| Every weekend last February, I have been attending pottery class. This is a long-held dream of playing with a pottery wheel and creating beautiful things from a mound of clay. Happily, unlike other dreams where I had very high expectations, pottery school did not disappoint. I wrote exuberantly in my journal after one class: My best life is already here! Happy family. A loving marriage. Fulfilling work. Good health. A safe home. Hobbies I enjoy. No-alarm afternoon naps on weekends. Writing time. There is excitement when I wake up in the morning. There is overwhelming gratitude when I say my evening prayers. But it wasn’t always like this. Ten years ago, my marriage was in shambles (to put it mildly). When I got home, I was so exhausted from work that I would collapse on the couch and sleep after playing with my baby daughter for 15 to 30 minutes a day. I would wake up at 2 a.m. every night—a combination of insomnia and my daughter’s demand for milk. There were mornings when I would cry before going to the office. When someone would sneeze, I would immediately catch a cold and get sick. So how did I get from there to here? With intention. With devotion. With softening, kindness and compassion. By identifying what I didn’t want. By slowly uncovering what I truly wanted and taking intentional steps towards that direction. But at the same time, being open to life’s miracles and being led by grace. I have to admit it would have been easier to stay in misery, exhaustion, stress and pain. They were familiar friends, after all. And isn’t that how life really is? But my soul insisted I deserved more.It told me that I deserved joy, love and creativity—and that misery, stress and pain were not my friends but were instead warning signs that all was not well. I started getting help through counseling. I let go of what no longer served me—from thoughts to yup, even jobs. And slowly, despite the fear and doubt and with faith and trust, I built a life I wanted through simple habits like gratitude and speaking kindly to myself. You might be like me—awakened to making changes because of external forces being pressed upon you. Or you might be hearing little nudges from your intuition reminding you that you deserve more. The truth of this statement by Anais Nin “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom” may never have been more resonant. Or COVID might have been your wake-up call that life cannot be taken for granted. If any or all of these sound like you, then join me for Craft a Life You Love: The Mini Retreat. This three-hour workshop will guide you to: AWAKEN. This is the process of awakening to your truths and the changes YOU want to make. ALIGN. You will align with a vision of your higher self. You will honor what your heart and soul are calling you to do. You will have a clear direction on the joyful transformation that you are ready to step into. You will craft a mindset of openness rather than doubt and fear. ACT. From this place of awakening and alignment, you will then come up with a powerful and purposeful action plan. FIND OUT MORE HERE REGISTER HERE I’m looking forward to hearing YOUR stories in our mini retreat and seeing you take the first steps towards joyful transformation. |
