Gentleness and fragility

At the moment our family of 6 are away on holidays. A beautiful gift from nature landed on my hand the other day in the boat. Dragonflies are incredibly special to our families as they symbolize to us those that have gone before us.Throughout history these beautiful insects have symbolized change, transformation, adaptability and self realization. A change that is sometimes referred to as a maturity in emotional and mental maturity and sometimes the deeper meaning of life. With all of this in mind, I wondered what this special gift meant to me and my life. (One also landed that afternoon on my son Archie's hand!)If you look closely at this beautiful creature, it's wing is torn and missing a piece. Maybe it was having a rest from it's 'fizzy' life on my hand! Taking some time out like we are!I am a mother, a wife, a friend, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, an artist, a teacher, a wellbeing facilitator and depending on the day a few other things. Sometimes these parts of my life can become a bit broken or torn when I am tired and in need of a rest. All of us do have a lot of roles to play in this wonderful life of ours and we do them the best way we can.This particular dragonflies symbolizes to me the need to listen to our bodies when we need a rest, to recognize our fragility and see it as a sign to go gently but also to adapt and maybe go with whatever is meant to be?This is the beginning of our year, some will know what jobs they hold, others might not know what this year holds and of course there are always some 'unplanned' things that pop up to change the direction we thought we might go in. Nothing in this life is set in stone. I really feel that we can try to plan things and 'put' things in place but in the end what will be will be. Sometimes not going to plan, maybe the universe/God/a higher being or whatever you would like it to be has another direction for us. This can be really hard sometimes as we all like to know (deep down) what we are doing and where we are going. I do think we need to follow our hearts and I do think we need to have a bit of a plan but be open to change and try to adapt. We need to make enough money to pay our bills and have a bit of fun and that is part of life.I have a bit of a plan for this year but not entirely sure what my work life/personal life will hold, just that I need to do what I think I am good at and what I love....which is trying to be a mother who is present, open, understanding and caring, creating art, facilitating wellbeing workshops and spending quality time with Hylesy, my family and the people that are authentic and loving.We need to be able to adapt and know that each and every experience creates new space to grow. Some of these being truly so difficult and we would do anything not to have them. I am not entirely sure why we need these experiences that create such pain in our lives but they seem to be part of it and I suppose we just do the best we can under the circumstances. They defiantly show us how strong we can be!On this Sunday I wish you all the best in love, gentleness and whatever else you need today.Love Steph xxooPS. Be open hearted, more 'lovey and less judgey' in all we do today. xx