Hello friends,
For the last three or four years, I have been profoundly recalibrating myself. I have been reflecting on myself and the life I was living and authentically measuring my life next to fundamental human values that I hold, meaningful and genuine. I forced myself to dig deep and sort through what I realized was a dysfunctional culture. Only recently could I connect the dots and sort through the multitude of distorted pieces. I have allowed myself to feel the pain and the nonfeeling, too. And apologize where I knew it was needed.
I have been recalibrating my relationships. Who are the people who are most important to me? And how do I enrich and cultivate these relationships? And also, where do I set boundaries for myself and my interactions with others?
Even though COVID was a huge discombobulation for individuals and families around the globe, it was an important wake-up call for me to look at my life genuinely and where I was heading. For three years, I was forced to pause my running about in my busyness of teaching and other “important” activities. And with a slap on my face, wake up to the abuse that had happened to our daughter and so many others in our community. Hello. Stop. It was time to recalibrate and recalculate.
I will be 74 years this year! Time is ticking for me. Only about a quarter of my life is remaining if I have that blessing.
I knew I must tiptoe, or stomp, around inside me so I could do some cleanup. “Hold steady!” Scrutinize the dualities, discrepancies, and illusions that I had accepted. Connect the dots of shady occurrences of 50 years. Only very recently have I been able to articulate the unsavory discoveries that I have uncovered on this long and deep internal trek.
As I was sifting through the events of my last 50 years, I also recognized so many sweet times. I hold dear to these precious connections that happened in so many locations around the globe and where I met you. (yes, many of you)
I acknowledge my personal development, and I am grateful for the phenomenal skills I have cultivated during those 50 years.
As I move forward, I can hear the words of an elderly woman farmer whom I met as a young woman while hitchhiking in 1968 in rural Massachusetts. She leaned over her garden fence and, with a twinkle in her eye, said, “Old people know.”
As an older woman myself today, I feel myself leaning over my garden fence to you as her words resonate within me.
I am very excited to share with you numerous parts of my life learning: yoga, meditation, gardening, cooking, family, pregnancy, senior years, and much more.
I am grateful for your listening.
Peace and bountiful blessings,
