Having published nearly 100 blogs, I thought it might be fun to share a fresh voice on this blog from time to time. My first guest blogger is an amazingly talented young woman I have recently been in touch with – Cass Lane. There’s something about the sparkle and vitality of her work which I find really appealing, and which I hope strikes a chord with you too. Check out her work at Happiness + Wellbeing Magazine and also the Fauna Philosopher. She designs and writes these beautiful sites herself – and she is tuned right into the zeitgeist. You may also like to try out her Truth or Dare game!
About Cass Lane
Cassandra Lane is the happy Editor-in-Chief of Happiness + Wellbeing Magazine, designated Word Wizard at Wild Spirit Co. and Blogger Extraordinaire at the Fauna Philosopher. A quintessential daydreamer with a penchant for cloud-watching, reading, chocolate-drinking and crisp, mountain air (or really, nature of any kind, but mountain air sounded a lot cooler), she can usually be found with a book in one hand and a journal in the other. The pen, of course, will be tucked behind her ear and quickly forgotten as she floats though the rest of her day.
Will you dare to live?
In 2012 I found myself challenged by three gigantic, not-fun-at-all events. I was fired – by text message no less – and with the end of year holidays looming (combined with just a handful of jobs I could, and did, apply for), there really wasn’t much for me to do except twiddle my thumbs and think things over. Well, and take care of my mother, who’d just suffered from three serious heart-attacks. And console my dad, who’d been told he had type two diabetes. 2012 was a jerk. But it was a jerk I’d needed to experience.
Because then something important happened. It was early 2013 and I was on my kitchen floor, knees tucked up against my mascara and tear stained t-shirt, talking to the ceiling:
Okay, I understand. I’m ready to listen.
With the fragility of human life fresh in my mind, it hit me that there really wasn’t any time to waste. Why was I applying for jobs that didn’t light me up? Why was I wasting my time existing when I could actually be living?
I’d heard the phrase ‘do what you love’ before. In fact, I’d heard it so often that, for a long time, it seemed meaningless. But when the three events of 2012 went down, it became my mantra. It was time to do what I loved.
Fast-forward six months and I was the exhausted, but proud, founder, creator and chief do-it-all of a blossoming online wellness magazine and a full-of-heart copy-writing business.
I’d listened. I’d pushed aside my fears and embraced a new life that was aligned with my passion and soul’s calling.
It was great. I loved what I was doing. People loved what I was creating. And it was all green juices, bliss balls and zen meditations for another two years.
Until one morning I woke up and realised that I’d done it again: I’d somehow transitioned from a life that I LIVED, to a life where I existed. I was stuck in a rut. And it was only though an abundance of journaling and meditation that I dug deep enough to understand why:
I was a theoretical explorer.
This is a term I made up, but it’s the best way of describing my approach to life. You see, I read, learned and embraced the theory behind practical concepts like happiness, bliss, inner peace, mindfulness and self-help … but never actually did anything with that information.
Sure, I’d adopted a handful of self-care practices, but I was still hiding out in my comfort zone. I was still playing small and allowing my fears to dictate how much I truly lived, expanded and grew as a human being. I still wasn’t showing up for life.
Because I’ve always been a bit of a bystander. It was the safe option. I couldn’t get hurt, picked on or ridiculed if I was the person in the stands rather than the player out on the field. And when I started my own self-discovery journey, I carried these theoretical explorer habits with me.
Again, I listened. Observed. Learned. Became so full of information that I finally felt like I had accomplished something. And sure, I’d learned how to be happy, well and filled-to-the-brim with inner-peace-inducing self-discoveries.
But I wasn’t doing anything with that information. I didn’t feel happier or more well.
I was still a bystander in my own life.
And so I made a pact with myself: no more wimping out of the whole ‘life’ thing. From now on, I would start living my life.
Which was how I found myself immersed in the bravest act of adventure I’d ever experimented with: The Truth or Dare Game.
The Truth or Dare Game
The Truth or Dare Game was a game I played with my partner. Like the game you probably played when you were younger, it consisted of coming up with inventive ‘truths’ or a ‘dares’ for each other.
And because I’m a bit of a self-discovery nut, I wove in thought-provoking questions that shed light on our true, inner selves and what made us, us.
And because Brian is a bit of a cheeky adventurer, he set challenges that got me nudging my big toe outside of my comfort zone and back into the world of the living again, all while putting into action the things I’d learned about how to lead a happy, well and blissful life.
It took a few weeks, but before too long I was shedding my spectator cloak and donning shiny, new adventurer wings. I was living again. And finally, finally, I felt alive.
So – and following a life pattern of learning and then sharing – I decided to create a game that would harness the potency of the adventure Brian and I had enjoyed while maximising the self-discovery and happiness potential as much as possible.
Today, the Truth or Dare Game is a 21-day online adventure for earthlings across the globe that want to play and interact with the world again. Designed to inspire real-world happiness and self-discovery, this online adventure has been deliberately crafted to help you:
- Learn more about yourself in a safe, pressure-free environment.
- Have fun (remember what that is?)
- Engage and play with the world around you.
- Step outside of your comfort zone – just a little bit – each day for 21-days.
- Be brave … without pooping your organic cotton panties.
- Illuminate your shadow self (the part of you that you’re ashamed of and hide from, but that always pops back up – and sabotages you! – when you ignore it.)
- Befriend your higher – and true – Hint: She’s pretty freaking rad.
- Digest bite-sized chunks of self-realisations and figure out what makes you, you … without falling into a self-discovery coma (and never wanting to explore the depths of ‘you’ ever again).
It’s all completely online (the daily challenges are sent by email) and it’s available from anywhere in the world.
It’s also, not even exaggerating, the best thing I’ve ever created. And this is coming from the girl who discovered that when you dip french fries into melted chocolate, it equals bliss. Don’t knock it until you try it.
You can check it out and enrol now at thetruthordaregame.com
Thank you for reading my story and I hope I’ve inspired you to stop existing and start living again.
Cass x
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