There was a huge shift in early 2015 with my social media posts. I stopped polishing things up, let the tarnish be seen. I had to get real with all parts of myself if I was going to get healthy & whole. That meant social media had to get more real also.
I admit I LOVE Facebook! One of my most favorite things about it is the “ON THIS DAY” feature. Every morning I check out what I posted in the years that have passed. I have been on Facebook just a little over 9 years. I love all the photos of my kiddos when they were so much younger, remember big milestones like finishing my 500 hour Pilates certification & getting my first clients, birthdays & special celebrations. It is interesting to see how my posts have shifted during this time. Like so many of us, Facebook was just a place to keep in touch with friends & family I didn’t live near any longer. I always put my best face out there. Make-up always done, sharing big accomplishments, bragging about our family’s successes, posted pictures of the perfect vacations….you know the routine.
There was a huge shift in early 2015 with my social media posts. I stopped polishing things up, let the tarnish be seen. I had to get real with all parts of myself if I was going to get healthy & whole. That meant social media had to get more real also.
Today in my Facebook memories, I shared about a trip 9 years ago I was on in San Diego. It sounds dreamy when you read it but the truth was part of the trip was a nightmare. I read that post & so many feelings are stirred up. Sadness, anxiety, fear, heartache, sorrow…. That post & many like it were part of some very dark days for me for many years. Trust me when I say, part of that trip was beautiful & amazing. One thing I can say about myself is that I know how to work with a bad situation to make the best of it. I never saw those posts as dishonest, just a choice to focus on the positive. Sadly, that isn’t really authentic. The mindset of focusing on the positive can be really healing but only if you are moving in a positive direction. I was not. Over the years, hearing so many woman saying to me I had a perfect life, started to affect me. I began to feel the burden of my life weighing me down. I wanted so badly to tell someone, what they see isn’t really what is always happening. I felt alone & didn’t know how to speak about myself authentically any longer.
In early 2015, I had no choice, I had to get real with myself. I learned that started with getting real with the people I trusted most. An interesting thing happened….as I started to speak & share more honestly, I other women in my life shared very similar experiences with me. I was shocked to learn we were all pretty moving through life with the fake it until you make it attitude. WOW!!!! Why had we all been pretending for so long?
Quite simply, each of us was just keeping up with each other. This realization was probably the biggest light bulb moment of my life! The giant Ah-ha! Let me tell you something…I let all that shit go! When I started being authentic with the women in my life, we all got real with each other. Some epic healing began to happen!
As I opened myself up more authentically, some relationships fell away but others grew beautifully. Suddenly, in the midst of tremendous fear & heartache, magic & beauty was blooming every direction I turned. It was amazing! I learned that speaking my truth, te
lling my story, gave all the women around me permission to tell theirs. As they told their stories, it gave permission for even more women to speak honestly. The healing was contagious!
This revelation led me to create a Sacred Sisterhood Circle in 2015. Talk about a revolution in health! We are so focused on diet & exercise to keep us healthy. What good does any of that do when our secrets are poisoning us, keeping us sick? Real health comes from a state of mental wellness where we are free from our past, our secrets. Optimum health comes from living in a state of authenticity, a place where we connect with ourselves without shame, guilt or regret. A place where we engage in authentic relationships with others rooted in compassion, trust and honesty. Hitting your ideal weight on the scale will never feel light if you are carrying around a facade that is simply to heavy to carry.
So the last couple of years, I have tried to live from this place, to view health & wellness from a radically different perspective. Personally, I feel lighter & healthier than I can ever recall. I catch myself shining up the outside sometimes still but more times than not I am allow myself permission to be open & vulnerable. Life is hard, I have my fears, I make mistakes, I shout at my children & let people down but I refuse to hide those parts away from the rest of the world. That is where there beauty & magic of life grow from, that is where the healing takes place.
