Does this sound familiar?
‘I can’t imagine anywhere better to live than Surbiton’ Debbie 1999-ish
‘If I resume my creative work full time, my family will be destitute and we’ll be out on the streets’ Lawrence 1991-2010
Now I’ve nothing against Surbiton; it has a station and a Waitrose and access to the river, but having explored Asia and experienced life in other towns and villages, I can say there are definitely other places I feel more at home. Lamma Island, Hong Kong was magical and St Leonards on Sea has a wonderful creative community.
When I made my Surbiton declaration, I had built a very comfortable life with a good job. On the outside I had things sorted and, if you had asked me, I would have said I was happy. I smiled a lot. But I didn’t really experience strong feelings; I had difficulty recognising and naming feelings and a general unease, like I was missing out on life.
My transformation was both gradual and sudden, a long build up and then a pivotal moment when I saw with great clarity how I’d been keeping myself small and safe and I chose to do life differently. Since then there have been highs and lows but that’s always my aim.
Lawrence had embarked on a 20 year ‘experiment’ in business to provide for his young family. Whilst he was committed to being the best father and husband he could be, his fears about returning to his life-long passion as an actor kept him trapped in his office job. After investigating if the fears were true and re-training in Meisner Acting Technique, he has been able to pursue the life of his dreams – acting, teaching and directing.
Whilst this life has also had its challenges, no one became destitute and he has been able to be an example to those he cares about, of how it is both possible and essential to follow your true expression of yourself both for personal happiness and to make your unique contribution to your community.
Does any of this sound familiar? Living truer to ourselves has transformed our lives and we are now in the privileged position of being able to share what we are learning with others. To find out more please visit
sea-sky.co.uk
Deborah Reeds
