In the past four blogs I have described my morning routine, comprised of 4 M’s developed by my coach and mentor, Susie deVille and outlined in her book Buoyant. The 4 M’s that I practice nearly every day are Morning Pages (my journaling practice), Movement (walking), Making something (my art practice), and Meditating (being still).   

There is a 5th M, however, that I’m less consistent with. While I have consistently practiced the previous 4 M’s most days for the last 3 years, the 5th, moments of inspiration, is harder for me. I just don’t go looking for a poem or quote. Recently however, I have found inspiration from listening to podcasts, so let’s talk about that today. 

Align Your Nature with Nature 

I find the work of Joseph Campbell inspiring. He discusses the cultures and myths that make up our world and our past. His foundation has a podcast, The Podcast with a Thousand Faces, and during my walk this morning, I tuned into an episode with Ben Katt.  

Ben is the author of The Way Home: Discovering the Hero’s Journey to Wholeness at Midlife. During the podcast they discussed this Campbell quote, “The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to align your nature with nature.”   

Over the last three years, I have felt my 5M practice has been a vital part of aligning my inner nature with the world in which I exist.  I have discovered that I find myself at peace when I’m outside.  It doesn’t have to be the highest mountain peak, but just the green grass and fresh air give me a feeling of balance and a sense of belonging.  I find my peace by getting the noise out of my head during journaling.  

Swimming Against the Current 

I was listening to the podcast as I took a walk down the mountain in Piney Creek, NC, to the banks of the South Fork of the New River. I noticed a couple of Canadian Geese on the bank.  They moved away from me and into the water. Once in the water, I could see they were protecting their four goslings. One parent took the lead, then four babies fell in line and the other parent finished the group; they were parent bookends.   

They were swimming to the other side of the river. As I watched, I noticed the current of the river starting to push the goslings out of formation, and further downstream. The goose in back, swam upriver beside the babies and diverted the swift current with his body.  

Nearly all the way across, they hit a channel where the water was moving faster, and the lead goose fell back in front of the other parent and diverted the current with both their bodies. Shortly afterwards, the family reached the far bank and started swimming upstream. It was such a beautiful scene. Watching the parents adjust their course to ensure the family all arrived as a unit safely on the other side. 

Mother Goose 

It struck me that as women business owners, we are constantly adjusting. Adjusting our plans for the day based on childcare and our partner’s work plans. We glide through the day picking up the slack and soothing the troubles our kids and partners experience. I know it’s a role where we excel and enjoy but it takes a toll, and we can easily lose track of who we are outside of all the roles we serve. 

We are better parents, partners, and business owners when we take care of ourselves. This is so important to me that I have created WEB Circles (Women-owned Ecommerce Business Circles) to help our clients tap into their personal dreams and build their business from that perspective.  

This alignment makes every day easier and helps business to be fulfilling not draining. As I’ve come to understand that the idea of aligning your business with your personal goals is a superpower that we have as women business owners.   

I discovered that my passion, my mission, is to help women that own ecommerce brands connect with what they really want so they can remove chaos from their daily lives. So that they can create a business that aligns with their values and fosters wealth.  

We are currently ready to expand our Circle and include more wonderful women in our group. If you’d like to join me as we create a circle of support, advice, and connection with other women ecommerce entrepreneurs reach out at hello@cyndithomason.com and let me know you’re interested in WEB Circles!