The Beginning of a New Chapter!

2 weeks ago, I experienced an event which means that life will never quite be the same as it was before the last weekend of July 2011!
Rob and I celebrated our love with the incredible friends and family who have enriched our lives over the last 15 years.

I have thought about writing a blog for some time. We've all got a story to tell and I have been taught so much by listening to other people's stories. I have met so many people with fascinating backgrounds and incredible tales of survival. I have learnt humility and gratitude from these passionate, strong, determined, tenacious and motivated individuals.

So, here I am, taking my first amateur steps in blogging land, and hoping that what I have to write may inspire someone in the same way that those people have touched me and helped to shape the person I am now and the person I strive to become.

The title for my blog comes from my love of nature and the beauty that surrounds us. The Dragonfly perfectly represents the wonder of our world with it's elegance and loveliness. The Dragonfly represents change and our ability to strive for self actualisation and find the deeper meaning of life through a spiritual awakening. This is something I aspire to keep doing. I believe that we must go through several growth experiences in life before we experience our true purpose and get to a place of inner peace. We have to make life happen, things won't happen to us unless we are proactive in enabling them to happen. We have to keep moving forward if we want to achive our goals, and hopefully make a positvie statement on the world and effect real change.

The Dragonfly also reminds us to live in the moment because it lives as an adult dragonfly for not more than a few months. Therefore it has to mature and reproduce in this short space of time. Living in the present, rather than the future means we will appreciate what we have in the moment rather than always looking for something more. By living in the moment, you stay aware of who you are, where you are, what you are doing and what you do and don't want. This is a skill we can all benefit from in our busy lives as it allows us to make informed choices on a moment to moment basis and if we do this, we can avoid regretting our decisions.

I believe that through our own force of will and intellect, we chart our own path through life. By making the right choices, we can all be predestined for something great. It is our own free will that mucks it up. Sometimes we can be yanked dramatically off this path by fate, chance or coincidence; The people who intersect us on our path can change what our fated destiny is for better or worse. One event might be the catylyst for a thousand other things. However, if we take the opportunities life gives us and use them to our advantage, I believe pretty much anything is achievable!
"The point is, Not to survive, but to thrive with passion, compassion, humour and style"
Maya Angelou
I am all too aware however that there are too many people for whom the above statement really can't be applied. In this global village that we live, there are people fighting for, not only their civil and political rights, but also their economic, social and cultural rights. There are people for whom the basic right of a drink of clean water is denied to them, and for whom, opportunities are non exsistent. I live my life feeling guilty that, by a error of geography, I live in a country where, in the most part, there ARE opportunities, even though, for some, they will have to face more challenges for these occasions to present themselves.

I will have reached self realisation when I have done something that will have an impact on the earth and it's inhabitants. Something that will have positive conseqences for those people who do not have the opportunities that I have been so with.

"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud, do not complain, never whine; Be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity"     
Maya Angelou

Like I said at the beginning of this post, my life changed more than a little at the end of July. I thought I knew what I had. Since meeting Robbie, I have gradually learnt to accept that maybe I do deserve what I have. I know we've worked hard to get to the place we are today.  I feel so lucky and blessed to have what I do and over the last 15 years I have come to realise that, maybe I am deserving of it, rather than to continue believing that something will go wrong to balance the equation.
Instead, I have come to realise that life is full of ups and downs and we are facing challenges every day. It is how we approach and deal with those problems that determines whether they have a greater, negative impact on our lives.
"Treat others how you want to be treated"
Me!

Since the weekend of the 29th-31st July 2011 however, I have become aware that I am even more blessed and lucky than I knew!........................................................................................