The Wisdom Within

In November 2022 I spent an entire month in Kihei, on Maui, and my standing desk was a suitcase (with a stack of books on top to get the height just right). I propped my computer on it at the dining room table so I could stand while I hosted meetings. The rest of the day it was my swimsuit or shorts, a tank top, and flip-flops. Every single day.

For ten years I walked into that conference with a women’s organization carrying a big role. The responsibilities, the people to check on, all of me pulled in a dozen directions at once (I loved it AND it was a lot). That role ended in January. I wrote about the grief of it then...how losing a role can feel like losing a piece of who you are. This year, at the event in Philadelphia (well, technically a hotel in King of Prussia), I walked in carrying...

Before we started, I led the group through a short meditation, one built around curiosity and reflection, inviting each person to hold a decision they'd been struggling with and see what the trail might reflect back to them. At our first break, as we started to ascend the Straightback Loop towards Mount Major in Alton, NH, I remember thinking: huh, there's been no silence yet. We'd been walking for a while and the conversation hadn't stopped once.

I got back from Florida a couple weeks ago from my niece's wedding. The whole trip was centered around their wedding, cuz now I know who would go to Florida in August!! It was a great trip and it was steamy...both can be true! I had the honor of officiating...standing there as the water and sand lapped at my feet…celebrating them and this important moment for them both.

I've been saying this phrase to almost everyone lately, so many times I'm starting to wonder if I'm actually saying it to myself. "The more control you have, the less control you have.” It slips out in coaching sessions, in card readings, in random conversations with women who are powering through something. AND every time I say it, some tiny part of me flinches, because I am, at this exact moment, one of the main culprits!

Growth isn’t just about starting new things. Sometimes it’s about blessing, releasing, and trusting what has served its purpose. Reflections on closing meaningful chapters with grace and gratitude.