Why Layered Living?

 

We need to tap into our true selves to give back.

 

In a nutshell, I want to channel my gifts, abilities, and passions in an even more deliberate fashion, continuing to pour into my immediate network, but also give back to people on a larger scale. It’s one of those things you just can’t shake.  You feel it and think about it daily.  You know it’s absolutely specific to you.  It’s something that excites you, but is also scary at the same time.  It isn’t easy.  But through it all, it’s something you know that you’re not in alone and is also a path you’re being directed toward.  Even if it touches one person, it’s worth it. Maybe you take an idea directly from something that is shared and benefit from it.  Wonderful.  Maybe you walk away with just enough encouragement to embrace a change you’ve made, a challenge you’ve faced today, a path you are on, or a personal goal you are trying to achieve.  Also wonderful.  The littlest and simplest benefit is my hope for you. 

 

Over the years I’ve discovered a trend of what I enjoy, what works well as an extension of my wiring and design, what invigorates me, and what my strengths are. Priceless and beautiful, personal discoveries.  I’ve seen these things get confirmed through situations and people. So take that, plus the reality of life being precious and short, I desire to max out on extending me to this world rather than exhaust myself trying to embody someone else – or their dreams, passions, and gifts. I’ve learned running after and trying to be someone else has a veneer of being the answer or bringing fulfillment, but at the end of the day it only proves to be exhausting and inadequate at best.  The world deserves an authentic me.  Beyond me, that is for someone else to step in to serve their individual and additional purposes.  We all serve a purpose and Layered Living is about finding and living out yours. This world needs me.  This world needs you.

 
 

We need Layered Living.

 

I’ve been there where I didn’t have many layers cultivated in my life.  I’ve lived and felt what that looks like.  I’ve experienced running out and becoming empty, lacking various streams to fill my life pot.  I’m grateful for the awareness of emptiness. Through it, I’ve had the opportunity to become ‘un-empty’.  Developing and cultivating layers specific to me has proven to fill my life pot.  Each layer has value and needs the other.  I want to continue to work out my layers.  To keep my life pot full.  You need your layers.  This world needs your layers.

 
 

We need more than slogans.

 
Jokingly, I’ve used this layers word for the last 15+ years, but I came to realize the true importance of it.  So “layered living” became a natural domain name for this blog.  The concept became alive and a way of living.  We need action and movement, not merely fun and nice ideas that touch us temporarily only to remain dormant or pass us by until the next idea pops up.  Soaking up information is one thing, but not at the expense of acting on none of it.
 
 

We need multiple sources.

 
Knowing our jobs, for example, can’t always fill all the gaps or capture all of who we are as a person, layers are all the more important to have in place. Nor can a particular person or relationship capture all of that.  We all need our layers to keep other aspects of our life in check, to maintain meaning, and to relieve unnecessary pressure falling on one single area.
  
 
 

We need to live beyond ourselves:  To live upward and outward.

 
At its root, my faith is literally the item that gives perspective, meaning, and momentum to all of my layers. That foundation gives me hope, identity, and strength as a woman.  God is not just one of my layers, but is within all of them. God was not meant to be compartmentalized, but to be woven through all areas of our life. Much grace continues to be given to me, as I was loved first, so I want to extend that love and be a light through my layers to those around me.  I want to make the most of who I am and how I was created by living out a bigger picture legacy.  It’s not just about me serving my own purpose, but playing a role in a greater calling.   
 
 

Let’s join together and be intentional with and content in our layers – our habits, our convictions, our passions, our strengths.

Join me in #layeredliving.