And you wonder where I’ll be in a year
“Don’t Wanna Know” by The Refreshments
I’ll probably be sitting right here
And if you know the answer, don’t tell me, anyone
‘Cause I don’t wanna know
I don’t wanna know”
Songwriters: Arthur “buddy” Edwards / Brian Blush / Brian David Blush / Paul H. Naffah / Roger Clyne / Roger Meade Clyne
Another year has flown! It’s been two years since I wrote my first blog post on tacosandtiaras.com and launched its social media (visit me on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube). And yes, like the quote above suggested, I’m still sitting right here… same but different… “here” is anywhere and everywhere, wherever I happen to be physically because no matter where that is, I am always me.
What can I say as I reflect on the past two years? First, I have to repeat what I wrote in a recent post:
Time is such a weird thing with how it can both drag and fly at the same time, but I guess it’s a good thing that the saying is, ‘Time flies when you’re having fun.'”
– Me, Brain Dump: Thanks, Mommy
A whole year has flown, and I really can reflect on it and say, “I’ve been having fun.” I like how that works… “time has flown”… flow… “go with the flow”…
I’ve been having fun because I’m going with the flow. More allowing and less chasing. More patience and less urgency. More peace and less unrest.
I took the time to see what I wrote last year (which also refers to a post that reflects on the first year after leaving Corporate America). I have to repost this quote:
And then it happens… One day you wake up and you’re in this place. You’re in this place where everything feels right. Your heart is calm. Your soul is lit. Your thoughts are positive. Your vision is clear. You’re at peace, at peace with where you’ve been, at peace with what you’ve been through, and at peace with where you’re headed.”
– uncredited
Off the top of my head, I remember neither a specific date nor when it was in the last few years, and in fact, I feel certain that it hasn’t been just ONE day when I’ve experienced that kind of peace. We are always changing or encountering challenges, and we may feel out of balance or even anxious or stressed, but when we return to that peacefulness, we affirm that we are living an aligned life.
Most days I am living all-zen-and-shit even with all the potential ordinary stressors. Not just being, but living – actively and intentionally participating in my life. Part of my learning and growth these past two years comes from:
- Improving my mindset with daily gratitude
- Setting intentions
- Allowing instead of chasing
- Aligning my life
- Arriving at a place where my heart remains calm when something that used to cause me anxiety or stress may spark a negative reaction, but I get to a positive perspective sooner.
The more-telling test of being all-zen-and-shit is new potentially-stressful situations. This past year has brought new challenges, and to be honest, my initial reactions/responses were low-vibrating, such as anxiety, fear, or worry. Each case was an opportunity to understand what prompted those reactions, then find a high-vibrating way of looking at it and dealing with it. Sometimes I enlisted help from my family or friends, especially my soul tribe, but I always looked inward and try to stay mindfully in the present.
When I let go of what ifs, I am able to see the things that are certain, and I write them in my gratitude journal. While it may not change the challenges or make them go away, at least I give myself peace in the present instead of feeling anxious about a future that has yet to arrive. I do my best to allow the Law of Attraction to work by focusing on a positive desired outcome as well as the reminder that everything happens FOR us.
My gratitude journal… By thinking of and writing about the things for which I’m grateful, I felt more confident about allowing the future to arrive without worrying. Instead of thinking about what could go wrong, I thought about what could go right and envisioned the desired outcome. And regardless of specific details for different situations, any ideal outcome also meant being all-zen-and-shit.
Tacos and Tiaras Today
I feel grateful for everyone who’s been on this journey from the start and everyone who has joined me along the way AND y’all are hanging on for the ride, going with the flow of allowing things to change and become what they’re becoming. Anyone who thought they knew the purpose behind my site/blog and social media was even further from understanding it than I was!
I promise you, Tacos and Tiaras is beyond what my initial vision was two years ago. If anything I am learning to remember my perspective is limited because I only know what I know. I don’t know everything, and I don’t know what has yet to come. HOWEVER when allow my thoughts and intentions to be without limits, The Universe orchestrates everything. When I “dare to dream” by letting go of limiting beliefs or limited knowledge, I open myself to receiving beyond my imagination.
This time last year, I still didn’t have a clue about what was yet to come. Some of it has already arrived, but plenty is still on its way.
When I started sharing videos of things that made me laugh while learning ukulele, I did not see the new doors beginning to open for me. At that point I still considered writing blog posts “my thing” and the social media accounts supported it, but the flow led to flipping that approach.
Between September 2020 and January 2021, I was trying to find my voice in writing my blog. In November I had really good run of blog posts when I allowed the flow or followed nudges to write. And when March came around, I wrote Mindfully Going with the Flow because I recognized not only that shining my light through writing did not feel like the natural flow that I thought it would be, but also that recording ukulele videos flowed naturally for creating regularly-scheduled content for my social media accounts.
Earlier this week I published, Shining… Glowing… Authentically, and I wrote about my past year of the flow leading to ukulele videos. They became my main content because they came easy, and blog post topics weren’t coming to me. Actually, I had times when I felt called to write, but instead of letting the words flow from my heart, I let my head get in the way. That’s when I ended up abandoning the draft because “the moment had passed”.
And even with my ukulele videos, I had to do some grounding recently to regain focus on how my videos fulfill my mission and purpose. You’ll have to read the post for the rest of the details about my videos.
Finding My Voice
I’ve used “finding my voice” a couple of ways – my voice in writing, my voice in my messages, my voice in singing… It turns out that “finding” it was more like allowing it to arrive by jumping in and just DOING whatever it was – writing, captioning, singing… All the things you’ve ever heard about starting something are true, such as don’t wait to feel ready and don’t try to do everything perfectly. If I had waited, I wouldn’t be writing this post and reflecting on the past two years, or feeling grateful about everything that has happened FOR me, or feeling certain that my vision, mission, and purpose are clearer than they were two years ago.
This week had a natural flow for my new approach to posting videos, and the idea I had on how to connect the videos and blog also fell into place. Months ago I realized I could use my blog to say more than what I write in posts or captions. I haven’t figured all of it out in my head yet, but I will by just doing it. Taking my own advice, GET STARTED and get the flow going… it will change, evolve, and become.
…that’s it for now…
I feel grateful for the doors that opened, the connections I’ve made, the kindness of “strangers”, especially because of how supportive the creative community is of one another. When I see the folks with negative behaviors, their triggers become evident, and I feel hopeful that eventually they’ll also see how it reveals more about their own issues rather than “hurting” the person they’re trying to tear down. Oh, and social media analytics as well as The Universe recognize impressions as impression, so negative ones (dislikes/down votes and comments from trolls) help just as much as positive ones.
Oh dang… I almost forgot… I don’t use Facebook very much anymore, but I do need to update the TnT Facebook page. The FB piece that I feel particularly proud of is another one those things that I had not envisioned. The Tacos and Tiaras Tribe has been so well-received that the members run it! I’ll write a separate post about it, but for now, I love how the members have created a little community of laughs and lightheartedness. And with my deepest humility, I feel honored that I had the opportunity to initiate a space where members go to take a break from whatever is weighting them down, on or off social media. The members shine and help each other shine. Even if TnT Tribe is a tiny part of the world, the members keep the space bright… and for me, they become a light of hope.
Luceat lux vestra.
