When you hear the word Metta, you are probably thinking about Facebook and their new identity, or whatever that is. They are actually called Meta, with one T. I just want to clarify, we will not be taking a closer look at the name change of Facebook, although that could be fun another day.

Tomorrow is the first day of February and what does the second month of the year normally signify, other than more winter, if you live somewhere that gets snow. February can be a doozy sometimes for snow. 

If you guessed the month of love or heart health month, you're correct! This is why I have decided the theme of the month will be Metta - which means positive energy and kindness towards others. Metta is often known as loving-kindness meditation. 

How many times have you felt like you needed to re-introduce yourself to the world? I hope the answer to that is more than once. Why you ask?

Every day is a new opportunity to grow and become a better version of yourself. That doesn't mean everyday people will see you as a new person, but you are working towards that next part of you. Leveling up if you will. 

I often refer to these introductions as stepping out of the darkness into the light. We are stepping out of the shadow of our old selves into the light of our next level up. And this can also mean that something you have been working on for YEARS can finally make sense to you and you step into it. 

This can be something like a belief you have. Maybe you are afraid to show the talent you have to the world because you are afraid of what others may think. You continue to hide it, even though you REALLY love it and you slowly feel like you are lying to yourself and those you love. 

This feeling can keep you stuck in that area of your life. You may not be able to move forward because of that. Maybe the talent is an amazing business opportunity, but again, you are afraid of what others think. You also dislike your current job. You wish you could do something else. 

Because you are hiding your talent, which could potentially become a business venture, you may continue to stay stuck in your career. You stay at jobs you don't like because you have to have a job. You aren't trusting yourself enough to take the leap on your talent. 

Do you see where that is all leading?

So let me ask you a question.

When was the last time you did something you REALLY loved?

I mean, your heart was so full, you felt like fireworks were going off around you and you just knew this was your jam? 

That's the kind of love I am asking about. 

I have found as I have talked to people over the last 2 years that they realized how much of themselves they had been hiding from the world. Talents, hobbies, points of joy. Things that light them up and make them extremely happy to get up every day. 

You need to step out of that darkness of being afraid and into the light where your heart is full. 

This is a lesson I learned recently myself. I pushed away a business name for YEARS because I never thought it was good enough. Didn't think it was professional. Was afraid no one would want to work with me. I FINALLY change my social media handles to Zen Between the Chaos after an ah-ha moment right before Christmas. Since I did that, I have had more inspiration, more ideas, and more support than I ever thought possible. 

This blog will also be The Trish List, but if you have been here a while you probably noticed, I have referenced it as my zen between the chaos for a few years. It is even in my little bio. The name haunted me for so long as a business name. 

I stepped out into the light and it is all falling into place now. I am ready to share that business with the world and I am no longer afraid of what people will think. A new website is coming soon. I will explain more soon!

Step out into the light friends! Chat soon!

I don't know about you, but just that sentence up there makes me sound old. HAHA. 

Truth of the matter is, a lot of people don't make it past a year in blogging. They start for fun, then it becomes a job they didn't expect it to be, and then they burn out. I know, I have been there millions of times over the past 6 years. I never gave up on this space though.

Just thinking about how different blogging was in general when I started to how it is today is mind blowing. I remember buying ads on other peoples blogs in hopes that someone would click on it and find me. That still exists to a point, but it isn't as popular amongst bloggers as it was then. 

There definitely wasn't TikTok. I went hard on Twitter though. I got a lot of my traffic from there. I can still remember it like it was yesterday.. scheduling those all tweets every hour. Quotes, sharing other people's posts, and of course my own. Oh the memories! Fun fact: I once won a contest on twitter with a scheduled tweet. 

This blog has seen many phases of my life. I was just looking at the pages I created and made active and inactive over the years. My thrifty/freebie page did really well. Not sure why I stopped doing that. I'm still a thrifter who loves a good freebie. 

I did the fashion/Stitch Fix thing. I styled the clothes and posted photos of myself in them, back before I had a baby. Now I'm just hoping to lose the baby weight one day. 

I was offered sponsored posts. I did a few and they were fun, but it wasn't something I could keep up with at the time. I always felt like I was being pulled in a million directions. I give all you mamas out there who hustle with the kids, the posts, the jobs, and whatever else gets thrown at you. It definitely isn't easy. 

My blogging came to a screeching halt once my little one was born. I suffered hardcore postpartum depression and went through some rough times that never lead me back to blogging regularly. I showed up here and there when I thought I had something to say. It's worked for me. 

The little one turned 3 last month. We are a year into a pandemic. I lost a job. Started a new one. 2020 decided I needed to think hard about my future. 2021 kicked me into starting my own business as a result of 2020. Then 2021 said, why not get your life coaching certification too?! Why not! You only live once right?

And here I am, after all the crazy, 6 years in wanting to blog again. Wanting to share my stories and my craziness with you all. I haven't figured it out 100% yet, but I have committed to posting once a week for now. Maybe twice if I get excited. 

So thanks to all of you who have been with me for the long haul. Welcome to those who are new and have no idea what I am talking about. I can't wait to see what the next 6 years look like (or 6 months? LOL). 

See ya around!