Unpacking the treasure chest

The signs have been clear. It's time.

Styled and captured by Tori Hitchens

I’m realising that I’ve never been one to think much about the past. But I think reflecting on even the recent past can provide you with context to where you’re going and how far you’ve come.

My modus operandi has been to go go go. Don’t look back, keep going. And to a large extent it’s worked but there’s a part of me that I have also been excluding.

This year, in particular, things have accelerated. I’ve been full steam ahead. The year we made our feature film. This year I had my biggest role to date on stage and screen.

After so many years of grafting, I was beginning to wonder whether it would ever happen. But it did. And I’ve been sharing with my friends this week that I haven’t stopped to process, digest nor FATHOM what we’ve achieved. Maybe, just maybe, there may be a little opening within myself to let some of the past into my present and let Nostalgia (with a capital N) have her moment. She’s been here all along, waiting in the wings, but I have been avoiding her - not wanting to be slowed or pulled down. But isn’t being present about acknowledging all that’s here?

Snapped and stylised by Tori Hitchens

Funnily enough this image Tori Hitchens (you can read about our recent conversation here) and I created out of spontaneity and passion, reflects how I’ve been feeling. Like in this image, I’ve been losing my head a bit. With so much happening and unprocessed joyful memories, I haven’t MADE the time to unpack. Maybe now is the time to take stock.

I have been living through the best year of my life - not the easiest nor the most comfortable by any means, and I lost a very close family member that spun my heart into knots - but I think it’s time to allow myself to open the treasure chest, reconnect with what has been and allow the memories - that past Louise dreamed of - to fully develop.

Interestingly - as I was writing this post, out of the corner of my eye I spotted the framed rooster on my wall (and saw the similarities to the black and white image I shared with you above). I wake up each morning and look at this rooster but never before wondered why he’s standing on one leg. Google’s search seems only to want to reveal to me the significance of the “Golden Rooster on one leg” Tai Chi posture, which according to "Balanced Life Tai Chi the rooster symbolises enlightenment and the Golden Rooster practice “teaches us to root, balance, and how to relax our muscles as we strengthen our bones”.

Learning how to relax as we strengthen our bones. I couldn’t help but feel there’s a hidden message in this. After all, if we don’t learn to relax then our physical, emotional and spiritual efforts might just pull a muscle and force us to slow down.

Okay, message received loud and clear.

Thank you