True transformation flows best from full immersion. It’s like a marinade. Or the cooking process. Full immersion in the marinade and/or the heat transforms the ingredients into something different, and usually much better.

My to-do list became a birthday list or a “gift” to myself list.

Next week is my birthday and what I most wanted I realized when I listened to my heart- was to NOT have a lot of stuff on my to-do list. To declutter the to-do list.

To have the peace and freedom that would come from having it done.

So I changed my to-do list- to a birthday list.

One I would do FOR ME as a gift.

Eat happy. Get a routine baggy enough to live in. Be kind.

Accept that not everyone will like you. Appreciate those who do.

What if you stopped waiting for something or sometime in the future and instead started living your life more fully today? Even in the midst of who knows what, what if you chose to make all 7 days of your week extraordinary in some way —right now? What if you intentionally experienced some true joy and connection in each one? What if you decided to be better together? With all the people in your life? This work is the preventive care for a happy, healthy, connected, and joyful life and relationships.

What if you “unbecame” all that you were not, let go of striving, and instead chose to be soft, gentle, spacious, buoyant?

It takes more than trying or wishing things were different. It can start with one deep breath but to truly shift it takes more than listening to a drop-in session or attending a single yoga session. It takes stepping out of old patterns and learning a new way. And then “practicing ” it regularly.

When the work of transformation comes from a place of love and inspiration the toll feels less costly. The results often feel so good that the “toll” fades quickly and/or is hardly appreciated.

Another toll road that we often discount is the one where we don’t make a change. Not doing the work and staying stuck also has a cost. This road is the one we most often don’t appreciate as having a toll.

Using attention intention and a soft mindful focus, I fully experienced and savored every moment. I noticed and appreciated every flower, view, and green rolling hill. I sat on so many perfectly placed rocks.

When transforming, and becoming and unbecoming, is approached NOT from a place of pushing or throttling, but from a place of gentleness and kindness to self, a place of embracing who you are, where you have been and how far you have come — that’s where the magic happens.

These last few years I have been doing so many new things I have never done before —building a business, helping to run a mindful healthcare collective, starting a podcast, teaching yoga on zoom, writing a blog, running coaching programs within Pause and Presence and for institutions. They all involved a lot of discomfort and hard work and they all also involved and led to fun.

In coach training I was introduced to the specific thought: “discomfort is the currency of your dreams.”

This thought inspired me to embrace discomfort rather than resist it.

But, because we all have unique brains, it wasn’t a great thought for me personally. It invoked a bit of stress AND it wasn’t strong enough to inspire me to action. This is what a coach helps you learn to see.

I often get asked how I became such a model of calm and presence.

"What you practice grows."

Feeling calm and present isn't about working hard, being persistent, or "pushing through." It is about changing your outlook.

Getting help was never an easy thing for me. And I expect for many of you.

My mind likes to tell me I “should” be able to do it myself. That self-sufficiency is a measure of strength and adequacy.

Take a stand for who you want to be in your relationships. I want to be mindful, intentional and someone I am proud of.

What’s in our control is how we show up for this moment and for each other.

How do you want to show up? With love. With presence. Perhaps even with joy when possible.

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and do that. The world needs people who have come alive."

A year ago was the first day for me of choosing a different path. One that veered in a different direction.

Reflections on my journey this past year. This year was a year of massive action and decision-making for me.
It all happened in the midst of so much uncertainty and unexpected challenges.