Our guest speaker Julie New; Relationship and Life Gardener, who at the November Women in Leadership lunch gave a riveting and inspiring talk about how we should keep ‘watering ourselves’ has posted on her blog about the event! It was a delight to have you Julie and you have given us all a lot to think about, thank you!

THE ROSE AND THE WINE!

I received this picture shortly after a talk I gave to a woman in business lunch being run by the Herts Chamber of Commerce in the UK and it has set me thinking.

As many of you know I go on about the importance of ‘Watering YOU’ and I often get people jokingly saying, ‘does that include wine’? My answer is always ‘YES’!

HOWEVER

Interestingly, when we are overwhelmed, or things are becoming challenging in our lives we will often reach for things that comfort us and this can lead to drinking alcohol to excess; eating too much food (or too little) and maybe reaching for recreational illegal drugs.

They help for a moment to avoid the pain; avoid the mess on the ‘garden path’ that faces us but of course we then end up with an even bigger problem with maybe a reactive addiction or disorder.

When I spoke last week, I mentioned that the work I do is a kind of reverse psychology. By teaching people to understand what they NEED physically; mentally; emotionally and spiritually they are more able to retain balance even when the most terrible things happen in life.

EXAMPLE: The talk on November 8th coincided with the anniversary of my beloved husband Rob’s death. I didn’t mention this for impact or for people to feel sorry for me I mentioned it because even before; during and after his death I made sure I was well ‘watered’. This included continuing with weekly counselling through the dialysis unit at the hospital; taking actual time off work; beginning to exercise again. I basically ensured I took good care of ME and the testament to this was that I was able to stand strong in front of them and do the job I love. It would have been so easy to stay rooted under my duvet and drink myself into oblivion to blot out the agony of watching my husband slowly die.

Of course, sometimes I have reached for more than one bottle of wine or eaten way too many kettle chips, but I always come back to the knowledge that by giving my body what it needs my mind, emotions and spirit remain strong and the journey is a much happier one.

Rob always bought me pink roses and I gave each of the 54 people listening to my talk a pink rose to take home. My way of giving them a lasting memory of the importance of my overriding message: ‘What waters YOU’?

So, are YOU eating or drinking a bit too much? What do YOU need to remain strong and get the balance back into YOUR life?

Julie x

Our next Women in Leadership lunch is with Julie Newlan, Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of Hertfordshire, on 7th February 2019. We hope to see you there!