A One Minute Story

On Tuesday night I went to my friend (and photographer) Beth Jennings' launch for her book - She Knows. Beth asked a few of us to share a one minute story about ourselves that had never been shared in a professional setting. I had an idea for a story to share, but when I sat down on Tuesday afternoon to write the story I thought I was going to write, a different story composed itself.

One of my challenges - as it is for many of us - is doubt. Doubt in myself, doubt in my ability, doubt in my purpose. A lot of second guessing. Too much care about other people’s opinions. (I even doubted whether this was an appropriate story to write, to share on the night).

There will always be opinions. And someone else’s opinion is nothing to do with me, just as my opinion is nothing to do with anyone else - unless we let it be.

All that matters is that I no longer listen to the doubt, or give in to the fear.

That instead, I trust.

And so I decided to share this story here too. Because it’s a good story, it's a great story, it's a story of life.

Please take from it what you will ??

A ONE MINUTE STORY 

by Fiona Redding

When I first decided to stop drinking, I looked into AA. It was not for me, as I was completely stumped by the giving in and the giving up to a higher power - the acknowledgement of God.

I thought that I needed to do it all by myself, and that I could do it all by myself.

That I was somehow different.

Very early on in in my business journey, and to help me connect with others, keep fit, navigate my own life and to help others navigate theirs, I started what were to become The Happiness Hunter walks, and what was to become The Happiness Hunter.

It always felt to me that these walks, that the name, and the meaning behind it all had come from something much bigger than me, almost that it was nothing to do with me, but that I was somehow just the person at that time and in that place to make it happen.

Being in business is a great gift. It’s an opportunity for us to discover who we really are, and to shine our light in the most wonderful, poetic and profound of ways.

Over the last 6 years - the years of my life that have been shaped through my desire for change, for a deep yearning to live a meaningful and purposeful life, aspiring to realise my fullest potential - my life has been full of miracles, synchronicity, challenges and obstacles to be overcome, many leaps of faith… and something completely unexpected.

There were many things I was seeking.

Purpose. Happiness. Health. Peace. Prosperity and financial abundance. Self-respect. Love. Freedom. Flexibility. Quiet joy. Fun. Awareness. To be an excellent role model for my kids. The ability to create my own destiny. To do good work. To help others. To do something useful with my life. To work towards something beyond myself. To make up for my past transgressions.

Yet through it all, I have come to know that I am never on my own.

And I never had been.

At the heart of it all, at the core of everything, underneath it, on top of it, in front of it, behind it, to the side, at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end.

There is God.