This all began in 2004 when my dear friend walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Mary passed away in 2013 from cancer. She was an incredible, faithful woman. When we met, I was not well, deep within my eating disorder. We connected over our gift of faith and devotion that we both shared. We built a treasured friendship, endless conversations that I hold dear, and I honestly do not think I would be alive without her unfailing support. She was one of the few that refused to give up on me when I wanted to give up daily. During her last weeks of her life before she passed after the most vicious fight, she asked me to come to her bedside as I had done often. She told me that she wanted me to walk the Camino de Santiago in her name after she was gone. She knew the blessing within the journey and wanted me to find the light within it for my life among those precious steps. I agreed wanting to bring her peace, not really thinking it through at the time. I had two small babies and just steps away from being on my own. Fast forward to October 2020, I finally decided to walk it for my 50th birthday. I trained, prepared, and saved. But covid had other plans; I was devastated. Someone shared with me a virtual Camino pilgrimage during lockdown, and I decided to accept the challenge. I was not going to let the moment pass. I walked the length on the trails of Southwest Virginia. It was not the same, but I held its meaning. From that moment life just kept challenging me from one thing to the next, raising two children alone; I thought it was never going to happen. Since that time so many were inspired by my story to walk their own pilgrimages. I thought my day was never going to come until I decided it was time. I first thought of leading a pilgrimage as I have done to Israel and Lourdes for young adults. But then a friend reminded me that I did not need a reason to do something for myself; I could simply walk it for me. That hit hard. So, I poured everything I had left into the pilgrimage and started training. Life has been challenging me in my work, personal mindset and even faith changing in endless ways lately. I have one child in college and the other a senior in high school; as a single mom, I knew I needed this moment. The future is filled with even more changes in the next year that are life defining. I feel a call to really ‘come home to myself’ and my faith in ways I have been neglecting. It is time to walk. Buen Camino! (* Follow along! )
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 Healing happens in circles....I love this thought process so much! We are always coming back to lessons learned in life. There is never an end point. When you accept this unique gift, your life will be fuller open to the possibilities from the lessons. Consider it.
 I think about this often.
Many do not allow themselves to witness Grace. Life is black or white; mapped out and planned. We live in a world that is non-stop to the point that we are missing moments of beauty daily. When was the last time you woke early to watch the sunrise? Do you ever consider rising 30 minutes early to take a walk around the neighborhood as the birds are waking and the serene calm consumes you? When you get off of work with the day's stress on your shoulders do you pick up your device to scrolling doom? When the night falls are you in front of the television zoning out? There are times when we need those comforts; but allowing for Grace is important. Balance is key. When we feed all parts of our minds and souls, we are able to allow for the Grace which holds hidden gifts. Just for today, try something different. Allow for Grace.  Nature has been my saving grace for as long as I can remember.
How do you dance with nature?  How do you view your brokenness?
Every human being walks with wounds that aren't always visible. Those broken pieces create the beauty and road map that finds them exactly where they are meant to be. Do you see your beauty?  There is so much more to a person than the body they are living in. When we lock ourselves into the ideas or beliefs of an unrealistic society's opinion, we are missing the depth of who we have the ability to become.
 Look for the wildflowers in your life...
 It took me falling down multiples times for me to realize the gift within what we call a failure; a struggle.
We live in a world where it is presumed that failure defines us. People are not challenging themselves to dive deeper into the definition of failure. They simply assume the title and close the door. Personally, I learned to love failure. Yes, you heard that correctly. Failure brings awareness to my imperfections; awareness allows me to grow, learn and live more fully. Shame is a wasted emotion. When you wake up in the morning there is no guarantee you will have an unrealistically perfect day. How about committing to the day with an excitement to grow from your experiences. I promise you, you will live a richer life in doing so and the people in your life will be of quality not quantity. I am always humbled when someone takes the time to review my books. I write them for people to receive the gift that is meant for them. I hope you can find something for you in one of my books today!   My latte. Perspective. What do you see?
I was having a coffee meeting a couple of months ago and decided to treat myself to a latte rather than a simple cup of coffee. Life is all consuming and I needed a little self-care. Little did I know it was going to hold a message I needed to embrace. I took a photo at first as it was so lovely; a little love we all need, right? But when I finished, I noticed the love remained and felt the need to take another photo. I knew it meant more than I could take in right at that moment, so I put it in my file and thought I would come back to it. As the months passed, I came back to the two photos over and over. The depth of meaning is not linear. The number of stories and perspectives I could write are countless. That is the beauty. Every perspective, every path we take or every moment we face all can have a different story; a different wisdom to offer us. It is all how you look at a situation. One can easily look at this photo and find the negativity such as the latte is finished, or they can see the love that it began with and remember that is up to oneself to end with love as well. What perspective do you want to see when you are faced with a choice? What perspective is going to feed your journey, rather than take away from it?  Do you think about what you are leaving behind on your journey?
I often find if I ask myself this question it can help me evaluate how I am walking through life. We can get so self-absorbed in our days and focus on what we want to get out of life, that we forget what we are leaving behind. How are you being of service? How are you living the values you claim to believe in? How are you being love to another? While we want to believe our lives are solely our own; that our choices we make only affect our path, it is not the truth. Every step we walk leaves a footprint on someone else's heart. Live with purpose. Live with meaningful choices. Live wanting your heart to be tired from caring so much about the life around you. In the end, let your life mirror your heart.  We are all rough drafts of the people we are becoming. At a certain point in our lives, we begin to ask ourselves who we are. Who do we want to be? What will our path look like forward? I know I put too much weight on these questions in my younger years, and it took me down a very dark road. What I have learned walking through the challenges of self-discovery is that we are always becoming. Read that again. We are always becoming. When you walk through your life with this, it allows us to not crush our dreams in despair when we do not see our path unfolding the way we may have predicted. When you remind yourself that you are always becoming, it allows you to say 'yes' more to the unknown. It encourages you to 'yes' to the adventures that you may have thought too out of character for your typical pattern. It allows you to be brave. What if we awoke each day with this idea that we are always becoming? Imagine the possibilities that could unfold. You are stepping foot onto your path each day you wake up. Where do you want those steps to take you? Do not close the door at the end of day before you take the time to unfold what is on the other side.  Do you know your value?
We often walk through life listening to people outside of ourselves regarding our own journey. We look to others' to measure our worth. When did we stop trusting ourselves? Consider your value today. Know your worth. Proceed on the path accordingly. |
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