Living Chapters is a project that can transform your life. Take a risk, seek personal growth, and say yes to what life throws at you.

The year long project that started in 2013 has become an ongoing lifestyle and daily practice that has shaped my path to self discovery.

Living Chapters takes a look at how letting go, of determined outcomes destinations, or specific expectations can lead you to a life you have longed to live.

Living your own chapters is a journey of inner exploration that focuses on the observation of personal and universal patterns in which we choose to live by. Living Chapters will ask you to think about your actions and reactions. Are they yours or have they been given to you by your environment, society, or family? What do you choose to be and do and what are you habitually following? Observe and examine the true nature of who you are without including all that you have, own, who you know and what you do.

Living Chapters gives you a peak at one person’s attempt to examine and test these questions by experimenting with life itself.

In 2013 I asked myself….

“What would happen if you invited 12 of your most trusted friends to write your life story for the next 12 months of your life?” The resulting blog chronicles the first year exploring that very question The benefits and repercussions of opening up letting go and allowing to be led.

On the first day of each month a “chapter” was submitted by one of my 12 selected friend participants to this website. The submissions directed me in my actions, self-reflections, and habits throughout the month. Each chapter writer chose one of six themes for guidance in creating their chapter. The themes included the following: Body/Kinesthetic, Logic and Order, The Environment, Existential, Purpose, and Interpersonal Relationships.

With the theme in mind, the writers devised tasks and challenges designed to push me out of my comfort level and chosen normal boundaries. With the goal of changing habits and instigating self- improvement, each of the writers also committed to taking on at least one of the challenges they assigned me in their chapter.

Living Chapters is an experiment in living without judgment and living without fear of failing. It is a process that utilizes a network of friends and family to assist in the discovery of self-assessment and underlying authentic truth. The year-long project documented in this blog was just the beginning of what I see as a lifelong process of observing one’s own perceptions and patterns. In the upcoming years, I intend to continue the experiment and process in new formats.

Stay tuned and Thanks for reading,

Beth Barbush

 

To learn more about how and why this project got started read the Prologue

Listen to Baltimore Radio Producer Aaron Henkin interview Beth Barbush and the Living Chapters players here

For a Summary of all 12 chapters of Part One start here

To learn about the rules and the roles in Part One check out this page: Players and the Roles and the Rules

© Beth Barbush 2013

photographs by: Emily Wheat

 If you have questions, comments or feedback please post ideas directly to the blog or fill out the contact form below.  I look forward to hearing your thoughts.