Day 19 - a little story which hopefully will inspire you

Sometimes I like to do things a bit differently from normal, so instead of writing about my feelings and goals etc. today, I thought I'd share how my life has changed since 2006 .. 

I had a very nasty breakdown in 2006 during which I abandoned the Christian faith which had been a strong part of my life for most of the previous 15 years. For a while I had no hope, my mind was a horrible mess, too scared to attempt suicide but not wanting to live .. but something deep inside of me must have kept me going. Eventually I came across a support site for ex-Christians which really helped me and I probably owe my recovery largely to that. 

After I went back to work, I decided that I was going to move location. I have an old friend who I still occasionally keep in touch with who had moved from his home town of Coventry to Bournemouth without originally having a job to go to, who I worked with for a year of so. He has recently moved back to Coventry, but he was probably a large part of my inspiration for my move from my hometown of Poole, on the south coast of England, up to Leeds, 275 miles away. I suppose in some way I felt drawn to the north to England, possibly because my Dad is from up north (Manchester). I don't think I ever even thought about the risk, I kind of had an inner 'knowing' that it would all work out somehow, and the need for a change far outweighed any risk there might be. There are certain times when you just 'know' something is right. I moved in January 2007. I didn't originally have a job, got some temp work pretty quickly, lost a job a few months later which made me think about what I wanted to do, and I made some pretty bad decisions along the way, had various temp jobs and ended up unemployed for 14 months in 2010 to 2011, not a fun experience. Eventually I did find a proper permanent job, almost 4 and a half years after moving.  Having lived in various houses around Leeds for 5 years, I found a place in a little town called Otley, about 12 miles north west, a nice house and nice location near to the Yorkshire Dales, although a bit isolating at times. I don't think I'll stay there after next June and I don't know whether I'll settle in Yorkshire long term, but moving location was definitely the best thing I ever did, I have grown soooooo much as a person. Yorkshire is a very beautiful part of the country and I've got to see several new places and I live near some really lovely towns and scenery. 

Having left Christianity, I had no interest in 'God' or anything spiritual for a little while. I did get into self-help stuff, a bit too much into the money messages and the airy-fairy side of self help but let's not go there lol. My pathway into a new spiritual dimension has kind of unfolded gradually. One thing is for sure, I would never have expected to be on the spiritual pathway I'm on now, 5 or 6 years ago and certainly not before then having been so indoctrinated in Christianity and church, and I was far too obedient for my own good at times. 

The moral of this story is .. if you think you haven't achieved much, you can always find something to be proud of.