself that question, ‘Am I going beyond what is required?’.

It wouldn’t be right if I spoke about CAS without talking about the great man behind it. I notice Jim wandering around asking cyclists how they are, between doing interviews on live radio! He also is picking up empty bottles and food wrappers. The twenty minute break soon ends and I take to my bike and begin the uphill journey to Mitchelstown. It isn’t long before I hear that energetic man, Jim Breen beside me. We have a quick chat and off he goes, weaving in and out of cyclists whilst helping them along and thanking them for their efforts. I wonder how he is still going after his hour of bouncing around the school earlier. I also must add, the man has a stress fracture!

As I approach Mitchelstown, my legs are tired, the uphill road to the school is getting the better of me and I contemplate pulling over, that question pops into my head again. I look to the streets that are lined with locals who are cheering us all on. As we enter the school, the reception is quite overwhelming. Its evident to see that the school and community, like all schools involved transform into something greater with CAS. Teachers, parents and students become hosts, chefs, friends, supporters, helpers and more. I am overwhelmed by the levels of generosity, support and friendship extended by these communities (even when they found out I was a Dub!). Lunch involved food and some more talks led again by the ever energetic Jim. The one thing I love, is that Jim addresses each school on an individual and personal basis, no script, no practised speech, apart from the time he takes to thank the efforts of various organisations and people.

After the wonderful reception from Mitchelstown, its back to the bikes and head for Cahir. This part of the cycle gets to me mentally, my legs already tired, my mind begins to question if I can cope. I am approached by a guy called Owen. He sees I am struggling and cycles with me for a good 10k, giving me encouragement and taking my mind away from thinking I can’t do it. 75k in and we reach Cahir, I go to the bus to grab my phone and take some much needed protein. Its the first time I meet Christy Bannon, a cycle marshal. I see cyclists dismount their bikes just like me and they get some well earned rest, fluids, stretch and get the mind off the cycle for a few moments. Not Christy, he leaves his bike, grabs his laptop and starts typing away. I ask him what he is doing and he informs me that he is organising the home stays for cyclists, so they know where exactly they are staying for each night. The break ends, Christy closes his laptop and takes to his bike again. I learn that there are many people like Christy on the cycle, people who go beyond what is required without question. There are Guards, physio’s, counsellors, crew and marshals, all continuously working to ensure everybody is looked after.

We eventually reach Clonmel, after 100k. The reception from the locals is again brilliant, everyone heads off for a nights rest before another day. I fall into bed with a very sore bum, tired body and mind! The next morning I make my way back to Clonmel with a now friend, Donal who only 24hours previous was a stranger. He is a great guy with a warm heart, who works tirelessly in the realms of mental health. I knew I would like Donal because he has a good beard, a good laugh and good conversation (the first being the most important of course!). As we drive back to Clonmel the rain beats the car, its not the most motivational of weather and I worry for the cyclists. We reach the school and it starts to fill with students, locals and cyclists. Jim again raises the energy levels, and the rain is all but forgotten for a short while. I speak to the students, they so kindly listen and show their support. After I finish I let out a sad sigh; my time is finished. I take the car to Thurles, where the cyclists will have lunch and where I will say my goodbyes before heading home. In the car I think about the rotten weather and those who are out on their bikes. I ask myself that question again; ‘Am I going beyond what is required’. Upon reaching Thurles I decide to stay, offer my help in anyway I can. Im given a job with the videographer Stuart to unload the cyclists day bags so they can easily reach them on arrival. We unload and arrange over 500 hundreds bags. The next job is to stand outside, hand out foil blankets to cyclists as they arrive and point them into the warm hall. I stand outside, soaked to the skin alongside Stuart, the cameramen and other crew members. Its evident to see that the weather had gotten to many cyclists and we work quick to try help as many people as we can. After saying my thanks and goodbyes, I make my way back to Dublin, I’m soaked to bone but I don’t care because for the first time I can answer that question with a yes.

As I said earlier, before this journey I didn’t know what to expect or what I would give or gain. What I did learn that it’s not only important to go beyond our roles and responsibilities to help each other but it’s also vital. Jim say’s nine words that really form the basis of this blog; Show you care, ask the question, make the call. You may only do one of those things but it might be both important and vital. I will make sure that I keep asking myself that question from now on; Am I going beyond what is required. I will think of all the people along this journey that did so for me and many other cyclists too. And lastly I urge you to ask yourself that question too.

Lastly I want to say thanks to everyone from the CAS family for allowing me join in for a short part of their 1,4000k journey, especially Evelyn, Jim, and all the crew. I would also like to thank the numerous cyclists, students and munities that made my journey really amazing. I look forward to hopefully seeing you all next year!

A place..A friend…A change of mindset!

Time for another blog! I have to apologise for the so very sporadic posting, but I will only ever put out a piece when I feel its truly worth reading or like this one, quite funny.

It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t incorporate some piece of writing into my blog since I am a self confessed book geek. Anais Nin once said ‘We don’t see things as they are. We see them as we are’. Although I feel no elaboration is needed, I will say that within twenty-four hours a trip to Brussels went from being yet another stressful thing in my head to somewhere that will forever sit happily in my heart and it was all due to a change in my way of thinking. So here goes the story…

Last month I finally accepted my retirement and shared it with friends, family and beyond. The response and love that came back to me was truly overwhelming, it really makes me appreciate being apart of the footballing community. I thought it would be best to pack away all my football stuff; medals, jerseys, programs, pictures and the likes. The process of putting over 10 years of my life into boxes and placing them in the attic actually made me quite emotional and mentally drained. I had also compiled a list of New Years resolutions that all revolved around becoming more productive with work; I wanted to become busy, more efficient and really just find some kind of new path. Initially it seemed a great idea but mid January I hit a wall, all I seemed to be doing was working and getting a few hours of sleep in between. As I stood staring into my bedroom mirror, I realised how much of an emotionally over tired wreck I had become. It took one message to my best friend Dani and like always she came up with an answer….A holiday (don’t ask me how or why but she decided on Belgium, Brussels in particular)!

I have to tell you a bit about Dani and our friendship so you can really understand the dynamics of this experience. We really are the complete opposite, Im always on time and she is never on time. I am an early riser and she literally has sloth like qualities (I have never met anyone who can nap like her). Dani is confident, stylish and can dance…and well honestly, Im the opposite. If we were an enterprise, I would most definitely be the brains and she would be the beauty…Im sure you get the picture! One thing is for sure, whenever we are together there is an abundance of laughter, randomness and weird happenings.

So back to the holiday. It’s a Monday evening, we are sat in Dublin airport waiting to board the plane. It’s the first time I really get a chance to research Brussels. I ask Dani the obvious questions; how are we getting from the airport to the hotel, what are we doing tomorrow and so on. Every question is answered with ‘I don’t know, I didn’t think about it’. Now let me explain something; for over 10 years my travels involved routine, itineraries, procedures, and plans as all my travel revolved around my sport. My body and mind totally wired this way, I didn’t know travelling any other way. Hearing those words ‘I don’t know, I didn’t think about it’ made me feel unbelievably anxious beyond belief. As we sat on the plane, my leg anxiously tapping due to the fact that I was travelling without a plan or any idea of what the hell was to come. I glanced at Dani, who was the epitome of calmness and simply just shrugged her shoulders (which made me even more stressed!).

We landed in Brussels around 10pm and after pulling our luggage around the small airport we eventually found (with a help of a fellow traveller) a bus to take us to the centre of Brussels. My anxiety levels began to slowly rise, and yet when I looked at Dani she was calm and relaxed. The bus came to a stop at a (closed) train station in south Brussels, we decided it was best to grab a taxi, as the resident drunks were unable to help us. My stress level again increased when our taxi driver had obviously mistaken the journey to our hotel for the Monaco Grand Prix, the only time he slowed down was to give us what you would call a tour of the red light district…five times, before eventually dropping us off at our destination. We were greeted by one very ‘unique’ hotel manager, who led us down a dark hallway to his office/bedroom and informed us that we would have no electricity the following day for several hours. The hotel made quite the change from the usual ones I was used to experiencing. At this point I was exhausted and thankfully fell into a deep sleep in apparently ‘the best room’ in the hotel, which had lovely plastic furniture, peeling wallpaper and strange ornaments.

The next morning, Dani informed me she had ‘done some research’ (her words) and decided that we would do a bike tour of city. So off we went, all bright eyed and bushy tailed in search of Grand Place to take our bike tour. We waited half an hour and no one turned up, I insisted we go and ask the tourist office, to which the guy informed us that bike tours only run in summer months. He even pointed out the big red notice on their website…the one Dani had ’ done some research’ on. We stood in the middle of Grand Place laughing at how stupid we must have looked, and this was exactly how the rest of our week in Belgium went. At this stage I kind of just embraced the ‘whatever’ attitude and tried to let go of my stress and structured way of thinking. We then decided to spend some time wandering, now I have no sense of direction whatsoever and well Dani just has no sense…no Im joking, she is literally like a walking Google Maps, so off we went in search of nothing and everything at the same time. This lack of planning led us to some of the most beautiful places and gave us some pretty crazy encounters. We stood on a rooftop overlooking the city below. We ventured to lesser known parts of the city and seen decorated alleyways, skate parks and wonderful street art. We travelled to Leuven, a small town outside Brussels filled with amazing architecture and great beer. We ended up in Bruges eating unbelievable desserts and followed the beautiful canals for hours. We wandered through parks, enjoying the crisp January sun. We sat in a cocktail bar drinking with some students until late; dancing to a mixture of music you would hear in a cheap Spanish restaurant and Trey songs (bizarre and lovely all at once). We got stuck on the underground train, apparently some children had wandered off down a tunnel, so we ended travelling to the same train station about four times as neither of us thought to read a map! We sat in a bar called Dolores’s, chatting with three people; one french who spoke only french , one Moroccan who spoke Spanish and about four words in English to which all revolved around sex! And a Belgian tram driver would spoke mostly Dutch and some English. I’m not sure what exactly the conversation was about but we did laugh a lot and also learnt that we are always welcome to sleep on the Moroccan woman’s sofa. Im pretty sure I have left some other bits out (both on purpose and by mistake!), but it was truly hard to remember everything when each hour was filled with something random, laughable and totally unplanned. By then end of the week and for the first time in quite a while I realised I felt no tension, no stress. My shoulders relaxed and my mind settled. For once I wasn’t focussed on work or my schedule, I was simply enjoying that exact moment.

As I sat in the departure lounge staring out the window towards the sheets of snow hitting the runway, I wondered if the flight would depart. I had been in this worryingly snowy situation many times before but this occasion was different; I honestly didn’t care, not a single part of me worried or felt anxious that the plan could suddenly go out the window. Honestly I probably would have decided against leaving Dublin if someone had of told me that the trip would have been like this, but then again I would have missed out on everything I gained, I would not have discovered places in the most random ways, I would not have experienced certain encounters in the most bizarre circumstances. One thing that is for sure, I will never plan, I will never pre determine…I will simply just go because the art of living in is those random, sometimes scary yet bizarre experiences and not so much in the planned ones! And if you take anything out of this blog its just that; work and plan as much as required but live as much as you can, and do it while you can.
Seana x

Calling it a day..hanging up my Copa’s!

As I write this 2014 has come to an end, with all that happened last year it has me thinking about what 2015 might hold and where I be this time next year. For anyone reading this that is not aware, 2014 brought a lot of big life changes for me, the most significant was my diagnosis of Menieres Disease. Exactly 12 months ago I had my very first attack. The months that ensued brought an array of challenges for me, both physically and mentally. To say I was unprepared would be an understatement. 2014 definitely wasn’t the most positive year of my life, but it is one that I am glad happened nonetheless. I believe that sometime’s we go through stages or events that change us and we can never go back to who we once were. For me events have happened, I have changed in many ways and I have had to make changes as a result, a few easy and some painstakingly hard. One of the hard one’s is the reason I am writing this blog. I think its time I finally came to terms with hanging up my Copa’s (football boots for those of you who are not obsessed with Adidas classics); it has without a doubt been the toughest decision I have ever made.

After my diagnosis and with some steady progress I finally got back to the pitch mid 2014. Unfortunately though the dream didn’t last, the strain I was putting myself under physically resulted in more attacks, more sickness, alongside other difficulties I was trying to cope with during training and games. I also began to feel quite anxious, worried and depressed again; believe me, it is unbearably tough to come to terms with the reality that something you love is effecting you negatively too. It all just started to get on top of me to be honest. It wasn’t only about the stress I was putting myself under but also on those around me; my parents, sister, brother in law and closest friends. I had already been in and out of a difficult place earlier this year and I just couldn’t allow myself down that path again. So at that point I took some time away from the pitch to concentrate on my physical and mental wellbeing. That decision was hard considering the WNL season had only begun but it was made easier by my supportive team mates at UCD Waves. So this is where I am now, sitting in a busy cafe writing this blog. I do want to officially say I am retiring but that is secondary as my first intention with this piece of writing is to thank all those within football that have made my time on the pitch incredibly special and greatly memorable.

Being completely honest I was never the most talented footballer or athlete, I wasn’t even close by a long shot. I personally feel for a pretty average player I got more than I could have ever imagined from the game. I firmly believe that it was never my ability that provided many opportunities and experiences, but it was in fact down to the strength and influence of my coaches and teammates along the way, and for that I will be forever grateful to every single one of them (Too many to list!). It is the interaction and learning from those people that I will miss the most.

Well, what now? This is a question I have asked myself constantly over the past while and I have really felt quite lost a lot of the time. I recently finished Oprah Winfrey’s book ‘What I know for sure’. One of my favourite parts of the book is on resilience in which Oprah talks about life lessons and dark patches, stating; ‘Anything can be a miracle, a blessing, an opportunity if you choose to see it that way’. I have been extremely unlucky in a sense, especially when you read that 1 in 1,000 people can develop Menieres disease. I have also been extremely unlucky as it has led me to hanging up my boots prematurely. And until recently I allowed all the hardship of that bad luck have great influence on my thoughts and actions. I spent a lot of time asking why has this happened to me? And then I started to ask why not me?

Football has provided me with the majority of the best moments of my life to date, but it has also resulted in me missing a lot of things too; family events (both happy and sad), celebrations, holidays and other things I have always had ambitions to pursue. And if I was at the start of my career, would I do it all again? Without a doubt yes! …But I’m not, I have now been given the opportunity to do those things, to change my direction and even try new things. I aim to travel a bit more, take up some courses and just enjoy the things I once happily sacrificed for the love of my sport. Thats not saying I am happily skipping away from the sport I love; a piece of my heart will always feel broken but for my own sanity I need to focus on the doors that now open. It was great while it lasted, I leave with nothing but the best memories and a happy heart.

I will finish off with saying what I aimed to do in writing this blog. I wish to thank all those within the game that I once called manager, coach, mentor and team mate. Especially all of those at Raheny United (where my heart will forever lie!), Arsenal, St Francis, Durham and my short time at UCD Waves. I also want to say thank you to all the great people I have had the honour of working with throughout my time with international teams, chiefly Sue Ronan, Ger Dunne, Paul Martyn and all the girls that I have proudly stood alongside on that front. There is not a single moment I regret, it has been a pleasure and I thank you all for being apart of my career and providing me with some of my greatest memories.

Seana x

A meaningful way to waste time…

So 2014 was a bit of an interesting year. I don’t want to go into too much detail but a random chain of events occurred that kind of left me at a cross roads, and I didn’t really know which direction my life was heading. I started the year off as a semi professional footballer and by mid 2014 I hadn’t played football for 6 months due to my health. Being at the point of unknown I found some solace in reading, I read anything but I seemed to find some connection with different forms of inspirational and philosophical writing. I began to realise that I liked and shared a lot of quotes on my Facebook and Twitter yet I felt I didn’t truly understand them or know much about the people that wrote them. That got me thinking, these great writers, philosophers and educators lived the words they wrote, and I began to feel that only could you truly understand and appreciate something through experiencing it. It was at this stage I decided to take some quotes I liked and try incorporate them in into my life. I will admit that I was just trying to find a meaningful way to waste time but it became something greater than that, something that changed my life in so many ways. I learnt so much about myself, the world and other people. So the next few months became something of a little project.

Here it goes…

Act without expectation
– Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu, a philosophical religious figure who had great influence on Taoism. I started off by having great interest in areas such as Buddhism, especially the practices around Ensö and then I came across Lao Tzu’s simplistically effective quote. It got me thinking straight off, I realised that like most people I really had become concerned with  doing things that I felt I could ultimately benefit from. I have always tried my best to be as charitable as I can, but even then I tend to ask God (or Karma) to remember the good and hopefully return it to me!

I continued doing charitable things but I also started to try some random acts of kindness. I decided that I would share one of my passions with people, that being books. I anonymously left books at table’s in cafes so the waiting staff or the next customer could pick them up. I think the biggest moment relating to Tzu’s words happened on a Sunday morning as I sat in Brother Hubbards having brunch. An American guy came and sat between myself and a girl, eventually the three of us got chatting and we had brunch together. Something then hit me; I would never cross paths with this guy again, I needed to do something for this guy because ultimately I couldn’t have any expectation as I would never see him again. I stood up and said my goodbyes. I paid my bill and I also paid the American guy’s bill too (Note to self; Americans like the Prosecco brunch option, which is not cheap!). The waiter asked me why I was paying for this guy’s food? I simply said that I was doing it because I could, I had no ulterior motive. I left and went about my day.

This act also had a real significance. I was so taken in by the whole experience. The three of us entered Brother Hubbards as strangers, sat by the window seats as strangers yet within an hour I knew more about their lives than probably 70% of my Facebook friends! Sharing stories, pictures and thoughts with one another was really amazing. It made me realise that for so long I was missing out on so much. I am an avid coffee shop goer, I would enter, sit alone reading or people watch then I leave. I think of all of those stories I missed out on. I have developed a brilliant curiosity for people (although I have also discovered that sometimes that can be miscued for flirting or hitting on people, which is actually also quite amusing).

If you want to lift yourself up. Lift up someone else.
– Brooker T Washington

An educator and civil rights activist with quite an incredible story. I developed an interest in this man due to his inspiring life story, so I knew it would be great to incorporate one of his best thoughts into my life.

I think like most people, at times, I become quite self centred. I become consumed with doing things that I feel will give me some kind of feel good factor. Those things generally revolve around buying myself stuff or doing things that would be of only benefit to me. And truthfully nine times out of ten I feel no better than before. I thought it would be best to try make this a daily task; my aim was to try create subtle ways to lift family, friends and also people I didn’t know. I started doing little things like telling people how important they are to doing stuff like leaving my work mates notes and chocolate, giving people heart envelopes with messages and generally doing something that I felt would have some small influence on that person’s day. I quickly realised that those small bits of effort had great effect on me, I instantly felt more positive after each little gesture. I quickly became addicted to this; I have always loved to make people laugh but now I make the effort more than ever. Each day I send friends a funny video, photo or message, with the aim that they can start the day off with a laugh!

Respond to every call that excites your spirit
– Rumi

This quote appeared on a friends Facebook and I decided it was definitely something to integrate into this project and my life. Realising that football and/or work had dictated a lot of my decision making I really felt the need to embrace this quote. I initially started off by doing things like wearing just my underwear around the house and eating out of the cereal box but I quickly realised that I was getting in touch with my inner slob and not exactly exciting my spirit! Coincidently I was reading the book ‘The Moth’ during my Rumi inspired phase, and I came across a story that had the following;

‘And the thing that I love so much about saying yes is that where you start at the beginning of the day and where you end up can be two totally different places based on all the things you say yes to’

I kinda thought well that’s what I need to do, I need to say yes more and that will help excite my spirit. I ended up with a lot of random stuff happening, stuff that got me thinking, made me happy and essentially gave me a sense of being alive. I started to say yes to a lot more and with that the most random and amazing stuff start happening. I went midnight running along the docks on a hot summer night, sat in a charity shop with an eccentric bunch of people listening to live music whilst everyone drank wine from the bottle and watched a guy perform a manic air guitar routine as if it was complete art. I hung out with Hindu’s at 8:30am in a park, sharing stories and listened to Indian music. One night I lay on the roof of my car with two strangers looking at the stars and chatting until the early hours.

Embracing this quote has had real influence on my way of thinking, I can say that it has become a driving force in decision making. I now truly believe every decision should bring some kind of happiness, some kind of experience and some kind of memory!

I would like to be known as an intelligent woman, a courageous woman, a loving woman, a woman who teaches by being
– Maya Angelou

I knew only a little about Maya Angelou before this quote, and once I started reading about her life I instantly became in awe of the great lady, she has developed into a real role model for me. I learnt that she wasn’t only a writer/poet but she was also a singer, dancer and actress.

I knew if I wanted to try inspire people or at least be of some help, I needed to get my story out there and so I decided on a blog, I made the decision that I was going to openly tell my mental health experience, with the hope that it would help more people to become comfortable with the whole area. This way I could try live up to Maya Angelou’s quote as best I could. Although it was a bit of a stab in the dark because I honestly did not know if people would have any interest in reading my story. To my surprise the blog was read by a lot of people, and I received an overwhelming amount of positive messages from friends, family, athletes, work colleagues and even people I did not know. This was the start of my Maya Angelou inspired action, sadly the great lady passed away in May. I had been asked to speak at some mental health events, sharing my own experience and life. The thought of standing on front of people and talking about my vulnerabilities made me quite anxious. I really wasn’t hot on the idea but I started to think more about the quote and Maya, I decided that it would be a complete waste of time if I said no, I wouldn’t be fully experiencing the quote and said yes. To date I have spoke at various events and have openly wrote about other areas of my life too. It kind of became my own little homage to the great woman. Before each talk I give I read Maya’s quote. I have become something of an advocate around mental health and sport, and I will continue to write and speak at various events for as along as I feel it’s helping others.

So here I am at the end of my meaningful way to waste time.

Not for one-second did I think any of this would happen as I started this project, as I said it was nothing more than a meaningful way to waste time. I really didn’t imagine that anything truly meaningful at all would come out of it. It’s funny how you can discover the most important things in the most unexpected ways. There is a real value in putting some project into your life, it takes time but it can become really fun and surprisingly transformational. Im sure some of you will read this and think what an utter load of sh*t, and I can respect everyone has their own opinion but I know all of us in some way can make improvements to ourselves and I found this was my way. I would challenge you to try it, find a quote or piece of writing and experience it, put your own meaning to it. I will at this point finish with a quote I earlier used:

‘And the thing that I love so much about saying yes is that where you start at the beginning of the day and where you end up can be two totally different places based on all the things you say yes to’

Seana x