Carole Stagg

20/01/2023

20/07/2021

It’s been a fabulous extended weekend of family festivities and a joyous gathering of the clan.

Now back to earth and grounding myself with preparation for my workshop delivery at a fabulous yoga retreat.

Excited to be mixing up the work with play and immersion in mind, body and spirit growth with other other beautiful peeps in a glorious field setting.

Yay, let the field manouvres and summer fun finally begin.

14/07/2021

It was just after the Brixton Uprisings in 1981 that I became an entrepreneur for the first time round.

Having quit my corporate job in finance I took the plunge to realise a dream and open a shop with a friend selling our designer clothes.

There was support to generate new business in the area and we had a small grant to get started, but we worked incredibly hard, often through the night to meet deadlines.

The business didn’t last more than 18 months, but it led to greater things.

It gave me confidence to apply for college and a basic portfolio of design ideas. I was 26 and had no A levels and no art GCSE.

From that initial push, I went on to earn a first class degree in fashion and textiles. After which, being accepted by the Royal College of Art, I fulfilled my dreams of gaining a Masters in Art.

If I hadn’t thrown in the towel against everyone’s advice and left my secure job, none of that pathway would have happened.

Because I had a dream, and that dream became a goal. Actually it was a series of dreams and goals that took shape along the way.
I had no plan at the shop opening stage to go to the RCA!!!

Each stage represented a challenge and each challenge I overcame led me closer to realising a potential within me I could never have envisaged.

So dream and don’t let doubt creep in. If you feel a calling so strongly, dare to take a risk and trust yourself. Take yourself to the edge and watch how you fly.

It’s amazing sometimes just where you land. And then you might even take off again .

11/07/2021

I absolutely love this tree.

It had been sawn off , leaving a sad old stump and abandoned for dead.

Now look , fresh strong new shoots bursting forth and establishing itself back as a strong symbol of resilience.

Sometimes our own endeavours can feel like they have been cut down abruptly in their prime.

Years of effort, brought to a halt in a swift action.

Like following a path that leads to dead end.

Like investing in a relationship, career, life role etc that no longer flourishes.

It can leave us feeling stumped.

Or, like this tree , evoking a strength, a springing back of new energy in defiance. Life longing for itself.

So when it feels like all is lost, or you have lost your way , you can always tap the sap and generate new beginnings. # positivepsychology

07/07/2021

Change doesn’t happen overnight.

We are what we repeatedly do!!

Sometimes you feel like you are making major progress in changing old patterns in life , then all of a sudden, out of the blue, up comes an unforeseen trigger!!!

And what happens?

You react in the old way?

You move up into your head and begin defending your position?

You begin to ruminate on past errors and start shifting into negative self talk?

Many of my clients have found themselves in that position.

Asserting new positive behaviours and habits, but being caught off guard and reverting to old ways.

Because old habits die hard?

No, because establishing a real lasting new habit requires rhythm, repetition and reverence.

Rhythm is at the core of our being, without it it’s hard to maintain harmony.

Repetition reinforces an awakened perspective to fully take notice.

Reverence establishes a deep care and respect for the inner life.

Taking this approach, I’ve helped clients maintain lasting change and secure new favourable lifestyle choices.
We are what we repeatedly do.

05/07/2021

The psychology of successive sowing.

I was pretty engaged all weekend, doing loads of gardening and allotment maintenance. Plenty of think time and a chance to reflect on a few metaphors.

After making successive sowings of beans, chard , lettuce and other salad greens I came to contemplate the psychology of successive sowing and how it relates to change.

Changing your life often means changing habits. It takes 6 weeks to get from seed to established plant.
It also takes 6 weeks to build a new habit , doing the same thing each day to create new neural pathways.

Just as successive sowings ensure a bountiful harvest, so our sowing of change behaviours ensures a productive outcome.

Making regular efforts to plant new ways of being into your daily routine may require several attempts to get started, but will eventually yield results.

So if you are making change or creating new life patterns, successive sowings of those intentions as well as repeated actions should lead to a productive harvest.

01/07/2021

If I manage to live until I am 90 years old, then I have about 1500 weeks of life left to live!!!

When it’s chunked down like that, it makes me realise the value of each week, day, moment.

When you start to question your use of time, energy and focus it makes you consider just how much is getting caught up in needless distraction.

The real question is, do you have time to put off those things you really want to be doing in life?

30/06/2021

Well well well! Spotted in a charity shop yesterday. Post it notes for procrastinators.

Are you one of the ‘tomorrow people’? I know I am with certain things in life. Most people procrastinate at certain levels in life but it doesn’t necessarily mean you put off everything.

As humans we are predisposed to pleasure seeking, so if a task seems to signify discomfort, effort, pain, then that monkey mind will divert us towards ‘fun stuff’ like researching useless bits of info on the net for hours.

But maybe the worst part is the guilt associated with time wasting!

However procrastination shows up for you, remember it’s just something we all do from time to time but It doesn’t define us.

It’s a huge subject.
To be continued.

25/06/2021

Mutton dressed as lamb.

Growing up I remember that term so well. My mum used it often to describe women she clearly thought I should never emulate.

Truth be told, I thought they looked fabulous and I admired their non conformist spirit and their confident air.

They seemed to me to be comfortable in who they were.

I also remember all of the ‘what not to wear at ( 30/40/50/60) ‘blogs that confined age to style choices.

At the end of the day it’s not about age, it’s about your energy and what makes you feel good.

So , rather than the put down , aimed at older women of course, let’s celebrate the vitality and vibrancy of who we are.

Irrespective of age, we all can shine .

24/06/2021

Going full on green again.

Not much point growing the stuff if I am not getting full benefit from my labour.

It’s a circle of energy, I plant, I grow, I harvest, I cook and I get energy to carry on.

Gooseberries for compote, blanched broccoli leaf for freezer and lovage and chive pesto .

Love my gardens and the work of the summer fairies.

A Plant based diet powers me forward. Swimming 2 miles each day fed on fabulous fodder.

What else can a girl ask for???

23/06/2021

We are constantly in a state of becoming.

"Becoming what?" you might ask. But that very question is seeking a “thing” type of answer.

What are the waves in the ocean becoming?

Some people seek change and can’t wait to transform. Others often ask why they have to change. This difference in outlook depicts their worldview: being or becoming. The fear of movement or change is rooted in a very fixed attachment to one’s identity. If I’m not who I think I am, who am I?

As the artist crafts their art, so might we look at our life. Learning to live artfully has us see our lives as a process open to inquiry and learning, always receptive to new meaning. Thus, we are always becoming.

17/06/2021

There is something so natural about dancing in the rain.

I remember as a child , rushing out into the summer downpour, getting soaked and delighting in the feel of the cool droplets on my warm body. My hair clinging to my head and lifting my face with my tongue out to taste the rain.

There is something quite delightful about being bare foot and bare arsed in the garden at dusk, in the long awaited release of the built up pressure.

Then the mingling scents of the petrichor and summer flowers. Elderflower, lilac and honeysuckle.

What a joy to be wet through, warm and cool and so alive.