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BLUE BIRD FOR A BLUE DAY

February 25, 2014 by LiskaStampCollective

IMG_1301Yesterday this blue bird turned up just for me unexpectedly from Melbourne and brought sunshine to what had been a rather ordinary day.

Here at The Stamp Collective we are all about sharing memories and remembering the good times. The reality though is that some times memories aren’t great and we don’t want to remember them. The thing is, when they stay buried they can fester and burn and influence our daily living at an unconscious level.

The tragic death of Charlotte Dawson this past weekend got me thinking about how we live our lives.

Shiny and bright on the outside but a bit more murky on the inside. It’s easier to be around shiny and bright because murky makes us feel uncomfortable and holds a mirror to our own unease.

It’s hard though for both sides of a friendship.

Sometimes you go out on a limb and give voice to your concern about a friend only to be smartly put back in your place ‘that everything’s fine’ and held at arms distance. Makes you less inclined to do so the next time you see a non verbal cry for help.

On the other hand, maybe you have taken a deep breath and spoken up only to have your vulnerability glossed over leaving you feeling like you wished you had kept your mouth shut.

In this day and age it can seem that it is the number of friends one has, not the quality of those friendships, that is the valuable currency.

So in memory of those souls, who felt so alone they had no path forward, let us be gentle with each, hear the silent cry for help and when help is offered acknowledge it.

Liska x

Filed Under: Friendship Tagged With: acknowledging, Listening

IMPERFECTION IS OKAY

February 3, 2014 by LiskaStampCollective

 

Yes I am back!

Happily refreshed by sunshine, holidays and lots of laughter and good times with friends and family.

While I have been silent out there in Social Media Land, my brain and heart have both been busily percolating lots of ideas. In, out, yes, no until yesterday, bobbing in the clear ocean waters at Balmoral Beach, I finally realized it doesn’t have to be perfect.

The swim was worth the traffic

The swim was worth the traffic

Imperfect is okay, actually it is more than okay, kind of perfect really!

If I waited until I had the perfect newsletter or the perfect printable to gift you, then I would miss out on learning new skills, making new friendships and a whole lot of joy along the way.

I realized that the gorgeous souls of The Stamp Collective are far more interested in exploring new ideas, asking questions and being inspired than they are in perfection.

Danielle La Porte, Leonie Dawson and Chris Brogan amongst numerous others talk about having a guiding word for the year rather than a goal. Danielle writes how you should pick four words that describe how you want to feel in her book The Desire Map.  Chris Brogan talks about four influencing words, for example Green might be your word and it would influence the food you ate, the way you considered your energy consumption or that you wanted to exercise outdoors that year.

Mine you ask?

ACTION and CHOICES.

I want the end of 2014 to look different to the end of 2013 so, for me, it comes down to those two words. Big scary, audacious words that mean embracing imperfection, just having a go, not worrying about what people will think and opening up to the surprises that I have no doubt will come along for the ride!

So The Stamp Collective blog will post weekly inspired by colour, travel, flowers, relationships, the choices we make, people being brave and sometimes even stamps. I will master MailChimp and Canva and there will newsletters and printables!

A fabulously imperfect place to talk, share or just be silent and listen.

So looking forward to being imperfect together!

Liska x

Filed Under: Being brave, Friendship, Imperfection Tagged With: being brave, friendship, Intention, living from your heart not your head, trying new things

STRAIGHT TALKING

September 16, 2013 by LiskaStampCollective

This week I had dinner with a friend that I have known since university. We don’t see much of each other these as she lives a three hour drive away but when we do the distance disappears.

Mrs G has stood next to me in the middle of the Sydney CBD while I howled with a broken heart unfazed by the stares of passers by, we partied our way through girls weekends away, held each others hands through the loss of a child and post natal depression. You get the picture. She is part of my history.  And she never flinches from straight talking.

So last week perched up on bar stools discussing the latest bend in the road of life she delivered up her latest dose of straight talking and ouch did it hurt!

The hard part for me was staying open and actually listening to her rather than getting defensive. But listen I did and the ensuing conversation was interesting, informative and of real benefit to me.

Getting ready for bed that night I reflected on our conversation and realized that she offered me a true gift of friendship. She acknowledged our collective history and the wisdom that has come with age by assuming I would not feel judged but rather supported and encouraged by her offering some words of advice that she felt (correctly) would be of value.

How many times have I chosen to keep quiet, how many times have you chosen to keep quiet because your have assumed the defensive fragility of ego rather than the strength of heart would reign in an honest and open conversation?

How much more would our communities of friendship be enriched if we bravely listened with an open heart to those conversations that called us on our ‘soft’ spots rather then retreating?

Filed Under: Friendship Tagged With: friendship, honesty, Listening

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