Happy New Year with Reflections

It's a beautiful, crisp and sunny New Year's Day and I am pleasantly sitting with Tammie, reflecting on this past 12 months, while feeling excitement for the year ahead! While my life has been a roller coaster ride for many years - experiences full of challenge and opportunity for transformation, this year, in particular, has been a whirlwind for me and my family. It was shortly before New Year's last year, while preparing for 4th quarter taxes and the yearly taxes, that I realized that I could no longer afford to live in our humble condo in Wellesley - a beautiful, but very expensive town! Once I broke the news to Lindsay, Ashley and Scott, we began the process of exploring where to live next! Of course, I had my sight set on Marblehead and the dominos fell into place just perfectly. A colleague from Wellesley had moved there years back and told me that when I wanted to move there, that she would help me with office space, networking and a great real estate agent. I began all pursuits and by March 1, we moved into our condo, just moments away from the ocean! Being self-employed created a mini-fiasco for the mortgage this time, as the laws had become so much stricter with the country-wide recession and there was a two week period when I was unsure about whether or not we had one secured, after being told, "you are fine and are a good risk!" Phew, I kept my mind and intention on seeing the transaction with a positive outcome and indeed, it came to fruition. From March through June, I settled in and began establishing some amazing practices - reflective time, writing, yoga, daily walks by the ocean with Tammie. I felt invigorated, refreshed and renewed and so at home! When I say at home, there is a sense that I was meant to be here all along, but of course, now is when I can make the most of it! While I was establishing these wonderful practices, there was still a part of the "old me", tugging at the ego part, yapping in the back of my ear that I needed to do more, to work harder, to entertain family, friends and new acquaintances, in the same manner as my past "energizer bunny" was used to. I was feeling fatigue, not wanting to listen to that inner voice, thinking that I can still beat this illness on my own, when on July 5, the day following a large family gathering for the holiday at my home, I awoke with a whopper of a migraine. The following day, I went to yoga, but it did not budge and on the following morning, felt a tug in my left hamstring. I reviewed my activities to see if I had pulled something, but could not relate the growing pain to a muscle pull. Five days later, as I awoke and attempted to get out of bed, I could not stand on my leg and felt that I would pass out. Luckily Ashley was here and I knew that I needed to go to the hospital. Well, the rest has been carefully outlined in many previous blogs - the physical/hospital experiences, as well as the multiple emotional and spiritual connections or as I refer to them, the gifts of our journey! Fast-forward to today. As I continue along the journey, I look at the upcoming uncharted territory with patience, excitement and such gratitude for being alive, for being well and for being able to share my experiences with you all. Happy New Year, Namaste and Love, Julie