When I started blogging 7 years ago, it was a casual outlet. I primarily used my blog as a place to document my experiences and basically get my feelings out in writing. Only a few people saw my work. I mostly shared it with family and friends, and even though I had a small audience, I really enjoyed the process of blogging. As my blogging evolved, I tried a lot of different things. I tried writing prompts and personal writing challenges. I tried blogging on different platforms and I had a big desire to be a writer/blogger but not a lot of focus or consistency.

One thing that has been a consistent part of my blogging efforts, though, is the name: My Circle Game. Since some of my readers have asked me about it, I wanted to share the meaning behind it and why this phrase is not only my blog title, but my overall approach to life.

Life is a circle. Have you ever noticed that we tend to have the same themes in our lives? No matter which phase of life we are in, our challenges often show up as patterns. Some people struggle with money, relationships, or low self-esteem, some people struggle with addiction. However our personal patterns show up, we all have them. We often overcome one aspect of our repetitive challenges only to find it coming back up in a different way or in a new job, person, or situation.

It’s taken me a lot of inner work to recognize what my patterns are, and through a spiritual practice, honesty, and persistence, I am seeing consistent improvement and transformation. One of the things that helps me is to look at life like it’s a game. What are the rules to life? How do we get past the illusion of temporary change and achieve lasting transformation?

When I became a parent, I felt like my flaws became magnified. I would catch myself falling back on old habits that I thought I had transformed. Parenthood is a powerful phase of life and once you begin it, it never ends. Once you become a parent, you’re a parent forever. No take backs. So, when my daughter was born and I found myself angry and reactive, I knew I had to get back to the spiritual work of taking responsibility for how I show up in the world. And all of my grandiose dreams about what kind of parent I would be came crashing down. I had to reassess and decide what kind of parent I was capable of being instead of a perfected ideal. Maybe if you’re reading this, you’ve felt that way too.

Time, life, is a circle. We keep coming back to things. We circle around our personal wheel, or journey. Hopefully I can be mindful and conscious so that when something circles back, or I find myself in a different phase, I can continue to grow as a person.

So, that’s the meaning of My Circle Game. My blog is a place I’ve created to explore what it means to be a spiritual, conscious parent, wife, writer, and citizen of the world. And I hope that by sharing what I’ve learned, I can help anyone who might be seeking a similar approach – no matter what phase we find ourselves in.