 |
| Me taking a photo break during a 10 mile bike trek to be one with nature :-) |
Today is 10/10/16 & it is officially 1 year since I have been back living in Atlanta! Though I miss living in Houston, moving back closer to family has been one of my better decisions made. Of course, I moved back with business in mind and after working so much over the past several years, I decided to slow it down and truly focus on mind/body/spirit (self-care). When I moved to Houston in 2012, I quit everything and truly took a leap of faith! No job, 1 friend, no family...just savings and my dog!! In fact, I had never been to Houston prior to my commitment to moving there. It was purely my "Santiago journey", from the book, "The Alchemist". I landed there on a Sunday, had some job interviews lined up for that Monday and secured two job offers by the end of the week. I was able to cultivate life-long friendships there and have an amazing experience that I never ever take for granted. I grew closer in faith, purpose and passion, which led me to healing myself through nutrition. After doing so, I began assisting others in their health & wellness journey. Consulting led me to move back to Atlanta and open my juice bar, which has been an even more fruitful experience. Because I continued to work my full-time job, run my juice bar and consult as many clients as I could, I began to feel as though my personal well-being was neglected. Things that I truly honor and value, like spending time with loved ones, traveling...just being, were all fleeting memories.
At the beginning of 2016, I decided to get back to my center. I wanted to truly create a balanced life. However, the year had other plans and started pretty rough. In January, I served as a juror for two emotionally draining weeks. The outcome was that 2 young men would be sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison. February came and I lost an uncle. Then a friend passed the day that I was burying my uncle, from congestive heart failure. Then in April, I lost a close friend - my friend who encouraged me to get a colonoscopy in 2013, she succumbed to colon cancer. In June, the biggest blow - one of my closest friends in life, committed suicide. His suicide was the 2nd suicide of a friend within 8 months. Not to mention, the dark cloud that has been plaguing African-American communities, with police brutality/violence. The ongoing natural disasters around the world, etc. As an empath, it has all been very heavy for me. However, despite all of the traumatic events happening to me and to those close to me, I have managed to stay aligned with my intentions of "self-care". It ultimately has been what has kept me genuinely happy and full of gratitude, amid what could have been a mentally breaking year.
Anyways, this blog post was not for nothing other than to say "hello", but I chose this picture from yesterday's bike ride and began free flowing! It is Mental Health Awareness Week, which is somewhat fitting. I assist individuals on a daily basis, with the best options for living a healthy life - mentally and physically, despite their circumstances. No one is void of having problems or being faced with life's many challenges - some subjected to intentionally and others apart of natural order - all serve a greater purpose and that is for your continuos evolution/growth. What we do with our problems, once we encounter them is what matters most. We can choose to be depressed OR we can force ourselves to keep pushing. Allow yourself to safely experience whatever emotions that you feel, but do not stay there. Obviously, I recommend seeking a mental health professional to address the more aggressive issues.
Here's a link of a blog post I made a few years ago. It is of a "Healthy Living Manifesto" image, which has so many positive tips to keep you uplifted, consistently and authetically.
Be well,
Jen