Life has a way of throwing us for a loop
As I drove to gorgeous Asheville last week prior to the ladies' arrival, I anticipated my mind would be on full retreat mode: logistics, organizing, setup and putting the final pieces together. But it wasn't.
Last Monday, I lost my sweet pup of 15 years. A huge loss in front of me, I found myself in the days following attempting to rush through the sadness. I was thinking that my grief wasn't fit for the space I had created in the Aligned + Abundant Retreat. That as a facilitator, I was “supposed” to ONLY be holding space for the beautiful souls attending-- not taking up any space for myself.
OOF.
The moment it hit me is the moment I really saw how much I've grown in the past few years. I found deep gratitude for the tools I've learned, the mentors and events I've invested in and the community I've built around me. I could have spent so much time sitting in the belief I needed to be different… but I didn't.
I will shout this from all the rooftops I can — the world needs you EXACTLY as YOU are. The parts of you which you have deemed unfit to share are the exact parts required to be revealed to step into your fullest self. UGH, I know. It is uncomfortable as hell – but you and I both know: you weren't built to just be comfortable. Your dreams, especially the ones you've never shared, are too important and big and beautiful for stagnation in the comfortable.
Stepping out of a deeply transformative experience at our gorgeous airbnb last weekend, I can tell you this with absolute certainty. If I had hid my grief, the incredible souls around me would have not been changed in the same way.
“Your vulnerability and transparency created safety for [us] to admit to [our]selves what [we] couldn't see before… I couldn't hear me for so long but I did today.”
What I was trying to hide and rush through was the part of me that was needed for her to hear herself again. Whoa! Helping women get connected back within is my biggest mission and my grief supported that transformation. We don't always get that direct feedback and confirmation so I share this with you in the hopes that you can truly understand how essential each part of you is in leaning into your deepest purpose.
I know the world we live in hasn't taught us this or shown us it's the path to "success" but it's the absolute truth. Taking up space is the exact way you uncover the woman you ARE and truly meant to be.
