I write today’s blog as a business owner who is also simply human and for a change wanted to share some thoughts with all of you that follow our journey, because you either know us, have stayed here, or simply have a business interest in the property and what it has to offer.
I get to feel grateful every week that I get to live here and especially when you arrive as guests and take in the view of the fells. Everybody’s reaction when they see us pottering around the garden, is that we are living the dream. We absolutely are – but that is not to say it doesn’t come without challenges as you’d expect. Of course, these are challenges that we choose mentally to overcome, so all is okay for us.
What I wanted to share though, is that we witness all the time, from many different walks of life, that nobody’s life is perfect. Everyone faces challenges that we have no idea about. People make mistakes and we are all Simply Human. We see it all the time, with retreats, with business owners, even in the media of famous people we don’t know. When we all watch people and businesses from afar it is easy to have a view of them. We may judge, we may empathise, we may understand, or we may get vexed and lash out via the keyboard. (What actually does that achieve by the way?!)
I personally want to make sure this year, that I have in mind, that I probably have very little idea of what is going on behind the scenes. It is easy for us to have an opinion based on social media and the output and appearance in to the wider world, but let’s face it, sometimes with all our busy lives, we don’t even have time to sit down with our friends and family to talk about what’s really going on in their lives, that might be having an affect on them, never mind a business that we have little understanding of.
I made mistakes last year in our business and I knew at the time it was because I was stressed. I could tell I was subconsciously letting things get to me, because my immunity was low and that hadn’t happened since moving here. I had let my values slip and was angry and conflicted at not being the person I knew I was in my heart. Looking back, I realised how that was affecting the business and the appearance to the outer world was not great to be honest. So yes, I was simply a human trying to navigate life and didn’t achieve it with a grade A all the time. I am absolutely fine now and this blog is not a cry for help, but to say it got me thinking about lots of other businesses and people out there.
So I would like this blog today to ask you all out there, to pause before reacting to something that may be challenging, or seem off. To think, what do I really know of this situation. To feel if something sits well with your values and if there is anything better you can do in the scenario, to help either yourself, or the other person. To remember, nobody has a perfect life and to simply be human about things. Feel like a human, act like a human and just have the understanding that we are lucky enough to have as humans.
Let’s all be less feral, snappy turtle, (If you know the recent story of the Lake District tarn, you will laugh at this) and more gorgeous, relaxed sloth like.
