Fenton Michigan – Page 7 – We Only Get One Chance

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!!!

NOBODY IS EXEMPT

Daily, for over 10 years, I have been helping people to increase their health and internal resilience through my job as a Doctor of Chiropractic. Aside from keeping the nerve system free of interference, the chiropractic adjustment, there are NATURAL LAWS OF THE BODY that need to be followed in order to be healthy and remain that way…and nobody is exempt. It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, in order to be healthy, you have to do the following:

EAT WELL.

MOVE WELL.

THINK WELL.

REST WELL.

Some of you are doing an exceptional job at committing to health and I don’t want to make a blanket statement but I do want to review what is necessary.

Let’s start with the first…EAT WELL. The body heals by replacing cells. The body and all the cells in it are replaced on a regular basis. The body grows new cells by the building blocks you ingest. Ingest a bunch of junk and you will have weak structure and usually a lot of inflammation. Ingest good healthy food and you will have strong building blocks to construct your cells. AND DRINK YOUR WATER!!! Every single day, yes ALL OF THE DAYS, EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE, you need to DRINK WATER. It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, in order to be healthy you have to EAT WELL AND DRINK WATER and nobody is exempt.

Second thing you need to do daily…MOVE WELL. The body is built to move. Every joint in the body is nourished through movement. If we were supposed to be sedentary we would not have nearly as many joints in our bodies. Circulation increases when you move your body and with that oxygen increases as well. Circulation is how nutrients and oxygen are transported though the body and delivered to all organs, tissues, muscles and glands. Muscles also need to be moved and stretched every single day. It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, in order to be healthy you have to MOVE WELL EVERY SINGLE DAY and nobody is exempt.

Our quality of life is determined largely by our attitude towards it. Wake up with a smile or wake up with a frown, it is going to set the tone for your entire day. The days add up to weeks, weeks add up to months and then years and life goes by rather quickly. Life is only a fraction of what happens to us, and mostly our reaction to it. Be grateful. Even when things don’t seem to be going your way, be grateful for something. Take some time to express gratitude silently to yourself and maybe even out loud to those around you. It doesn’t matter how old our young you are, in order to be healthy you have to THINK GOOD THOUGHTS IN YOUR LIFE and nobody is exempt. Chiropractor Fenton Michigan Smiling Flower

Have you ever really taken time to think about sleep? At night, we literally leave this conscious state and step off to some place while our physical body rests. Sometimes this is to dreamland and sometimes it is quiet and
uneventful. Either way, we sleep. Our body shuts down and goes into restoration mode. It is a time for rebuilding, regrouping, integrating and healing and our bodies require it. Every. Single. Day. It doesn’t matter how old our young you are, in order to be healthy you have to REST WELL, take some down time and rest and nobody is exempt.

Patients come to the Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic Center every week for over 10 years and I help them through the chiropractic adjustment. The greatest thing about chiropractic care is that the adjustment helps keep the body connected to it’s power source, the brain and nerve system, and allows it to do everything it is supposed to do, better and more efficiently. I also do my best to help my patients understand the NATURAL LAWS OF THE BODY. I ask things like “How much sleep have you had lately?” and “How much exercise have you gotten today? This week?” and “How much water have you drank today? This week?” and “What are you doing to handle stress in your life?”

Some reply a resounding “YES! LOTS!!” and I realize that so many are committed to their own health. However, some reply with answers that DO NOT follow the NATURAL LAWS OF THE BODY as described above. These are not laws I just made up…this is really serious business and involves your body and your life.

WE HAVE TO DO WHAT WE KNOW WE NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO BE HEALTHY AND THAT’S IT!!!

There are no shortcuts.

There is no easy way.

There is no magic pill.

I talk about water on most of your visits because the importance of being properly hydrated is underestimated. But now you have to go out there into your life and DRINK YOUR WATER!!! You have to, that is all there is to it.

I love you and this is why I am expressing to you the fact that it doesn’t matter how old or young you are, in order to be healthy you have to FOLLOW THE NATURAL LAWS OF THE BODY and NOBODY IS EXEMPT!!!! Got it? Now get out there and get to work!!! 🙂

LACE CURTAINS

I moved into my home over 4 years ago. If you have even been to my home or driven by, you may have noticed the lace curtains in the window at the front of the house (although more than likely you have not, they are unremarkable). I am not a fan of lace curtains.

I have a very different style to my home and my practice that doesn’t really fit with lace curtains.

So let me explain…this particular lace-covered window is above my 2-car garage. There is an unfinished bonus room above my garage currently being used for storage. It has 2 nice sized windows, one at the front by the driveway and one towards the back that faces house. The one on the driveway side is the one with the lace curtains, nothing on the other.

For the first few years I lived there, I hadn’t give those lace curtains a lot of attention. I would see them when I pulled in and out of my garage, however aside from that, they are not on my mind at all. They are just sort-of there.

Over the past couple years, I have noticed them as the last thing I see when I leave and the first thing when I pull back into my driveway. They are pretty, harmless and unremarkable.

But they are not me. Not at all.

For the past 2 years, I have tried to figure out what window coverings I should replace those with. What color should I put there? Should it have some sort of texture? Should it give you a hint to textures and colors used in the house? Should they just be plain white like the siding on that part of the house? Should they be loud and obnoxious? Should they be long or short? I am not a designer, but I have a feel that I always go for with my home and work spaces and these silly curtains had raised a lot of questions.

It is also one of those things that I need to be able to feel out, one of those things that I needed to try out a couple different colors and textures to know for sure. But who really wants to go to the store and buy a few different options and drive in and out of the driveway until I got it right??? Not me!

In the past 6 weeks I have started to do some research. There are a lot of homes with that same bonus room/window set-up above the garage (and maybe now that I mention it, you will notice it yourself). My research consisted of driving around and seeing what other people have done with said window.

My private research has shown that most leave that window uncovered. It isn’t a room that you would need to block the world out of. It also is a place that there is not enough light on a regular basis to make out anything but silhouettes of what is being stored, which is no big deal.

So I didn’t want to completely commit to uncovered windows after being covered for so many years, so I went up there and pulled the curtains all the way to the side so that they appeared uncovered from the outside. And I have now been driving in and out of my garage and have a huge smile on my face because of how many years I have pondered this silly decision.

It is funny to me because this entire time I had always wanted to just replace the covering and change the look of it all and had never once, prior to just 6 weeks ago, ever even considered that idea.

I think it is funny how the mind works like that sometimes…it wants to replace every little thing in life instead of just getting rid of it altogether. I have noticed this lately in my life as I am getting more minimalist (Mom, I never said I am a true minimalist, just better with less) with the things I have in my home all the way down to my wardrobe and shoes. I do not have to replace stuff with more stuff, and so many times it just feels better to dump it than to add more.

I am super grateful for this new perspective. I am also really grateful to have made a final decision and allowing full sunlight in that bonus room. It is the silliest place to learn a life lesson, I had no idea I could learn so much from those lace curtains.

SUGAR

It starts with Halloween and ends with New Years Day….SUGAR, SUGAR EVERYWHERE!!! Notably this is also considered “COLD AND FLU SEASON”. Guess what? Sugar is a major factor in decreased immune system function and when that happens, the “invaders” (viruses and bacteria) have a chance to take over.

Let’s learn some physiology…
White blood cells are a HUGE PART of your functional immune system. They travel through the body and convene around areas of “invaders” and do some clean-up work. White blood cells need Vitamin C in order to activate and do their job of phagocytosis (in essence “eating up”) of the viruses and bacteria. Sugar and Vitamin C have a very similar structure and compete for the same activation/binding site on the white blood cells. If sugar is around, Vitamin C doesn’t get to do its normal work and your immune system becomes compromised. When you decide to eat sugar, you can think of your immune system becoming a slug and slowing down to a crawl…every year…around this same time and going all the way through the New Year.

Certain minerals are required in order to process the sugar you eat. Because refined sugar doesn’t contain those minerals, chronic ingestion of sugar can lead to depleted levels of essential minerals in the body which creates further problems and compromises health.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO TO KEEP A STRONG IMMUNE SYSTEM?
Great question!!! Let’s take this little bit of awareness in to this holiday season and see how making a few better choices in what you put on your plate and in your mouth can have a drastic effect on your energy levels and immune system function.

WAYS TO BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM:

Drink lots of water
Eat your vegetables
Get plenty of rest
Exercise/move your body daily
Take your vitamins
Steer clear of sugar
Steer clear of alcohol
Keep up with your regular chiropractic care
Get outside for some fresh air
Laugh often and take some time to play
Keep a positive mental attitude

The nerve system and immune system are interconnected (some will say they are the same – neuroimmuno system). When the nerve system is compromised, so is the immune system. REGULAR CHIROPRACTIC CARE will help maximize your potential for health by keeping your nerve system clear and your immune system strong. Swing in to the Café of LIFE Chiropractic Center! We would love to help you and your family have a wonderful, HEALTHFUL holiday season!!!

SWEET SWEET SEPTEMBER

As I was on a 3 mile walk near my home this evening, I was thinking I don’t know if I ever remember a sweeter September in Michigan than what we are experiencing this year. I love the fall and am totally in love with this sweet, sweet September.

Do you remember ever having more sunshine than what we have had lately? I think it has rained maybe a few hours total for this entire month. Chiropractor Fenton Michigan September

The nights are cool now, the mornings are crisp and it is so refreshing.

But there is so much more to this sweet sweet September than just the weather and I do not know many people who actually enjoy talking about the weather.

September marks a time of year when things begin to “normalize”. Most of that is our schedules with school starting and getting the family back to some sort of “normal” routine. Serving this community in my office, Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic, on a weekly basis magnifies so much of the community energy. August, and the preparation for school to start, brings a frenzied energy. There is always such anticipation about the year ahead and what it will bring. So many questions run around in everyone’s head and it shows up in their physiology…Who will be my teacher this year? Will I have the right clothes? I wonder if my friends will be in my class? I wonder if I will get “that” student the other teachers are warning everyone about? I wonder how my sports team will do? .…all of these unknowns and so much more adds into the already heightened energy of August.

In the past, September has hit like a ton of bricks and it has often taken a long time for people to settle into their routines. But this sweet sweet September feels very different. It feels like we were all ready for that shift back to routine and school and work. Of course our busy schedules have brought October on us so quickly it is difficult to believe that will be next week.

And when speaking about sweet sweet September, we cannot forget about college football of course! College football games are usually attended wearing lots of layers and drinking warm drinks…but not in September and especially not this September. Beautiful, sunshine filled Saturdays at the football stadiums with the smells of fall in the air, does it get any sweeter than that?!?!

So as I am walking this evening and admiring absolutely everything about this beautiful place I call home, I am thinking to myself “I don’t remember a sweeter September than this one, and I am sure grateful to be awake and alive today to experience it!”

I certainly hope you have been able to get out and play in the sunshine with your families. Within just a few weeks, winter will be moving in and I am definitely not banking on seeing another sweet sweet September quite like this one. We get to live this one time…put some of those “have to’s” aside for a few more days and get out there and make the most of it!!!

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.

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!!!