How have you been managing?

Hello Friend,

How are you? How are you managing these transitional times? I ask because I would truly love to know. 

In this blog, I am sharing many personal items that feel near to my heart. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but for me, the things written here were a little difficult to share. Of course, my journey may be different from yours, but that doesn’t mean that we have not both struggled with fear, worry, negative over-thinking, anxiety, depression, and other mental/emotional challenges.

Some days it feels as though these things are an everyday occurrence for many people! This does not mean that we need to become crippled or emotionally paralyzed in the face of these challenges, we absolutely do not.

With these challenges in mind, I have some upcoming goodies for you, which may be helpful. Stay tuned for more on those at the bottom of this post…

It has been some time since I last wrote… I’ve always been somewhat of a private and introspective person, and this past year has been an even deeper dive (inside) than usual.

I started this online blog and business in 2017. At the time I had high hopes of supporting and uplifting you, while also making it my full-time gig so that I could marry both work that I love with service to others. Getting rid of anxiety with natural tools was the main thing that I was focusing on, and at the time that you joined me, you were likely drawn to learning more about this (maybe you still are, if so, read on)…

But I was having trouble reaching you, or so it seemed to me. There were a few trainings that I tried to launch, but no matter how much work I put into them, I still wasn’t getting much traction.  In the end, I burnt out a bit. It seemed that the more I wanted things to succeed, the more they flopped.

Was I trying too hard? Was I not listening or asking the right questions? Was my niche too broad? Was I speaking in a language that didn’t resonate with you? Was I trying to give you something you didn’t want or need?

It was two years in, and my personal funds were diminishing quickly. It was at this time, with all of these questions lingering in my mind, that I had to go out and find other work. (I literally called a friend to help me look at my finances because I was paralyzed about the fact that I needed to start bringing cash in, or it was not going to be good).

It felt like I had failed at something, and was having to give up on this dream that I had had for many years. It felt like failure partly because it took so much time and effort to bring in a full-time income doing other things when all my heart really wanted to do was to remain here with you…

Writing blogs, and learning how to build online, while also having to dedicate long days to bringing cash in, felt hard. I became an Uber driver for a while. Although this was not my life’s calling, I met many wonderful passengers who inspired me. I also taught English online to students in China, but getting up at 5 am really didn’t work. I now own a small local cleaning company. And although I have some great clients, it is still not my life’s calling to do this forever… I am 52. Where to go and what to do now?

After really sitting with all of this, inspired by the downtime that COVID-19 has brought, I am back. 🙂 I will continue to share tools and wisdom with you as I am able. It may be often, I may take more breaks, I am really not sure exactly how it will look. Partly it will depend upon you. We will take this journey together and see where each step leads us. How does that sound?

So… on to the next phase of this journey (eeeeeek!). My goal in the coming months is to simply share some things that have worked for me, some will be deeper dives and some will be simple suggestions and tools.

As a sneak peek to the upcoming projects, here are some very brief deets:

• I awoke at 4 am this morning, hearing a message to create a Brand New Day Video Series for anyone who wants to go a little deeper into calming the nervous system. During this challenge, I’ll be posting a very short video daily, of different practices that have been instrumental in helping me to manage anxiety, depression, and other life challenges. Stay tuned for more info on when this will begin.
• A good friend, Michelle Durst and I will be starting a podcast towards the end of the summer. We are at different stages in our lives, and often have very uplifting and informative discussions that we are hoping others may want to hear. With her background in nutrition and mine in meditation, our talks will revolve around healthy eating and living, spirituality, meditation, emotional resiliency, nature, addiction, anxiety/depression, personal development, and much more. 
• Emotional Resiliency pilot course. This is a variation of a course I took about 20 years ago with my spiritual teacher. It taught me the fundamentals of self-care, with specific tools that have kept me unshakeable in the face of many challenging life transitions. It is powerful, and I’d love to share it with you if you’re interested.

Are you excited? I am. I have a strong feeling that the time we are in now, although maybe gut-wrenching and challenging for many of us, is going to bring about some long-lasting positive changes. We will each have a part to play in this and to do so with clarity and focus, we need to find ways to create an unshakeable and grounded presence.

I’d love to hear from you if there is anything that particularly resonates with you, or if there is something you would like to hear more about.

I’ll be in touch…