Public Disclaimer: My writing actually started here: https://mariavandenburg.wordpress.com/
However, it feels like it has now evolved to it's next chapter.
This site has been inspired by a journey I have found myself on recently. I have considered myself "spiritual" my entire life, but had a difficult time trying to define it into anything more than that.
So, what's happened that brought this all on?
First, I started going to a place called the Center for Spiritual Living in March. I walked in the doors for the first time on March 5th and pretty much haven't left. I move to London in about 6 weeks to go and get my MBA at the University of Westminster. And while I am incredibly excited, I am also a little scared because CSL has come to feel like my spiritual home. I absolutely love the Spiritual Director - Kathianne Lewis (though all I have done is make eye contact, smile and say hello once, I need to work on that). I love CSL, it has inspired so much in life recently and I'm really hoping I can find a similar community once I arrive in London.
Second, I came across a website called www.intentioninspired.com which has served up a daily dose of Inspiration. It's kind of crazy how it all works, the minute you open yourself up, the universe just kind of swoops on in. Intention Inspired is great because they have this I AM Brave/30 day Challenge. You set a 30 day goal, doesn't matter what it is - lose weight, run a marathon, tell a joke, cook the world's most epic pancake, literally doesn't matter, as long as its something that inspires you. Then every day you get these emails/affirmations to motivate you as you work towards your goal. You also have a whole community that's doing the exact same thing with you. Even if you haven't met any of them, there is still such a sense of connection. It's pretty great stuff.
So the two of those combined have inspired all of this. Do I know exactly what I am going to do with this website at this point? Nope. But, what I do know is that I wanted to have some place to capture my journey from this moment on, and my life as I move back over to London at the beginning of August (I was born there, but that's a story for another day).
This website is about connecting to who I am, who we all are. I watched a biography on Maya Angelou the other day and I was sort of half paying attention. Then Oprah comes on and says something along the lines of "The best thing that Maya ever taught me was that I am Enough. That all of us are Enough". That's what this is all about, knowing that each and every one of us is enough/worthy/perfect/what have you. I'll end this first entry with another one of my favorites, Bridget Jones, who realizes that she is loved "just the way that I am." (I'm sure my verbal tenses are off there, but you get the point).
Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this. I'm excited to start down this journey and would love to have you along for the ride.