edge – Page 5 – We Only Get One Chance

BVI SAILING PICTURE DIARY

In order to have seen many of the pictures of our BVI sailing trip, you would have to have been a friend of mine on Facebook or have come into the Cafe of LIFE. There are quite a few asking about my trip so I wanted to put together a little BVI Sailing Picture Diary for you to take a glance at some of what we did with our 10 days on our sailboat Yacht Emily Morgan.

These are my friends, some really good friends that I have traveled with often. They all live in Denver and are all chiropractors…and have been trying to get me to move out west since I moved home 11 years ago. I met all of them in 2001 within the first week of starting chiropractic college at Life University in Atlanta, GA. I love each of them for what they add to my life, my being and the level of joy and laughter daily, even when we are not together.

These are my feet and this is the front of the boat. The entire trip was absolutely beautiful, as you can tell, and this was such an awesome spot to take it all in.

Christmas morning, we are in the midst of our white elephant gift exchange and I ended up with a selfie-stick which I was totally stoked about!!! My friends, Marco and Scott, and to the right in the picture, is Bones, the owner of the ship, host extraordinaire, comedian, dance instructor, master sailor. We got lucky to be on this boat with him and his wife!!

Later on that day using said “selfie-stick”…

…and then I realized that I hardly needed any friends to take my pictures or be in my pictures because I now had a SELFIE STICK!!!! I am only kidding…that is not really true, we all need our friends.

Then one day Bones took us knee-boarding on the back of the dinghy. It has been since June 24, 1998 since I have been knee-boarding. I remember the date so clearly because I ended up breaking my nose out on Lake Ponemah (a whole different blog post to share that story, maybe). It was super fun to be knee-boarding and of course I can’t help but always try to see what’s still possible on that thing. Here is me doing my best rendition of “Hey Mom!!! Look at me!!!” …only my Mom wasn’t anywhere around. 🙂

Emily Morgan hauls around these paddleboards we could take out anytime we wanted. So much fun although I am not sure I used them all that much. This trip became quite a sedentary trip actually.

But while we were sitting around all day, we would see such BEAUTIFUL rainbows!!! Spectacular rainbows and a few of them each day. I know this picture may not even seem real but this was shot with just an iPhone camera, no zoom. Crazy beautiful place!!!

And while I am at it, enjoy these two beautiful pictures!

Sundown time was some of the coolest lighting of the entire day. I think coupled with the sway of sitting on the boat and about to eat some of the most delicious food, it became our most favorite part of each day.

…it was time for another selfie… 🙂

After the first few days of strictly being only on the boat, we began to crave being on land and would dinghy into shore and get grounded for a few minutes. Sometimes we would find beautiful beaches to hang out on but mostly we just needed to not be moving, swaying and rocking for a few minutes.

I LOVED learning about sail physics and helping with to put sails up and take them down. The greatest part of our trip is our hosts could completely handle the boat themselves and so we could choose how much we wanted to participate in crewing the boat minute by minute. I just loved the raising and lowering of the sails, literally the mechanism that was catching the wind and moving us around these islands…how freakin’ cool is that?!?!?! I am still in awe of how it all works and am excited to find a sailing vessel of some sort this coming summer…maybe windsurfing. Yeah, that sounds about right for me.

This is a picture of my room. These 2 bunk beds that were available to me and I ultimately found that the top one had the best air flow. I do not sleep well when my body is moving (in the car, on a plane and apparently not on a boat either). Aside from a sedentary 10 days, sleeping was the only other downfall of being on the sailboat for me. I am particular about sleep and need certain pillows and support and position and basically the only way to sleep in this bed was to tie up a hammock up to the wall at the head and foot of the bed to keep from rolling out at night as the boat rocks in the waves. This took a while to get used to and then once I was home, it took a while to get use to being in a bed that was not moving. It is interesting to watch the brain try to adapt to all of that!

This is how our days were spent…sitting, sailing and chatting. This particular group of friends are what I consider “growth friends”. We are always presenting ideas, talking things over, offering each other perspective and solving the problems of the world…well our own small worlds if you want to be particular.

Another incredible evening anchored in some beautiful place, rocking in the waves, chatting about the day and prepping to wind down for the night.

New Year’s Eve was spent on the island of Jost Van Dyke at a world famous bar called Foxy’s. It is amazing that among the 3,000 people at this party that I can be dancing around the place and come across a sticker of one of the businesses, Unlimited Offroad, here in Fenton, MI. It amazes me to be thousands of miles away and have evidence of Fenton’s greats right in front of me!!

These guys…the greatest!!!

And these two, Bones and Anna and their beautiful boat Emily Morgan, exceptional is not even the word great enough for them. 24 hours per day for 10 solid days with 6 demanding goofballs in their home…I have no idea how they endure something like that. This is the moment stepping off the boat and parting ways after our 10 days. We were truly like a big happy family with them and we all miss them. You can see in their smiles and in their energy fields, even after 10 FULL DAYS, they have the biggest servants hearts of any people I have seen in a while. Our trip was as amazing as it was due mostly to them. Look them up if ever you are looking to have an exceptional vacation!

So that concludes the BVI sailing picture diary. If think I covered the trip thoroughly as I also strongly believe that pictures tell the best stories. Until next time…I am still “Sailing the Scene, 2016!”

SAILING THE SCENE 2016

My good friends that I often travel with and I spend a bit of time during our holiday travel together to set intentions for the New Year and come up with a rhyming theme. We finalized this year with intentions of “Sailing the Scene 2016″.
I am not sure why we feel it so important to rhyme the theme as that limits options for words used, however we always seem to be up for the challenge and come out on top year after year!!!
We had been just a couple days on the boat, and watched the sail boat take a Universal Force, the wind, and set sails appropriate to make it to the desired destination, and we absolutely knew right then and there that the word “sailing” had to be part of our theme. Life throws us all kinds of twists, turns and unexpected weather and gusts that throw a curve ball into our original plan regularly, or at least it does for me. It also can appear that every move and turn we make we are heading into the wind. Such is life!
What sailing taught all of us is that we need to use whatever external forces that seem to be working against us, and if we just change the configuration of our sails, change the angles or the heights, we can figure out a way to use that external force in our favor.

Whether we realize it our not, we have all set up “the scene” that surrounds us. Consciously or unconsciously, we have chosen the people we surround ourselves with, the work we do, the home we live in, the car we drive, the thoughts that run through our heads, as well as all other circumstances that make up our scene. Look around you…at some point that person, place or thing seemed like a good idea (or maybe was just the lesser of two evil choices). So here we are in the environment we created. That is the “the scene” we are talking about.

Now, take another look around you and ask yourself this question, “What am I resisting in my scene and how am I resisting it?” Is it a job you don’t like? Is it a relationship that doesn’t flow? Is it a body that you are not particularly fond of? Is it a home environment that is filled with chaos? What is it? What is around you that you have resistance to? And maybe you don’t have any of those things, although most of us could name one or two…or twenty.

“Sailing the Scene” means to take a different and more graceful perspective or make a slight change in your course. Instead of feeling “stuck” in a situation, a relationship, a job, a body where it always feels like you are working with a 30 naught
headwind, what if you took a different angle. To turn 180 and head downwind would be one solution but life doesn’t often allow us to take a 180 degree turn and head the other direction. Usually we could more easily “tack” or head in a slightly different angle into the wind. This allows the sails to catch the wind a little bit differently and use it to the advantage in getting to the desired destination. And when we make just a slight angle change to our normal day to day, 2-3 days leads to 2-3 weeks and then on to 2-3 months or years and we have real potential of making a desirable change in our lives and creating a more likable scene.

“Tacking” also is a way of taking the Universal Force of the wind and let it help you get to the desired destination. It is a way to work with it instead of fighting against it and allowing it to really work for you.

“Sailing the Scene 2016” is all about taking all of life and all of every day and starting to adjust our view, our perspective and/or our course in order to get life to be a little more cooperative, or really maybe we are the ones being more flexible and cooperative with life. Either way, sailing is one of the most peaceful experiences and I am looking for more of that this year. Cheers to 2016!!!

LIVING FULLY

To me, living fully is the most important concept in running my daily life.

If I get an invite somewhere, I take it.

If I get an opportunity to do something, I say yes and make it happen.

If I have an idea, I try it on and see if I can make it work.

To live fully is to take every opportunity to say “yes” and explore life!

When we got orders to go to Anchorage, Alaska, the decision was literally made on a “why not?” philosophy. Why would we go? Why not! I have to tell you it was one of the most incredible experiences that has shaped my entire life from that point forward. Going back to revisit was amazing.

Humans get involved in analysis paralysis, stuck in our thoughts and in our heads. We think too much and it stunts our movement forward. I want to challenge you when the next opportunity presents itself, see if you can answer it with a “YES!” instead of thinking too much (of course as long as it is safe and reasonable). Take the opportunities that help us live fully. We only get once chance to live this life. Let me know how it goes!

RETURNING TO ALASKA

A return trip to Alaska has been on my list for a few years now. As many of you know, I lived in Anchorage, Alaska for 3.5 years. Though I am a Michigan State University fan through and through and began my undergraduate degree at MSU, my true Alma Mater is University of Alaska Anchorage.

I moved to Anchorage in 1998. I left to pursue my doctorate degree in 2001 and this was my first chance to get back there to explore that beautiful state.

When I look back to 14-17 years ago, I hardly recognize who I was at that point in my life. So much has changed in my entire being, that truly feels like a completely different lifetime.

Stepping off the plane and driving from the airport to our hotel was surreal. All the little neurons that hold memories of that place started to fire in my mind. I could remember some streets, but not all of them. I could remember the layout of the city, but still needed a map. It was such a familiar place yet so far away and removed that it had a really cool and new feeling to me.

Our first stop was University of Alaska campus. When I lived there, I wore very different clothing. All of my logo wear from UAA was oversized hoodie sweatshirts and I needed to update some of those pieces. Being back on campus was surreal. I completed 3.5 years on that campus but it was so foreign to me. Did I even go here??? 3.5 years of my life is a long time, long enough to have traveled that campus by foot to and from class over and over and over again, it seems like I should remember something. It was like being in the twilight zone and being in a place I had never been before.

I decided to purchase an alumni license plate cover so that I can see it on a daily basis as a reminder of that era of my life. Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Denali 3

Completing that visit to campus, we heading out towards the mountains. Our destination was Denali National Park. The drive was incredible; the mountains, the water, the scenery, the music in the car, the conversation, the memories, the company, all of it. It was so great to be back.

The days are long in Alaska this time of year. In fact, the days never end once you get far enough north. The sun sets but it never gets dark and I am not sure it actually sets as much as it tucks behind the mountains for a few hours.

The next day we took a 12 hour bus ride into Denali National Park. If you ever go there, you can only drive your car 15 miles in. Anything beyond that, you have to get on a shuttle bus. When you go, get on one of those buses because there is so much more to see out there beyond 15 miles, that is just the tip of the iceberg.

The day finished with a hike to our campsite. I think the hike was a little over a mile, or 2 miles or more miles if you take the wrong path. Yup, absolutely found that out through experience.

I am renewed and refreshed in the mountains. I am renewed and refreshed with lots of hugs. I got a lot of both of those things by the second day of vacation.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfknbGVDjHY[/youtube]

My return to Alaska was such a tremendous experience. The lessons are trickling through my days as this week has gone by. Pictures do not do the place justice…but I tried. Stay tuned, I have a lot more to share.

I THINK I CAN

I headed over to Grand Rapids a few weekends ago to watch my friend run the River Bank 25K. He is not used to someone being interested enough in the road race scene to want to travel the distance to sit for a couple of hours and watch. What he is learning is that I am interested, however, I am not going to just sit and watch. There was a 5K and a 10K option for that morning and I figured I could easily pull one of those off.

You all know that I run for medals. I don’t always need a participation medal when I am finish a long distance race…wait, yes I do. I knew there was a rather large and fancy medal involved for the 25K, that is 15.5 miles and kind of a big deal! Maybe I could finish that distance? “I think I can.” The seed of “25K finisher possibility” was planted and my mission became to find out if there was a medal for 5K and 10K participants, and if so, how big?

Chiropractor Fenton Michigan 25K finish 2 We walked around the expo and picked up his number. They were still taking registrations for all 3 races however I found out that the 5K and the 10K finished with an “oversized lapel pin”. I am not sure what size “oversize” is but I did know that the 25K medal, if I could finish it, would be totally worth the trip to the west side of the state, and the seed of “25k finisher possibility” started to grow.

So I sat down to fill out the registration form and since the seed had been planted and was growing, when it got to the place that I had to check the box for which race I was going to run, I checked the 25K box. I figured there is a chance that I cannot finish that distance. There is also a really good chance that I COULD finish it and HUGE PAYOFF of getting to sport that medal around my neck for the rest of the day. “I think I can.” I have run a marathon, many half-marathons (13.1 miles) including one last fall, however the longest distance I had recently run was only 6 miles.

I was nervous. I was very, very nervous. My friend and I started the race together and I told him “I am pretty sure I am in over my head right now.” He looked over at me and said “I bet you will surprise yourself. See you at the finish line.”

So I started. “I think I can.”

And I kept going. “I think I can.”

And going. “I think I can.”

The miles were ticking down. The 11-minute-mile pacers passed me at mile 8. From that point I was determined not to let the 12-minute-mile pacers pass me no matter what.

At mile 12, just when I thought I couldn’t go on anymore, I saw a woman running with a metal stick in her hand. When I looked closer, I realized it was the 12-minute-mile pacing group. They were not going to pass me. I would run with them but they are not passing me. That is just the simple facts here, they are not passing me. “I think I can.” Chiropractor Fenton Micighan 25K finish 1

I allowed my strides to be determined by the woman holding that sign. She was one of the most excited and upbeat people I had seen all day and I was so very grateful for her enthusiasm. I needed it.

If you have ever run that particular race, it finishes in the downtown area with an uphill section leading to the finish line. There are moments in all of my long distance running that I find myself in tears of gratitude just for the simple fact that my body allows me to do something like that. I got to that hill and that tears-of-gratitude point all at the same time and I began to hyperventilate. I am running and training almost everyday, but was in awe and disbelief that I could run 15.5 miles with so little long-distance training (this is not something I recommend) and feel good. The hyperventilation forced me to slow my pace and lose that 12 minute group but I could see the word “finish” stretched across the street so I just let go. “I can.”

Finishing that race is a really proud moment in my life. Overcoming the limitations of what I think I can’t do is a big deal to me and is what makes life so rich. We have to brush up against our limitations in order to really push them and having those 2 phrases “I bet you will surprise yourself.” and “See you at the finish line.” are just what I needed to make that happen that day.

I want to leave you with a question…What limitations have you put on yourself and have you ever tested to see if they are accurate?

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.” -Henry Ford

I think I can.

LUCKY

I was a lucky kid. I got my spine checked and adjusted by a chiropractor for as long as I can remember. I went to an office right here in town where CRUST is located right now. My mom took my brothers and I at least once per month to make sure we were growing and developing normally.

This morning I started a woman under care that is 82 years old. She was an absolute delight and she got talking about this “old chiropractor that used to be right downtown Fenton” that she used to go to and take her children when they were growing up.

It just so happens to be the same chiropractor that my family went to.

I have to share the story she shared with me. You all know we see a lot of children at Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic however sometimes I don’t get a chance to really share much of the “WHY” we see children.

She started off with a story of her son, when he was 10 years old, decided to parachute off the neighbor’s roof using an open umbrella. Mary Poppins flew around with an umbrella and everyone can probably see exactly why a child might try to make that happen.

This young man came crashing down and fortunately wasn’t hurt too badly…or so they thought at the time.

The very next morning this young boy woke up and couldn’t talk. He could move his mouth but no voice or sound would come out. They immediately went to see their medical doctor. That doctor ran all kinds of test on this young boy, all tests were negative. They sent him home with breathing treatments and some sort of cough syrup. While he was on breathing treatments and syrup, he was able to do some talking but it had to be a constant daily regimen. It never resolved it, just kept symptoms at bay. After some time, the medical professionals recommended surgery to help this issue however they only gave them 50/50 chance of regaining his voice and the other half was losing his ability to vocalize completely.

Mom started wondering “how am I going to tell this 10 year old boy that he cannot talk much and cannot talk loudly and to save his voice?”

Her chiropractor at the time mentioned that maybe she should bring him in and see if he could help with this issue.

“Talking and voice issues and chiropractic care?” Ultimately she decided this has to be better than surgery and they would give it a try. Within just a few short months of starting regular chiropractic care, he healed. His voice and ability to vocalize returned to normal.

So how does this work? Children jump and fall and traumatize their bodies all the time. The nerve system is the master control center of the body and is housed within the spinal column. If there is interference in the connection wires of the nerve system, the body cannot heal and grow and develop as normal and all kinds of things can be a little bit “off”. Over time, that little bit “off” can build up leading to further stress and even further diminished communication within the body, and potentially symptoms. Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Umbrella

The nerves in the neck supply all the things in the head, face, shoulders, arms and hands. Guess what? Vocal cords and ability to use your voice is controlled by nerves in the neck. If the nerves are off, thing can go a little haywire. This young man had interference in the nerves in the neck even though he did not fall and land on his head.

The bottom line is the body works better with a good nerve supply. Does chiropractic care fix voices? No, we help normalize the body and allow it to heal. Chiropractic care was discovered when an adjustment restored hearing to a man that had gone deaf. Does that mean chiropractic care cures deafness? No, not a chance. We are always assisting the body to do its job better…all of its jobs.

I feel so lucky to have been checked and adjusted since I was little. If you ask all of my brothers, they would say the same thing and are choosing the same for their children right now. Fortunately for me, I get to care for those precious littles since we all live close to each other.

If we take care of the spine in the younger stages of life, there is a higher potential of growing, healing and developing normally and that is why we see so many children at the Cafe of LIFE. I loved this woman’s story because I think we all know a child or were a child that thought we could fly or at least wanted to give it a try!! I also love this story because it reminded me of where my love for chiropractic first started.

I am opening up this conversation to everyone. If you have questions about your children and how chiropractic could help them, reach out and let me help you understand better. Email me at erica@cafeoflifefenton.com. I would love to hear from you!

IT’S BEEN A WHILE

This is one of my favorite artists…

After reading this a couple of days ago, it struck me that over the past 2 months, I have sat still and listened. This life I am leading is very different from even just 2 short months ago.

My entire being has shifted and let me explain what that actually means for me.

I was pretty content in living a life of service. I have spent the past 10 years really happy and fulfilled in being a chiropractor and helping people daily in my practice Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic.

I LOVE being a chiropractor. There is absolutely nothing that I would change about how I spend my days in this wonderful community…giving, loving and serving. I get to see miracles happen right in front of my eyes. I get to be part of families in the community and get to watch them grow. Truly every single day I am blessed and honored to be part of people’s healing process. It is a calling in my heart and in my soul to do the work that I do at the Cafe, a place that is truly a second home to me.

In my personal life, I have had hopes and dreams and visions of my future. I choose to spend most of my time in the present moment, however I am always headed in the general direction of a well calculated destination. Life happens in the journey, in the mundane of the everyday, and not once you reach the final destination.

AND…as soon as I think I have a really great, well-calculated plan and a really awesome destination and an incredible vision for myself and my life, I get broadsided by the Universe and sent on a different trajectory.

When I talk about hopes and dreams and visions for myself in my personal life…I have BIG ONES!!! HUGE ONES!!! I have to say that it is one of the reasons I spend a lot of time traveling and exploring and discovering more and more of my world around me, and therefore discovering more about myself.

This particular trajectory I am currently on is SO GRAND, FAR MORE GRAND than I could have ever imagined for myself. It is wonderful, wait, that word doesn’t do it justice. Actually words really dilute the experience because it really is a feeling, a healing and an evolution.

It’s been a wild ride and it has changed so much for a better, sweeter and more fulfilling experience. I am ready for the chaos to settle but am grateful for all of it. Every. Single. Bit. Of. It.

I am grounded in Fenton and this community more than I have ever thought was possible. There is chaos around right now, but that is the breaking down of the old to build a new foundation that will support and sustain something super incredible. This is applicable on so many levels.

Not to worry, I am not going anywhere. In fact, travel will always be part of who I am, however there is so much fulfillment in this new travel to the inner space of myself and who I am that the need to explore far-off lands sort of fizzles…unless, of course, he can go with me.

Beyond that, have you all noticed how cool Fenton is becoming? HOLY COW I am grateful to be in this community right at this time!!!!

What I realized from these past 2 months is so profound. We have no real control of our lives. We cannot control what others say or do. We can have a destination in mind however when everything is up in the air, it is so important to find time to sit quietly. There is so little time to be idle in life anymore, in fact, I think the concept is lost for future generations. Nobody spends time just sitting and thinking and listening to that little voice inside that has the answers we are looking for.

It has been a while since I have written. It is not because I haven’t thought about it, it’s because I am having a hard time quieting my mind at the end of the day as it is. Writing inspires me, opens up new channels of possibility and can keep thinking late into the night after I publish a blog post. For that very reason, and the fact that the Cafe is so busy to begin with, I have saved as much energy as I can and put it towards restful sleep at night instead of stimulating myself by creating.

Tonight, I just couldn’t help it anymore. This had to come out.

Rest well my friends. See you sooner than later!!!

I AM NOT CRAZY

I know what you are thinking, “what is she up to now?!?!” I have to write this post and just globally announce that I AM NOT CRAZY!!!!

I am selling my house. Yes, I have been so grateful and blessed to call a cozy place on a beautiful lake south of town “home” for the past 3.5 years. SO. VERY. VERY. VERY. GRATEFUL.

As I was headed out the door for a run 3.5 years ago, my mom called me to ask if I would ever consider living on the lake (they live on the other side of said lake). The very first thing that came out of my mouth is “that would be great if I had somebody to do that with.”

I pondered that thought for my entire run and it became very apparent that very thought was an incredibly limited belief about myself and my situation. I called her right back and said “YES!!!”…and the rest is history. Fenton Chiropractor Lake 2

So fast forward 3.5 years later, with a for sale sign out in front of my house, and everyone is calling me CRAZY!!! “You have got to be CRAZY to move off the lake!” “Are you nuts, you live in a beautiful home!” “I heard a rumor your home is for sale, are you out of your mind?”

All of you know that owning a home is a lot of work. Adding the word “lake” in front of that word “home”, adds a lot more work on top of that. I am not one to shy away from work and I have a lot of maintenance things hired out to keep my life simpler.

My biggest challenge is that everything on the lake weights 60-80lbs or more and there are so many routine things that I cannot do at all because things are so CRAZY heavy. I am just one single gal and I truly have to call people over to help me on so many occasions.

Everyone will say “Oh, but that is simple for you…you have 3 brothers to help you with all that stuff.” Well there is some truth to that and they step up every single time they can, however, they have their own lives and families and it is tough sometimes to coordinate schedules to make things happen.

I absolutely love the lake I am on and I practically grew up here though we didn’t have a house right on the water. However, like I mentioned above, my Mom and step-dad are on the other side of the lake and in the summer, my brothers and their families hang out there almost every weekend. Therefore, I am rarely at my house at all. I would much prefer being with everyone else and playing with the kids as they learn about their world, about the water and how to swim. We spend hours and hours chatting, playing, listening to music and the squeals of the children, and making and sharing food together. That is what I want to spend my time doing and the greatest part of this is that I do not have to give any of that up. My family will live in the house they are in for many, many, many more years to come.

I have a beautiful pontoon boat that I keep at my house. It is a running joke on the lake, and some think I AM CRAZY that it never leaves my dock. I took it out a total of 3 times last summer and 4 the summer before that. If my family is out on my parents boat, why would I undo my boat and be separated from them? Trust me, I AM NOT CRAZY!

I have a family home and I do not have a family. I AM NOT CRAZY for making this decision, I am just one single gal and that is too much house for me anymore.

It is true that I will miss my view and my garage. I am down-sizing and moving into town really close to my practice. I AM NOT CRAZY, I have plans to eventually live on another lake down the road sometime. For now, this is the next right move for me. Fenton Chiropractor Lake

It seems backwards and so strange when I tell others of this move. I always feel like I have to justify the fact that I AM NOT CRAZY and then I go into my long list of reasons that I am choosing what I am.

I will absolutely miss this house. If you know me at all, you know I have put some blood, sweat and tears into creating a home here. Homes that are loved show you they are loved, that is apparent to anyone who walks in my front door.

I remember moving out of my last chiropractic office location and into the location where the Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic lives today. When I left that location, it had been a chiropractic office spot for over 50 years. I didn’t buy the office from someone, it just so happened they were moving their practice out when I was moving my practice in. When the final day came in that space, it was incredibly emotional for me. It just so happened to be the spot my brothers and I would go to see our chiropractor while growing up. As a child I ran through those halls I was now serving in. I also knew that we would be able to offer such a superior experience with so much more space and a better fit in our new building and that is exactly what has happened.

This feels a lot like that move. It will probably be even more emotional because it has been a sanctuary for me, a refuge at the end of my day and a nest to settle into at night.

In retrospect, maybe it would have been great if I had somebody to live in this lake house with Maybe that would have made it simpler and easier, or at least I could have had built-in help for carrying heavy things. (On a side note, I would allow all of you to call me CRAZY if I married someone just so I would have help carrying things). But I also know and fully trust that it is the next right move for me and it is going to lighten the load, free up my time and allow life to be so much fuller and richer in my new spot, right in town, right by my practice. That will become my sanctuary, refuge and nest to settle into at night.

Ultimately I did choose to live here and though the seed was planted by someone else, I let it grow and become my current reality, which truly is beautiful and I am so blessed.

I also have found that when life gets a little uncomfortable, that is when the magic really happens.

Yes, I am in tears, this is incredibly uncomfortable. It is so much simpler to stay in a place than to move It is so much more comfortable to not make waves and shake up my life and have to pack everything up and unpack a home of boxes on the other end. But I hope you can hear in my words that I am stunted here in this most beautiful place I call home right now and it would serve me better to let go and move forward. It is also well thought-out and I rest peaceful knowing that, though it looks like a strange move from the outside, I AM NOT CRAZY!!!! Rather, I am just doing my best to live my fullest life possible and I HOPE YOU ARE TOO!!!! …and as a side note, there is a really great, very loved home for sale on Runyan Lake if you are in the market.

THE TIME WE HAVE

This short clip is talking about the time we have and is represented in jellybeans. It is a brilliant picture representation of our life.

Watch until the end…profound, profound message about what if today was the only day, what would you do?

Let me know what you think about the time we have, the time I have, the time you have. It is all so very short. I have been attending an online course and realizing actions steps need to be taken TODAY!!! Get out there and make it the kind of day you want! The kind of life you want!!! We only get one chance…

THE MOTH

“I will be on that stage someday” I said to my friend, Ameena, when as we were leaving The Circus Bar in Ann Arbor after “The Moth” StorySlam live event for the first time in early 2014. Ameena sent out a mass Facebook message earlier that day to my Book Club to see if anyone wanted to attend a “story-telling” event in Ann Arbor with her. I had been in the process of studying “The Art of Storytelling” for the past couple years and when I saw it was a live storytelling event, I jumped on the chance to attend.

I do my best to reply “yes” to any invite (within reason) that is thrown my way. I enjoy opening my eyes and mind to new things and ideas, and I tend to get involved in rich, rewarding experiences that start by simply replying “yes”.

Some of you may know of, or already listen to “The Moth”, but let me set the scene.
The Ann Arbor venue holds just over 300 people and all walks of life attend these events. The night consists of 10 volunteer storytellers from the audience. The stories need to be 5 minutes long, true, based on the theme set for the evening, and notes are not allowed. There are 3 sets of judges that are chosen from the audience and there is a Chiropractor Fenton Michigan The Moth 2 “winner” that advances on to a larger venue and then on to the “Moth Ball“, a huge event in New York City. While people are telling stories, a warning whistle blows at 5 minutes. Once 6 minutes has passed, another longer whistle blows and points can be deducted due to time. There is an awesome host or hostess that MC’s the evening and weaves their own stories in and around the storytellers as well as sharing “micro-stories” that the audience members have written out.
Throughout the evening, the stories are being recorded; both video recorded as well as audio and “The Moth” shares these stories on NPR, Michigan Public Radio and their podcast that is broadcasted everywhere.

The event happens monthly and I only missed a couple in the past year. I have also been listening to the podcast regularly and look forward to every new episode. Humans are so interesting and everyone has a story to tell. Because I have been on the hunt for rich, rewarding experiences in my life, I have some really cool, fun, awesome and interesting stories, a few of them brewing for the opportunity to match up with a theme at one of these events.

The StorySlam in December happened just before the holidays and while I was in Ann Arbor that night, it came to my attention that the theme for January would be “cold”. PERFECT!!! One of my stories finally matches up!!! That night I committed to getting myself up on that stage in January.

So I began to rehearse my story. I rehearsed it over and over and over, probably about 30 times to my empty house over the month. There was not a lot of feedback when I performed my story to my empty couches, but it allowed me the chance to get details figured out and hone in my words.
The event was on a Tuesday and was drawing near. As the days ticked by, I became more and more nervous. I do well in front of crowds once I get up there, but the time leading up to it can be absolutely overwhelming with nausea from nerves.

Monday that week, I am going through my regular day at Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic and when I would have a moment to think about getting on stage the next day, I would make myself sick. Monday night I could hardly sleep. Tuesday I woke up a little tired and my day was busy as usual. It didn’t help that these nervous feelings were taking over my body. I was getting myself so worked up about it I reached out to a friend. His reply, “If you get there tonight and you feel like doing it, then do it. If not, then who cares!”

Right.

I realized in that moment that it was my perfectionist nature that was creating the stress and if I just let it go and decided to be my imperfect self, I could settle some nerves and step into a powerful place of vulnerability.
I also knew I didn’t have a choice in the matter that evening…this was my evening to make it happen and to live more fully, I just couldn’t let this chance pass me by.
I practiced my story 4 more times on my ride down to Ann Arbor. I walked into the place, signed the rights away on my story and took my seat. A friend had gotten food for me and a little liquid courage which always helps.
The stories started and as they would randomly draw names from the bag, the nerves were so overwhelming, I didn’t know if I was going to implode or explode and decided the only possible way to make it through would be to use my breath to calm me down. I also put a piece of gum in my mouth just so I could stimulate my parasympathetic, relaxation response.

After the first 2 storytellers went, my name was called. I threw the gum out of my mouth, may or may not have said a swear word and up I went.

“YOLO is a trending term. Everyone has been using the concept of “You Only Live Once” that it has been reduced down to these 4 letters. It was 1994, I was 17 years old and I was in love…”

I knew my story was a crowd-pleaser and I knew they would get a kick out of it. I was surprised it was actually easier to tell the story onstage than at home. When I practiced on my own, I didn’t have the response of 300+ people laughing and cheering the story on. Onstage, I could feel all that presence and was also able to remain calm and mindful enough to make my words clear, rhythmical and tell a really good story.

I had a friend record it for me and was able to watch myself on stage and I am proud of what I did.
I didn’t win “The Moth” StorySlam that night but it was a huge win in my life. It was something I wanted to do for over a year and decided to bust through any barriers, physical and mental, and make it happen.

Through the years, I have decided I am not going to be sitting on the sidelines of life and letting experiences pass me by. I often get private messages on Facebook and through email asking me “do you have a terminal diagnosis? Are you dying or why are you making all this stuff happen? What is driving you? What is your motivation?” It is simple…we only live once and my plan is to squeeze as much juice out of my days, weeks, months and years as I possibly can.

That Tuesday night is only the beginning of my time onstage at “The Moth”. I am not sure it will be easier the next time I do it. What I do know is that I did it, I went to battle with the perfectionist that lives inside of me and won, I found some strength sharing my story standing in vulnerability, I survived and made it out the other side more fully alive, That is what life is all about.