The big brave step forward.

Facing unexpected challenges.

Hello!

Last time I wrote here I talked about creating a free resource for disabled and chronically ill people; a workbook in the style of an end-of-year review, but more gentle in its set-up. My head was swimming with ideas, and as is usual with me, it had waited until the last minute to form into something tangible. On an aside, I often wonder if this perhaps a telling sign of me being autistic, as I find it almost impossible to achieve things unless there is a deadline looming, and deadlines have been hard to hold onto in a world that’s dictated by my body.

That being said, 18 days later and I’m pleased to share with you that the head full of ideas has become the workbook that I had imagined! It’ll be ‘going live’ alongside my new mailing list, and I’m so proud of what I’ve managed to achieve, but it’s also brought up a lot of feelings and challenges that I wasn’t expecting.

I’m always taken by surprise how quickly things come together in the last moments, but this workbook is the beginning of something special for me, and so I’ll admit that I’m feeling more than a little nervous about putting myself ‘out there’. On the surface, it would be easy for me to just call it self-doubt and a fear of failure, and while both those things have some base in reality, my anxiety is more than that. It sits within traumatic memories, and a place I’ve tried very hard to avoid. But life so often brings things back around, especially when we haven’t dealt with them properly first time around. The last few days I have begun to sort through the entangled memories, and I have been thinking about why I am doing what I’m doing.

I am putting myself out there because sharing my words and helping to empower others feels like my souls calling, and I don’t write that lightly. I am not just creating this for myself, but for other people. A way to reach out to others and teach them the tools they need to feel more in control, and to learn to become their own biggest fans. My life is by no means perfect, and I don’t believe that being happy all the time is an achievable goal, but I do believe that we were born to overcome the challenges that life throws at us, and that we deserve to show ourselves kindness as we do it.

So I continue to take brave steps forward, even if I fall or stumble, because this is what I was born to do. To write, and share, and help others. To get things wrong, and try again. To be authentically and unapologetically me, in all my messiness and work-in-progress, and to help others to see the same perfect imperfectness in themselves ♥

I’ll be sure to signpost the workbook here once it’s finished, but you can also follow real-time updates via my instagram @uncannymoonchild and my linktr.ee

Lots of love,

Ruth ♥