Category: evolution

HUNKER DOWN

This past weekend I spent hunkered down and studying.  It was the perfect weekend to do just that and I was so grateful to have the time.

The holidays were crazy busy and the beginning of the year was the same.  This past weekend fell into the perfect spot, and from this point forward, life will be busy again.  I also found an appreciation for the “January thaw” that happened as there wasn’t even an option to snowboard and that took one more possible distraction off my list.  

When I tell people that I hunkered down and studied this past weekend, I find them trying to figure out what in the heck am I studying at this point in my life?

I am studying me…and what makes me, me.  Over the years I have found that the more light that shines onto our life, the darker the shadows get meaning when life gets really, really good, dim corners begin to take on a new level of darkness.

Some look at me and my life and automatically think that it must have always been this good.  Not true.

Ad astra per aspera. — “to the stars through difficulties”

This statement is a great summery of LIFE.  I have had some serious ups and downs that have shaped me to who I am today.

You may not know that I grew up in a home seriously challenged with alcoholism.  To add to that, I grew up with 3 brothers and finding yourself on the short end of the 3 versus 1 game on a daily basis was just plain hard. I found refuge in escaping to my horse barn and spending hours braiding my horses’ manes and tails.

I was always a good student and did my very best to be absolutely perfect so as to not ruffle any feathers.  I was, and still am, a massive overachiever because I have found that is the safest way to maneuver this life.

Did you know that I got married when I was 19?  And that I was married for 7 years?  I divorced when I was 26 years old and moved home to Fenton 2 years later after I finished chiropractic college.  Because I divorced during school that required 35 hours a week of mandatory attendance, working part time, and taking test after test and national boards that are determining my next move in my career, there is not a lot of time to sit and process things.  So when I moved home 2 years later, I fell into a depression.  I was able to function but just barely for about 2 months.  I had no idea what I was going to do, where I was going or how I was going to get there.  The best I could do was to promise myself to get out of bed every single day and do something that furthered me down the path to opening a practice, even if that meant buying one pack of pens because that was all the motivation I could find that day…but all I really wanted to do was hide.

These are just a few of my own personal struggles…of course you know me well enough to know that I will not air it all on here but these are a fraction of the challenges and obstacles I have experienced.  I also realize that these struggles may seem simple as compared to what you have been through in your lifetime.  I have come to the conclusion that life is for living and learning.

Nothing in my life has been handed to me.  I have worked very, very hard at creating what I have and I am often in tears of gratitude that I get to express myself in this life in the way I do.

For me, there is ALWAYS “excavating” that needs to be done.  I do my best to not take life to seriously however from time to time it is right and necessary to get serious and start digging.  In order to genuinely express myself in my life, I need to take time to look at the things that hold me back, the fears I have, the misconceptions and internal obstacles that stand in my way of living fully.

This past weekend I had set time aside to do just that.  I belong to an amazing Book Club that helps me excavate on a regular basis, but I also need to pull some of the wounds open on my own, debride, apply some salve and let them remain open and uncovered as they heal.

So I hunkered down and did some of that last weekend so that I can show up in my world in the best way possible.  In the technological age that we live in, it is so simple to keep ourselves so busy we never get time to just sit and think.  We go and go and go, and when we have a moment to sit, we pick up our phones, iPads, laptops or turn on the TV and get some screen time in instead of taking time to be and sit and think.  When was the last time you had a moment to think about things?  I would like to challenge you to take a moment between all of your obligations, and instead of filling it with screen time, just think.  Some quick “easy” questions to ask…Who am I?  What is the meaning of my life?  What is my purpose?  Where did I come from?  Where am I going?  and How am I going to get there?  You do not need to do serious excavating to begin to express more of the life you want…but taking time to sit and think would do us all a lot of good.

THANK YOU

I need to say THANK YOU to all of you.  I have made one HUGE transition since the beginning of this year and it is making a world of difference.  I finally changed our afternoon hours at the Cafe of LIFE!

Over the past few months, we had numerous requests for our

afternoon hours to begin at 3pm instead of 3:30pm.  In combination with that, we were finding that our 6-6:30pm time slot has been quiet and since the time change this past fall, it really felt like we were working super late into the night with how dark it is.  So after a couple years of deliberation (this one I have been considering for quite some time) we have made the switch.

And I AM THRILLED!!!  I have spent the past 8 years serving others and at times, have made sacrifices in my own life in order to do so.  Getting out at 6:30 Monday through Thursday would limit me.  Seems so many events, classes, concerts and such that I wanted to attend would start at 7 and be close to an hour away from Fenton (everything seems an hour away from Fenton for some reason).  I would have to decline offer after offer over the years. There were classes at the gym that I never could make due to my schedule.  Leaving at 6:30 meant that I could pretty much do one thing and then the night would be over and its time for bed.

Some of you may be thinking…its a mere 30 minutes she is talking about here.  What is the big deal?

There is a lot that can be done in 30 minutes…a good cardio workout, make a delicious dinner, drive half way to Detroit, drive half way to the Wharton Center, have a meaningful conversation, make a phone call to catch up with a friend, run a 5K, bike one loop around Kensington, drive to Pine Knob Amphitheater, eat dinner at a restaurant, have a glass of wine, drink a glass of champagne, make a few runs on my snowboard at Mt. Holly, sleep…there is a LOT one can do in 30 minutes!

Then multiply that by 4 (days a week that I get out a half hour early) and then multiply that by 50 weeks of work in a year and that turns into 6,000 extra minutes in the evening per year…and there is a WHOLE LOT one can do in 6,000 minutes!!!  You get my point.  And it is 6,000 minutes more for me and 6,000 minutes more for Angie who, mind you, has a little one to tend to in the evenings.

So I am saying THANK YOU because i haven’t heard one negative comment about us shifting our hours.  Thank you for being so understanding.  Thank you for allowing me to take back a little portion of my life.  Over the past 6 working days, I have had tremendous guilt for leaving a half hour early but I recognize that is all self manifested guilt and that not one person is making me feel that way besides myself.  It may take me the next 8 years before I am used to leaving at 6…but I am looking forward to making the most of those 48,000 extra minutes while I am doing it.  Thank you!

 

 

MUSIC IS MAGIC

Music is magic.  Music has a way of facilitating us in opening up certain areas of our being that are closed off.  It lifts us up.  It has a way of letting light in through the dark cracks and crevices that haven’t seen any light lately.  Music helps us move, shift and break free.  When the vibrational resonance matches up, it can help us grow and evolve.  It has instantaneous effects as well as can start long-term ripples that can reverberate for years.  Music takes us back, it moves us forward and can help us to stay in the present.  The “remember whens…” and the “what ifs…” and the idea of “be here now…”.  It is all of that and so much more.  Music is magic.

“These are the days
These are days you’ll remember
Never before and never since, I promise
Will the whole world be warm as this
And as you feel it,
You’ll know it’s true
That you are blessed and lucky
It’s true that you
Are touched by something
That will grow and bloom in you

These are days that you’ll remember
When May is rushing over you
With desire to be part of the miracles
You see in every hour
You’ll know it’s true
That you are blessed and lucky
It’s true that you are touched
By something that will grow and bloom in you

These are days
These are the days you might fill
With laughter until you break
These days you might feel
A shaft of light
Make its way across your face
And when you do
Then you’ll know how it was meant to be
See the signs and know their meaning
It’s true
Then you’ll know how it was meant to be
Hear the signs and know they’re speaking
To you, to you”

I heard this song done acoustic by Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs) last night while driving home from yoga.  Powerful.  Peaceful.  Hopeful.  Beautiful.  In an instant, my heart cracked wide open…and so I wanted to share some magic.

WHAT A WEEK!!!

To say this past week was incredible would be a complete understatement. I am not sure if I can find the words to do it any justice but I will attempt.

It has been exciting, exhilarating, perfect time and perfect place, talking, connection, love, growth, reading, developing, email, introspective, travel, peace, writing, heart-centeredness, exhausting, awesome, long hours, talking, Skype, sharing, Internet, love, books, friends, family, hungry, bliss, planning, creating, nurturing, staring, introducing, hugs, sounds, video, discussions, parents, happiness, pictures, flowing, riding waves, flowers, notes, work, p

Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Dr Erica Peabody - What a week

lay, counsel, ideas, music, kisses, movies, voice, Facebook, Hey Tell, random facts, quotes, scrapbooks, house, lake, ice, snow, conversation, celebration, glowing, communication, energy, vulnerable, open, raw, wounds, opportunity, practice, planting seeds, simple life, pure, days, one week, favorites, feeling of readiness, special, percentages, names, togetherness, news, unpack, concerns, highlights, tremendous growth, breath, appreciation, thoughts, truth, thinking, greatness, settling in, luck, promises, responses, pleasure and singing.
It feels as though the stars have aligned and they are all on my side. Because of a few different things and my own desire for growth and evolution, and the work I am doing on myself, I can honestly say that January 12th, 2012 was a pivotal point in my life. It is as though my life can be described as “before Jan. 12th” and “after Jan. 12th”. It goes way deeper than a love connection though that is a significant part of it. Where is life heading? I know what direction it is going, however I have chosen to surrender to the fact that “I will ride the wave where it takes me”. It is uncharted territory for me, unfamiliar and uncomfortable. All I can do is trust that “As I take a step, the next one is revealed”.
Have you had an event or a culmination of events that has led to a significant shift in your being or your life? Is there a date or a time frame that you can look back at and see an obvious shift? For me, being able to share my story brings me so much joy. Maybe you feel the same way…we only get one chance in this life. Do more things that make you happy!

EVERYONE….MEET CHOCO!!!!

Everyone…meet Choco!!!!  So I have decided to get a dog. This is Choco and he is a 2 year old chocolate lab that I cannot wait to get. Choco lives in Colorado Springs right now with a family that loves him however they are so busy with life they do not get enough time to be with Choco and he needs attention. My intention is to bring Choco into the Cafe of LIFE with me on a daily basis to be part of our LIFE parties that happen everyday. I am glad he is already 2 as he will fit into my life better than a puppy at this point. Choco will love some of the places that I hike and will get me back in my running sneakers. HE will have the lake to explore at my mom’s house and 200 acres of orchard to explore at my dad’s house and a cousin named Walter to play with. He will arrive in Detroit by plane around December 1st. You will meet him very soon!