Up from the Ashes Blog
Phoenix Rising, My Encore Story
Summer Solstice 2018
There is a moment when you realize your life is taking a turn. And it comes without warning, shrouded in a mist that permeates everything you think and do. For me, that time inevitably occurred the year I was to turn 40 – six months before, to be exact – and challenged me to ask myself some hard questions. Is this the life I’m supposed to be in or have I somehow lost my way? So, I moved through my days recognizing everything around me was the same – normal, really – but, inside me, there was a swirl of anxiety and uncertainty. As a person who’s always mired in introspection, I could not figure out this most vexing condition. And talking about it seemed absurd. Until I was asked the question “are you going through a midlife crisis?” What? A midlife crisis? Not me. But then I committed to reading everything I could about this phase of life. And lo and behold, none of us really escapes this life journey without a crisis of confidence and uncertainty at some point. Then began my earnest search for purpose and passion that I learned must be driven by my own aspirations and personal accountability. I was the one responsible for shaping a life that fulfilled and gratified me; no one else. In this amazing rebirth I discovered an identity that had been on hiatus. A long hiatus, waiting for the right time to re-emerge and rise.
In 2016, I decided to act on my calling to become a career/life coach. I made a commitment to start a coaching practice by mid-year 2018. Launching the practice on June 21st that year- Summer Solstice – signified the transformation from those dark days of winter to the beauty and light of summer.