Burnout is a strange expression. Because the feeling you have when you have reached the point where you need to lay everything down and have a sob into your morning coffee, or you have attacked someone close to you and rammed their conversation down their throat because its intonation was too much for you to bear...is more like hopelessness and defeat. It doesn't burn, there is no heat and fire to it- it is just plain "over it, giving up! sod it!" exhaustion.

Then again in the purest sense maybe it poignantly means you can no longer burn the candle at both ends but that your flame, your zest for life is extinguished!
This burning the candle at both ends is a funny expression too! 
Figuratively,  it is used to refer to partying generally and spending days up and nights also...although for me it literally has become defined by early early morning rising with my son to start the day well before most people expect to have to wake their bodies and minds up, and in consequence having to then go to bed well before any self respecting adult would think was a reasonable hour to hit the pillow!

So I am interested in talking about burnout. It is a term used to describe a state which is so prevalent in the modern day lives of most people. We push and are pushed to strive to fit more and more into our waking hours, to be active physically mentally and spiritually ...to be switched on and engaged! In a world where social media never sleeps, screen time is always a blurry blue or hazy white glow in the background and noise white or otherwise surrounds our every waking and often sleeping moment...it is safe to say more people are suffering from burnout now than ever before. It seems to be a combination of things that lead to this... poor work/ home life, lack of choices, inability to prioritise down time or plan productive up time...and a need to push for the next dollar to pay the next bill to meet the next deadline. 
There is also growing expectation in our social lives! to get the kids to the next play date, sports session, swimming lesson and birthday party. 
Modern life has created the sort of mouse in a wheel cycle that leads to many people having a meltdown and having to admit the y are not able to go on!
Social media and tv would have us believe that we can all be super mums, dads, humans-exercising every day and eating three balanced meals, socialising whilst still getting all our work related jobs done, making new friends, taking part in life's rich pattern while also getting sleep and posting a few beauty shots while we are at it. However this is not most peoples reality. The reality is we need to start being more real, and more kind to ourselves.
It has taken a long long time for me to get to a point of recognising that I need to take better care of myself if I am to be of any use to any one else in my life. It is hard to admit you are not invincible (especially for a virgo!) It is hard to admit that you are getting older..it is difficult to admit that you sometimes just don't have the energy for one more thing to pop up and have to be dealt with!
After having my child at 38 and realising that I would be bringing him up as a single mother, I set about finishing two courses, moving house, twice, settling in a new state and starting two businesses. Because lets face it, you cannot rest on your laurels! life keeps rolling along even if you just want to sit back and take a break.
I am grateful that I am driven, that I do not like to fail and that I am the kind of person who seeks to succeed and achieve and is unlikely to give up until something is finished...however I am also grateful for the wisdom and realisation that comes with years of making mistakes and stumbling along the way, that helps me know self care is so so important too.
I need to stop sometimes and meditate, I need my early morning run to process my thoughts and boost me into another day, I need cuddles from my son and I need to remember to eat properly and to rest when I can. I need most of all to learn to say no to people. To tell them I cannot, it is too much, and I need to learn to do this without letting feelings of guilt enter after.
One of the most important things we can learn in the process of avoiding burnout is to set boundaries. Boundaries for ourselves and for others. This is not easy to do and it takes strength. Some people will not like it, and that is ok too. Mostly they are the people who have not yet learned to set their own, or respect others.

I have also learnt to listen to my intuition. To my gut! I have learnt that when I do this I make better decisions. I feel stronger and I feel better about myself. 
For me the essential oil journey sits side by side with this consciousness about self care and intuitive boundary settings. The oils have helped me to speak my truth and supported me to stand in my power, or to draw power when I have felt depleted. My belief in the power of plant medicine has given back to me with daily lessons of the power the oils also draw to the surface in me.
I listen to the oils and to my body when I am feeling depleted, or emotionally or physically overwhelmed...and I am drawn to the oils I need, and then I rest in their power. 
It sounds like hippy bull I know! I was a sceptic too! But now I am not.The power of these amazing natural plant oils has changed my life, my heart, my relationships with others and my self....
And through discovering and using the oils...I have learnt another vital part of who I am, how I can care for myself and in this crazy hectic life...a way I can avoid burnout and continue my self care.



What do the oils do for you?
How do you recognise your need for self care?
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I often wonder what makes people tick! What is their motivation and drive to get up in the morning and make things happen? For me, there is no question it is my son. He is a bright spark and the joy of my existence. Whilst he tries my patience sometimes, as children are want to do :) he reminds me many times throughout each day to enjoy the spontanaeity of life, to rise to challenges and to pick myself up and brush myself off when things don't necessarily go my way.

There is something huge to be said for the innocent imagination of childhood and the inspiring ability children have to see the impossible become possible, and to imagine what as adults we sometimes believe to be unattainable, as being achievable and in fact normal.
In the society we live in today where success is often measured in monetary reward or in social status, children give us the  ability to see through a true and untainted lense that a successful life really is one in which you live with compassion and empathy in your heart towards others and yourself. Where laughter to the point of wetting yourself is often the best medicine and where play is the most important way we can remain youthful, vibrant and useful human beings.

Children also give us a clear picture of how easy it is for our emotional state to be messed with by others, whether they are fraying our nerves or communicating something that hits us directly in the heart, or they are moving swiftly from elated joy and engagement, to stroppy tantrum and red-faced, all out crying fits!
It is important as we grow older to remember and take note of this honest laying bare of emotions we see in children, who have not yet learned to measure their reactions to life's hardships and control or hide, disappointment, fear, happiness, anger, joy  or in fact any of the other emotions that as adults we learn to mask for the sake of not being judged or embarrassed, dare I say it being labelled, by other adults looking on.

The masking or hiding for the sake of 'keeping face' of these strong and indeed important emotions is a very real reason why the prevalence of teenage and adult suicide is on the rise, as well as mental health issues and domestic violence. In situations where adults are faced with emotionally challenging experiences in work home and social arenas, but feeling weak, stupid or vulnerable in the sharing of them, and so unable to seek help..it is good to respect and to remodel ourselves on the innocent sharing of these emotions that children do in their day to day lives....as it helps to manage our health on a far deeper level if our emotional health is honestly maintained.

In my journey through life and love lost and found, Relationships broken, friend's who have come and gone, some to other towns, to other friendships, to other lives, by their own hand or by fate's. From girlhood to womanhood, and womanhood to motherhood, the love of parents, being a parent and having them. Losing them too...I have felt the full gammet of emotional highs and lows. I have thought of leaving the world and been very depressed as well as experiencing highs that I never imagined were possible... and somewhere in between I have I believe in my early forties, found a semblance of peace and balance. 
This I think because I have had to ...for the sake of my sanity and the health and happiness of my little boy. I some days think I had no real purpose before he came to me to help me see, that all my experiences prior to his birth were to steel me for the strength of purpose and the huge swelling of love that would come into my heart as he came messy into the world.
And with this realising, this growth I have turned to my oils. The essential oils have become an organic and intrinsic part of my search for truth, the right path , and the best health and wellness solutions for me and my family. They have supported us through health issues, protected us from environmental and seasonal threats but most importantly for me, they have bouyed my emotional states to balance and support me in times of difficulty, fatigue, sadness struggle and lacking motivation. They have helped to pull me out of days when I felt hopeless, to gear me up when I felt I didnt have the energy to go to the next task of the day and to sync me in with my little man...so that we could grow and learn together. I am so excited for the onward journey. My son is interested in the oils now too, at 2.5 years old he asks for his roller when he is feeling anxious and smiles when I offer him peppermint if he is getting crabby.

I love the man he is becoming and feel equipt to positively enjoy the journey with him..
If you would like to learn more about these beautiful oils and how they can enhance your true journey in life! Reach out! ID love to hear from you!

This year at the Doterra convention the buzz was amazing and Doterra launched their intention to revolutionise the Healthcare system in the United States and onwards to expand this revolution to the world! The plan is to open clinics in partnership with existing healthcare professionals to change the way that healthcare and illness prevention and treatment is managed, in a wholistic context in consultation and collaboration with qualified and reputable medical practitioners from a number of fields who are interested in broadening the health and wellness offer for the general public when looking at management of illness and health in general in modern day life. It would be a customer centred and health focused approach.

Doterra is currently working closely with specialists in microbiology, Jennifer Eddins, SM (ASCP) Nicole Stevens, managing Scientist, Dr Rena Szabo, Psychology Director of an oncology clinic in the US and a number of other medical professionals to uncover the amazing results from products such as the Onguard blend, The emotional aromatherapy Blends  and their positive effects on the limbic system and its control of emotions in stressful and fatigue driven situations, and the healing and cleansing properties of such products as Melaleuca and and oregano in supporting the immune system and other body systems to recover from exposure to environmental threats.
​A health care revolution has begun! stay tuned!! Click below to join an exciting new group of healthcare revolutionaries in Australia