Being Rich Waterfall

A phrase I heard often before taking one of my most monumental steps of blind faith- when I moved from Toledo, Ohio to Pasadena, California with no job, one suitcase, and a plan to stay only 3 weeks- was  Do it afraid.  Another, perhaps more popular saying on the same note is about courage. Courage is not doing things because we're not  afraid, rather, courage is, despite our fears, doing it anyway. Nelson Mandela said it like this: "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." One reason I set myself a goal to write and post weekly blogs was because it seemed far less intimidating (fearful) to me than writing a book! Writing has always been something I do, but not always something I share. Even after getting a degree in "Creative Writing," I had lots of fears to creatively write anything for a public audience! But, as I approached a very defining an...

I considered titling this entry "Expectations Part II" as a follow up from my last post about  Expectations . Whatever your expectations are for the future, here's a little message I've been pondering about my own: I don't know too many people who don't  like their birthday. I just had my 31st, hence, one reason for a delay in writing and posting this week. In my life, birthdays really do keep getting better and better! I was reflecting on how sad I feel when I hear people complain about getting older or connect their number of years to a degrading quality of life. It's true that as we get older, our bodies certainly change and even, possibly, our health may decline; our energy is definitely not the same as a child's, but our capacity and wisdom will grow year by year. If we allow, our compassion expands, our love endures, and our opportunities for loyalty and faithfulness grow and develop as well. Age, in my opinion, or "aging" is such a won...

This past week, at the start of my ninth month of pregnancy, I took my first prenatal class. It was a free, virtual session offered by my provider, where a counselor at a Postpartum Mood Disorder clinic discussed postpartum expectations, including information on different mood disorders like PPD (depression) anxiety, PTSD, etc. While I agree that it is important to be educated about mood disorders, along with their appearance in a woman's postnatal season, I don't agree that these disorders are the norm, or even that they should be mentioned as "to be expected". It's definitely important to know what symptoms and feelings to look for after giving birth, and if they escalate, when to reach out for support and help. Unfortunately, this class was taught with an underlying tone to expect these mood disorders, and it was possibly one of the most depressing lectures I ever attended!  When talking about what to expect when leaving the hospital with a newborn, the instru...

While boiling water the other day, my husband made a joke saying people pay so much money to put steam in their face, but they could just do it at home while cooking! At the same time, my husband loves anything that has to do with SPA - skin care, self mani/pedicures, facials, massage therapy, sweat houses and steam rooms. He loves any little thing that takes care of his physical self and makes him feel good and refreshed. A recently added small appliance in our bathroom is an electric toothbrush. When I use it, it feels like my whole head is vibrating and I feel a bit dizzy/nauseous, but when he uses it, he says it feels like his teeth just went to the Spa! The reality is, "Soul Care" is different for everyone!  As the timeline of our new baby quickly approaches, I'm reminded of how important it is to slow down and take care of my soul! While for me it's not in spa treatment, I'm noticing that my routines and preferences differ now than they have in the past. I u...

October is "Pregnancy Loss Awareness Month", which I didn't know about until this year. I started seeing posts on social media with people's stories, statistics and images to raise awareness. I never realized until recent years how common women experience issues with infertility. I learned that the rate of miscarriages is 1 in 4 pregnancies! It's not 1 in 4 women , but pregnancies . I also learned that 80% of miscarriages happen to women in the first stage of their first pregnancy. When I experienced my first miscarriage towards the end of 2019, my medical release form called it a "medical abortion". Even though this was a "natural", no-one's-at-fault, and not by choice termination of pregnancy, the phrasing of it added to my feeling of heartsickness around the issue of abortion and our personal loss. In writing about and acknowledging pregnancy loss this month, we can't avoid the heart-wrenching reality of intentional miscarriage: the...

One practice I am doing during my 2020 Year of Courage and Overcoming, is studying a word a week. (See my post titled  Gifts .) Words carry so much power and purpose within them. I've found that by studying them, I either engage in a new understanding, find a deeper appreciation, or am empowered in a new way. I could write a list of the words I've studied so far this year, and to you they may just look like random words without much connection. But for me, each week, my word of the week leads me to the next one; and after a week of seeking that word, reading it and learning from it, it grows in depth of meaning. A few weeks ago, I chose to study mountain . If you're wondering where or how do I study these words, it's primarily in the Word of God. But as is His nature, God wants to reveal Himself to us through everything in the world and in our lives, and so I often find my words pop up in articles I read, songs I hear, or in conversation with others throughout that week...

In my approaching 12 years as a follower of God and believer in Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, I have battled with religion. I've hated it, yet conformed to it. It was my identity, my practice, my community.  I studied it, adored it, compared one to another, and wrestled with what it meant for me personally. A few weeks ago I heard a well-respected pastor in LA, Jennifer Toledo, say that "Christianity is a practice, not a religion." How relieving! Another quote from a spiritual leader said, "All religions are the same; they teach us right from wrong." So then, if they're all the same, what stirs up so much tension amongst them? How can we really "do right" if there are so many contradictions and separations among these differentiating beliefs? And even within the dome of "Christianity", there are many different practices and divisions. Because of this, "Religion" has become a very ugly word in my experience. With that being said, wh...

One thing I learned in college was that in order to be a good writer, you have to be a good reader. To be honest, I don't think I am a good reader! I enjoy reading, but am by no means an avid reader. I love libraries; I think they are treasures of knowledge, history and wisdom, but I don't spend hours in them reading or even perusing the shelves. I believe there is an art form to storytelling, to book printing and binding, illustration, prose and poetry, but I have yet to master it. Even still, since childhood, I've wanted to "be" a writer.  What I'm learning that means is: I write, because it's what I do. It doesn't mean my identity is "writer" "author" or "wordsmith". I simply write. Almost daily, I write. I write even if no one reads it. I, myself, may not even reread my own writing! For years I've kept journals upon journals of written messages, imaginings, quotes that inspire me, quotes from the Bible, prayers and...

At the beginning of each year, for the past six years, I have followed a local life coach's 'New Year Questions' guide. I've answered these questions now as tradition and find them to be something that I do remember, consider, and reconsider throughout the year. These questions serve as a tool to help me reflect and dream, to stay intentional, and to prayerfully consider themes for my life each year. ( You can read a brief summary about my past two years' themes in a recent post.) At the start of 2020, I answered 20 questions. One of them led me to claim this year as "A Year of Courage". Seeing as its the eighth month, the nations are in (what I would call) turmoil, there is a global pandemic, and life as we thought it would be has definitely and drastically averted from plan, I can't help but wonder what the courage is all about. Was it courageous to step out of my ballroom dance career when I was already furloughed from it? Was it courageous to start...

How is it with your soul?  In my newly renovated instruction of what I call "mindful movement"- sessions that combine mindfulness, meditation, yoga postures, and pilates/dance strengthening exercises, I begin by asking the participants that question. I started last week, Monday morning, with a Spiritual Direction session; then, had a wonderful follow up by  attending my Spiritual Director   Whitney 's  "Soul Care At Home Workshop". After reflecting on my personal time of wonder and encountering a community full of people who all desire the same deep care for their souls ,  I felt a strong affirmation in my calling to pursue the contemplative lifestyle- along with whatever that means in pursuing purposeful work in this world. Affirmation-   1. the action or process of affirming something or being affirmed. - assertion, declaration, statement, proclamation, pronouncement, confirmation, endorsement   2. emotional support or encouragement Don't we all...

Today I welcome myself back to a practice of writing. As an aspiring writer since age 8, an avid journal-keeper and lover of words and poetry, I come back to this public writing platform with a tinge of doubts. Will anyone read or be interested in my words? Can I consistently keep up a blog? (This is my second or third one.) What will I write about? Yet, in an unprecedented time, with time on my side, I consider and think why not ?   In April of 2018, I started a draft post titled  A Time To Slow Down.  I wrote, "This has truly been an adventure: Pauper to Princess. Minimalist to Business Professional. Air-dried hair and a natural face to make up, curling irons and hair product, of all things! Nomadic to settled, to balancing the shift of settled-nomadic, once again. Of course I trust the Author of this story of my life." When all I wanted for two years was to slow down and enjoy life, God took me on the fastest-paced, roller coaster experience of a growing and successful...