I was a curious youngster from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. I questioned everything
and everyone around me. I learned early that in my family and culture of origin genuine curiosity was often suspect and speaking
the truth was considered rude.
Instead of discouraging me this
only made me a more determined seeker. I made a vow that I would come to understand myself, the world and my place in it.
I have tremendous gratitude for my beginnings because it set me on a remarkable journey of self-discovery. And so
I learned one of my most important lessons: experiences that I perceive as obstacles or challenges have the potential to teach
me great things (despite the fact that in the moment they can hurt, disappoint and frustrate me). This has continued to be
true throughout my life.
In my early twenties I asked myself some important questions:
Why were so many people just surviving?
What would it take to thrive?
Could a person cultivate a life of thriving?
These thoughts excited and provoked me. I knew I had to find the answers.
I decided that for one year
I was going to do the thing the quiet voice said in my heart. I could still be afraid and people I cared about could disagree
with me, but I was going to do it anyway. From that moment on amazing things started to happen!
The first thing
my heart wanted, once I gave it permission, was to leave Virginia and everything I knew. So I embarked on a cross country
trip that ended in Seattle, Washington.
What I discovered along the way shocked and thrilled me. I realized I had
a lot more power in this life and in the world than I thought I did and we're making this all up! All the customs, norms
and rules of behavior that we think are so real are completely made up. What I noticed was that the people I met who
seemed to be having a great time were the ones living their OWN fairy tale (their own made up rules for how to live their
life).
I started interviewing folks who seemed to be onto something really Good. I took seminars, workshops and
retreats. I read lots of books that had anything to do with living a bigger and better life. I found myself studying religious
texts and visiting spiritual circles of all kinds.
I found some amazing principles, theories and ideas, but I didn’t
stop there. I decided to put the things I learned to the test. I don’t know about you, but I’m the kind of gal
who likes to prove stuff to be true in my own life. I committed to a time period and set up experiments to prove these ideas
worked.
Now if you’ve read this far I’m going to let you in on the secret absolutely free of charge.
Here it is: if you are 100% committed and willing in both thought (mind) and action (being) to do the work to change your
life you can and will change your life. But don’t take my word for it. You can prove it for yourself.
At
this point you might be thinking "it can't be that simple". It IS that simple and here's why most people
won't take me up on it, because I said "100% committed to do the work", not "thinking" about it, not
"interested" in it, but fully committed. Most folks won't even commit to finish reading this page.
You have everything you need to thrive RIGHT NOW. The past and the future don’t exist. You can wait forever
(until you get a better job, or make more money, or finish school, or ???) and the only time you’ll ever have is now.
The only thing that really exists is in this moment. You can worry, wait and think about things until your head falls off
(believe me I’ve tried), but that won’t change a thing in the present moment in your life.
Since that
road trip I continue to experiment with how amazing life can be and the more I learn the more I want to share it with other
people. I have received my education from many different sources: seminars, workshops, churches, classrooms, therapists, books,
strangers on a bus, toddlers, my family, cab drivers, animals, libraries, nature, retreats, every relationship (both “wonderful”
and “tragic”) I’ve ever had (there are lots more).
I completed my Masters Degree at Bastyr University
in Counseling. I have been in private practice since 2004.
