Maybe you hate your back pain. Maybe you get mad when you’re sick.
I know I do…
I can get super annoyed or even depressed when my body is not doing what I want it to do.
And so when someone says something like “your back pain is a gift”, a part of me wants to give that person the finger.
In my first job, I taught youth about the justice system and their rights – in schools, community centres and in a few youth custody facilities.
I was excited to learn and to do my best so I would take home work on the weekends and do whatever I could to help.
When I inevitably made mistakes, I was very hard on myself and would really beat myself up. Especially when my mistakes impacted the very youth I was trying to help.
The hot sticky sickening feeling hits me in the belly. Shame, unfortunately, is my go-to emotion.
When I lived at an ashram in the Kootenay Mountains of British Columbia, there were two emergencies that took place.
The temple, the most sacred building in the community, caught on fire. And a woman passed away tragically of anaphylactic shock.
With both instances, I felt it was somehow my fault and went into a deep place of shame, even though the circumstances were quite different.
We’re in a time of collective trauma. The pandemic is a collective trauma and the racial injustices are an ongoing collective trauma that have been impacting people of colour for hundreds of years.
Given everything that’s happening at this time you’re at risk of either developing PTSD or deepening existing PTSD.
So I wanted to share what you can do to limit the impact of these ongoing traumas and how to begin to heal.
The deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police are both tragic and also part of a long history of Black people being killed for no other reason than for being Black.
In 1955, a 14 year old Black boy, Emmett Till, was lynched for allegedly offending a white woman at her grocery store. And this year Ahmaud Arbery, a 25 year old Black man, was killed while jogging in the town he lived in.
Continue reading “What you can do as a small business owner”
A friend texted me to ask if we could talk and my mind goes to 100 negative thoughts. “He’s mad about this, he’s going to accuse me of that, I’m going to have to defend myself.”
I’m walking down the street. The sun is shining and it’s beautiful and lush out. But I’m not enjoying it at all. I’m catapulted way into the future.
It’s bright and sunny out today. I can see the teenager bright green leaves of a large tree blowing in the wind outside my window.
Last weekend was quite emotionally volatile for me and by the end of it I felt like I’d been hit by a bus and couldn’t figure out how to return to a calm and grounded state.
But then yesterday I had a breakthrough.
Things are continuing to be uncertain and we’ve now been in lockdown for almost 2 months now. Some days I feel accepting of it and can see the positives. Other days I feel intense emotions, sometimes sadness, sometimes I feel trapped, sometimes angry.
Female-identified artists, healers, and entrepreneurs are badass by nature. You were not told you could make your own money or create your own business, so any woman who is willing to take the risk is the definition of badass.
And I’m also been touched by how supportive these women are to each other, how supportive other women in business have been to me.
Continue reading “Calling All Artists, Healers & Entrepreneurs”
You’re navigating a collective trauma. The physical, mental, and financial struggles are real. The grief, pain, and fear are present.
And you deserve moments of joy and pleasure.
Slowly drinking your tea. Feeling the sunshine on your face. FaceTiming with a good friend. Dancing to your favourite song.
You deserve moments of pleasure and joy.
