Sep-Oct 2026
On Purpose Woman
Contributing Writers Andrea Hylen Charleen M. Michel Cheryl Pace Jennifer Sproul Lisa Beacham Mary E. Knippel Regina Stone Rosemary Robertson Bredeson Ruth Littlejohn Shelly Eldridge Suzie Jeffreys Cover Celebrate 26 Years
On Purpose Woman Magazine is published bi-monthly online. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Neither the publishing team or the advertisers accept responsibility for errors. Publication and distribution of this magazine does not constitute an endorsement of information, products or services. The publisher reserves the right to reject any advertisement or listing for any reason. To reproduce articles, always credit On Purpose Woman Magazine with the link to the issue. Also, credit the author and leave their bio and contact info intact. On Purpose Woman Magazine shares ideas, stories, and opinions from a diverse community of women. The views expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, creative director, writers, advertisers, or anyone else associated with the magazine.
Publisher/Editor Ginny Robertson Creative Director Anne Pamfilis
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Inside On Purpose Woman...
6 From the Publisher Ginny Robertson 11 Events and Resources 12 You Don't Have to Be Ready to Begin Regina Stone 22 Members in the Spotlight Jul-Aug 24 The Wisdom Within Charleen Michel 36 Sep-Oct Meeting Schedule 40 How to Make Progress Toward What You Really Want Shelly Eldridge 52 Follow the Clues: Slow, Steady, Growth Andrea Hylen 62 When Light Leads Movement: An Invitation to Remember Cheryl Pace 72 Finally, I'm Ready to Embrace Thriving Dr. Ruth Littlejohn 82 We Got the Villain Wrong & Your Heart Has Been Paying For It Suzie Jeffreys 100 The Sacred Space Between Letting Go and What's Next Lisa Beacham 110 The Story You Were Born to Live Mary E. Knippel 122 My Life is My Work The New Centenarians Jennifer Sproul 136 On Purpose Woman Global Community Directory 154 Are You Ready for a Meta*Physical Checkup? The Spiritual Body Rev. Rosemary Robertson Bredeson 164 The Gift My Sister Never Knew She Gave Me That Changed Everything Suzie Jeffreys
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From the Publisher Ginny Robertson
Dear Beloved Readers, Fall has always felt like a new beginning to me. Maybe it goes back to childhood and the excitement of a new school year. New notebooks. Freshly sharpened pencils. A brand-new box of crayons. Blank pages waiting to be filled. And underneath it all, that wonderful sense of possibility: Who will I be this year? What will I learn? What will I create? Who will be there with me? All these years later, I still feel something shift as September arrives. For decades, Labor Day has been my personal retreat. I usually spend a few days tucked away in my office sanctuary, reflecting on the year so far and imagining what I want the remaining months to hold. But this year, I find myself thinking about Labor Day a little differently. I'm thinking about labor itself. So many of us have spent our lives working, creating, caring, building, serving, giving, leading, supporting, and showing up. Much of that labor has brought us tremendous joy and meaning. Some of it has helped us fulfill our purpose and make a difference in the lives of others. And some of it, if we're willing to admit it, we may simply be ready to put down. After taking the month of July as a sabbatical, I've been paying much closer attention to how I want to use my time and energy. I'm asking different questions than I might have asked during those Labor Day retreats years ago. Not just, What do I want to accomplish before the end of the year? But also: What matters most to me now? What deserves my time and energy? What am I doing because it still feels meaningful, and what am I doing simply because I've always done it? What might I need to release to make room for something else, including more room for myself? I'm discovering that a fresh start doesn't necessarily mean adding something new. Sometimes it means doing less. Sometimes it means changing our minds. Sometimes it means letting go of something that once served us beautifully but no longer does. And sometimes it means giving ourselves permission to enjoy what we've already created instead of immediately asking, What's next? For someone who has spent much of her life creating, gathering, connecting, and asking what else is possible, that's an interesting one for me. I still love the energy of fall. I still love possibility. And I certainly haven't stopped creating or dreaming. But perhaps this season, I'm approaching that blank notebook a little differently. Instead of rushing to fill every page, I'm leaving some white space. Maybe that's my invitation to you, too. As we enter this new season, take a moment to notice what you want to carry with you into fall and what you might be ready to leave behind. Consider not only what you want to do during these remaining months of 2026, but how you want to live them. Throughout this issue of On Purpose Woman Magazine, you'll find women sharing wisdom, ideas, experiences, and resources for your mind, body, spirit, business, and career. I invite you to notice what speaks to you. Follow your curiosity. Click on our advertisers' offerings and learn more about the work they are bringing into the world. Their support helps us continue offering this magazine to you free of charge. And maybe, somewhere in these pages, you'll discover an idea that belongs on one of those blank pages in your own life. Or perhaps you'll discover that the blank page itself is exactly what you need. My wish for you this fall is simple: Be Well. Love Big. Spread Joy. Shine Your Light. Make a Difference. And LIVE ON PURPOSE! With boundless gratitude, Ginny
There is a version of your life sitting in a junk drawer. You know the one. The disorganized drawer filled with random things you’ll get to use, fix, or might need “one day.” The special place where interesting ideas and curiosities go to wait. The business idea. The domain name. The Pinterest board. The healing work. The certification. The big move. The sexy dress. The cool hobby. The book you keep saying you’ll write. We toss things in our junk drawer until one magical day when we’re finally ready to use them. We convince ourselves there will be a moment when the plan is clear, the fear is gone, the timing makes sense, and something inside us says, Okay. Now I’m ready. I’m not convinced many moments like that exist. At some point, preparation stops being preparation and becomes a very convincing reason or excuse not to start. That’s what makes the trap we call “ready” so tricky. It doesn’t always look like fear. Sometimes it looks like being responsible or even productive. You’re researching. Planning. Taking another course. Getting your finances together. Healing. Waiting until work (or life) slows down. The day when the kids or grandkids are older. Pushing it back until you lose the weight, build the website, get more confident, meet the right person, or finally have enough time. While we can’t change the number of hours in a day, some of those things may actually need to happen. But all of them? Probably not. There is a real difference between doing the work required to begin and waiting for everything to be perfect before you begin. The first one has an end. The second one is a moving target. If I never start, I can’t fail. If I don’t take the risk, I can’t lose anything. If I buy the sexy dress, I’ll be ready whenever someone invites me somewhere special, assuming it still fits by then. If I take the course, I can always watch the replays when the timing is right. Meanwhile, we’re acquiring, and maybe hoarding, things we believe we’ll need when we’re finally ready. Our brains are very good at creating stories to help us feel safe and avoid discomfort. Because beginning is what makes things real, and that almost always includes some discomfort. The idea can fail once you put it in front of people. The date can disappoint you once you actually go. The conversation can change the relationship once you say the thing out loud. The dream can turn out differently than it looked in your head. The risk is something we can’t avoid. Research on perfectionism makes an important distinction. Having high standards is not necessarily what keeps people stuck. The bigger problem is typically the worry attached to the mistakes, failure, judgment, and what getting something wrong might mean about us. The answer is not to throw preparation out the window and “just do it.” Sometimes “just do it” is terrible advice. You may need money before leaving the job. You may need more information before signing the contract. You may need emotional safety before having the conversation. You may actually need training before charging someone for a service. The question is not whether you should prepare. The question is: How will you know when you have prepared enough? If you don’t answer that, “getting ready” can last forever. Before you put one more thing in the junk drawer, ask yourself: What absolutely needs to be true before I move forward? Make the real list. Safety. Money. Skill. Information. Legal requirements. Whatever is necessary. Be honest and keep it short. What reason(s) am I giving myself to wait? It may be an uncomfortable list, but write it anyway. What is the smallest real step I can take that will teach me something? Not another month of thinking. Something that pushes the idea into real life. In business, ready enough might mean testing a simple offer with five unbiased people before you build the perfect website, funnel, and brand. You learn what a business needs by allowing people to interact with it. Validate the idea before investing in something you can’t sell. In dating, it might mean going on a date without confirming if this person could be your forever partner. A first date only needs to tell you whether you want a second one. In a career transition, it could mean talking to three people who already do the work, applying for a position, or taking on a project before deciding on your next step. In midlife, it might mean taking the class, going to the event alone, making the appointment, starting the tough conversation, or admitting you want something different before you know exactly what that means. And when it comes to identity, sometimes ready enough is allowing yourself to be curious. You do not need a perfect label, explanation, or declaration before you start listening to your most authentic self. I see the same pattern across business, relationships, and personal transitions. We want clarity before action, but most clarity tends to come after we start. You learn what the business needs when people interact with it. You learn what you want in relationships by showing up and participating. You learn what fits by trying some things on. That is why waiting for certainty can keep us stuck much longer than necessary. I wasn’t ready when I left a “good” corporate job with benefits and a predictable paycheck. There were still unknowns. I had questions. There were things I had to figure out after I left. I was not completely ready. But I had enough of a foundation to move. There will always be something to tweak. Something you didn’t know. Something you would change in hindsight. That is not proof you started too soon. It’s proof you started. So now and then, we need to open our junk drawer and take inventory of everything we already have. Then ask: I have everything I need in this moment, so if I stopped waiting for perfect, what could I really do or start right now? Life does not wait for us or perfection. We do not have to begin without fear. We have to stop waiting for fear to permit us to start.
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Regina Stone is a certified clinical sexologist, coach, business operations strategist, and fractional COO who works where identity, relationships, business, and midlife intersect. She uses her background in corporate audit, entrepreneurship and human behavior to help people uncover what’s really getting in the way and turn insight and ideas into action.
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Coming Home to the Wisdom Within
Welcome to The Wisdom Within There comes a time in a woman’s life when the questions begin to change. For years, perhaps you asked: What do I want to accomplish next? How can I succeed? Who needs me? And then, almost imperceptibly, different questions begin to emerge: What matters to me now? Who am I beneath all the roles I’ve played and everything I’ve accomplished? How do I want to live this next season of my life? These are the questions of the Awakening Wise Woman. She isn’t searching for a new identity. She’s reconnecting with herself — remembering who she is and recognizing the wisdom she’s gathered throughout her lifetime. I know this woman because I’m one, too. And this is where The Wisdom Within begins. Over this six-part series, I invite you to join me in exploring what it means to listen more deeply to ourselves and cultivate a life that reflects what matters most to us now. At the heart of our journey are four invitations: Open Your Heart Listen to Your Soul Trust the Wisdom Within Nurture What’s Alive. Like cultivating a garden, each invites us to create the conditions for something within us to grow and flourish. In our final article, we’ll pause to admire the garden we’ve cultivated—reflecting on what’s grown, what’s changed, and what we want to carry into the next season of our lives. And it all begins with one simple hypothesis: “What if the wisdom you’ve been seeking has been within you all along?” When Success Is No Longer Enough For nearly forty years, I built a rewarding international career, leading people, developing organizations, and traveling the world. I loved what I did, and my career gave me extraordinary opportunities to learn, contribute, and grow. But somewhere along the way, I was so focused on what needed to be done that I stopped paying attention to what was happening within me. My body tried to get my attention. My energy shifted. It whispered—something needs to change. Yet my instinct was the same—keep going. The question I rarely stopped to ask was: “What matters most to me now?” Perhaps some of this sounds familiar. Your story may be different, but you may know what it’s like to be the capable one—the woman who leads, cares, contributes, and keeps life moving. Not because the life you created was wrong, but because the woman you are today is ready to hear her voice. A Gentle Pause Ask yourself, “Whose voice am I listening to most right now?” Beneath the expectations and responsibilities, “What’s my own voice saying?” Pause. Listen. Notice. The Quiet Journey Back My journey back to myself unfolded through transitions, moments of stillness, and eventually quiet moments in my sacred garden. Gradually, I began paying attention to what energized me and what depleted me. I noticed when my body softened and when it tightened. I felt the difference between a wholehearted YES and a yes shaped by expectation or obligation. And I learned something important—inner wisdom rarely shouts. It whispers and speaks through a feeling, a sensation in the body, or simply a knowing we can’t explain. The Awakening Wise Woman becomes curious about these whispers—she doesn’t dismiss them. What the Garden Knows My garden’s one of my greatest teachers. Nothing in nature rushes. A rose doesn’t compare herself with the lavender. Each grows according to its own nature and season. The gardener understands this. She creates the conditions for life to flourish—preparing the soil, watering what’s growing, pruning what’s completed its season, and trusting what she can’t yet see. What if we offered ourselves the same patience and care? Imagine your life as a garden. What’s flourishing? What might be ready for release? What needs more care? And what’s quietly waiting to emerge? For now, simply notice what comes up. They’re not steps to master or another formula for becoming a better version of yourself. They’re invitations to reconnect with the Wise Woman Within as she learns to recognize, trust, and live the wisdom she already carries. Coming Home: Listening to the Wise Woman Within Coming home to yourself doesn’t require having all the answers. Sometimes it begins with simply creating enough space to hear yourself again. Take a few quiet moments with this simple practice and allow yourself to settle, breathe, listen, and receive. The Awakening Wise Woman isn’t starting over. She’s coming home and bringing everything with her—the successes and disappointments, joy and loss, lessons and choices, and the wisdom gathered along the way. Nothing is wasted. It all becomes part of the soil for her next season. Perhaps awakening isn’t about becoming someone new. It begins by listening, remembering who you are, and trusting what you already know. This is the journey home to the wisdom within. Coming Next: Invitation #1 — Open Your Heart In the November–December issue of On Purpose Woman Magazine, we’ll begin exploring the first of our four invitations: Open Your Heart. Together, we’ll consider what it means to create space within ourselves for self-compassion, possibility, and what is ready to emerge. Just as a gardener prepares the soil before planting, opening the heart creates the inner conditions for something new to take root and flourish. Today’s Soul Note The wisdom you seek is already within you. Pause. Listen. Trust what you hear.
The Four Invitations This brings us to the heart of The Wisdom Within: four invitations we’ll explore together over the coming months.
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Charleen M. Michel, Ph.D., founder of Wisdom Unleashed, guides women to reconnect with inner wisdom, authentic voice, and personal power.
Clarity → Confidence → Action → Momentum
Sometimes you know exactly what you want. You can see the possibility and even imagine what your life could look like once you achieve it. The challenge is closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. That gap can be created by not knowing exactly how to get there, not knowing when it will happen, not knowing where to start, or questioning whether you are the right person to make it happen. You are more capable than you currently believe. The good news? You don't have to figure everything out at once. You do need to understand where you are in the process and what deserves your attention next. That's the foundation of the Goal Success System I’m going to share with you. The process is simple: Each part helps you move closer to what you want. CLARITY Before you can make meaningful progress, you need to know what you're moving toward. Clarity gives you direction. It helps you define what you want, understand why it matters, and determine what needs to happen next. Sometimes what you really need isn't more information. Sometimes, you need to pause and calm your mind down long enough to decide what matters most to you right now. What do I really want, and what would meaningful progress look like for me? You don't need to know every step or every detail that needs to happen six months from now. Start with the destination you can see and identify the next step you can take. Your main goal in this step is to get clear on the outcome you want and the next move that will take you closer to it. CONFIDENCE Once you have clarity, the next step is believing you can move toward what you want. Confidence doesn't mean knowing that everything will work out exactly as planned. Confidence also doesn’t mean thinking long and hard before taking action. Confidence is trusting yourself enough to make a decision, take action, learn from what happens, and keep moving. Right now, you have enough knowledge, experience, skills, and ability to take the next clear, confident step towards your goal. You may need to give yourself permission to use them. What would I do if I trusted myself a little more? Do I really believe I can do this? Do I believe I will be successful? Then look for one opportunity to prove to yourself that you can do it. Confidence grows through evidence and action. Every decision you make, every action you take, and every small win gives you another reason to trust that you are not only passionate about it, but capable. Your main goal in this step is to build your confidence by taking action that shows what you’re capable of. ACTION Clarity tells you where you're going. Confidence helps you believe you can get there. Action creates movement. This is the game-changer step. This is where an idea becomes something real and a dream becomes more than just a plan. You don't have to take the biggest step. You don't have to have the entire plan perfectly mapped out. You only need to identify the next simplest action you can take today. What is one thing I can do today that moves me closer to my goal? Make it extremely actionable. Make it so possible that you CAN’T NOT do it. Then do it. Progress becomes easier to see when you stop measuring yourself by how far you have to go and start paying attention to the step directly in front of you. Your main goal in this step is to take the next action instead of waiting for the perfect moment. MOMENTUM Once you begin moving, the next opportunity is to keep moving. Momentum is created through consistent action. You don't have to make progress every day in a huge way. You need a way to continue moving toward what matters. What would make it easier for me to keep moving forward? You may need a simpler routine. You may need to break your goal into smaller steps. You may need to create more structure around your time. You may need to adjust your approach based on what you've learned. Maybe you need to rest today. Yes, proper rest is part of the process! Progress doesn't require perfection. It requires you to show up and say yes again. It requires your willingness to keep going, make adjustments, and take the next step. Your main goal in this step is to create a rhythm that helps you continue making progress. Know What Deserves Your Attention You don't need to change everything at once. You do need to know what part of the process deserves your attention right now. If you're unclear about what you want, focus on CLARITY. If you know what you want but need to trust yourself more, focus on CONFIDENCE. If you know what you want and believe you can do it, focus on ACTION. If you're already moving and want to create more consistency, scale to the next level, or make a greater impact, focus on MOMENTUM. The goal isn't to have every answer today. The goal is to keep closing the gap between where you are and where you want to be. You are capable of more than you may see. You don't have to know exactly when you'll arrive. You don't have to know every step before you begin. You need enough clarity to choose your direction, enough confidence to take the next step, and enough momentum to keep moving. Your next step is closer than you think.
www.shellythecoach.com
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Shelly Eldridge is a Certified Transformation Life Coach who helps ambitious professionals achieve their goals with clear, confident action. Through her proven Goal Success System, Shelly helps you identify what’s holding you back, take the right next step, and make meaningful progress toward the goals that matter most.
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In 1989, my local public library hosted a sleepover as part of its summer reading program for kids. My daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, were four and five years old, and books played a big role in our lives through storytelling and imagination. That night was mostly a fun treat for my children, but I was probably even more excited than they were. We arrived at the library on the designated Saturday night, ready for an evening of adventure with sleeping bags, pillows, toothbrushes, and pajamas. We played games, made art, ate snacks, and, of course, read some books. When it was time to set up our sleeping area, I chose the adult section with self-help and personal growth books, hoping that as we slept, we would be infused with their wisdom. Oh, if only that were true! A quick infusion that would radically change my life and provide immediate solutions to the suffering of the past few years. I thought that would be wonderful! But that’s not how it works. Now, many years later, I understand and accept that quick change is not the most effective way to grow. It takes time to understand who you are, what you need, and how to integrate all the parts of yourself into a life that is truly yours. As you follow the clues and approach life with more curiosity and creativity, you will experience endings and new beginnings. Some endings will take time to accept and may even require grieving. Unlike sudden, frantic, ripping-off-a-Band-Aid-type changes, slow change gives you time to adjust, fine-tune, and make different choices. Slow and steady means you don’t have to blow up your entire life or lose people and jobs unless it is time to intentionally move on to something else. It enables you to explore, experiment, and try different things to see what fits during a life change or transition. It gives you time to realize that what you originally wanted might not be in your best interest and that there might be something else you want to create instead. In 2014, I embarked on a different kind of adventure. I decided to live without a house for a year, relying only on a mailbox in Santa Monica and a small storage unit in Los Angeles. Six months later, I was hired to live in a house in Washington, DC, as a part-time pet and house sitter, with a bedroom, an office, and full access to the house. It was in DC that I first began creating online workshops to share what it's like to live by following clues—using your intuition as a guide and co-creator. A small group of women joined my Zoom room to explore how to “Carve Your Next Path.” I invited them to begin this journey with an assignment: start thinking of yourself as a detective following clues. The Assignment: Get a pocket-sized notebook. Carry it with you and jot down a few words or a sentence or two about what happens during your day. Record ideas, signs, and clues, including thoughts, feelings, and messages on bumper stickers! Clues will appear as things that catch your attention or as a little nudge when you see something that interests you. It could be an ‘aha’ moment when you recognize the song playing in the grocery store, or random words you overhear as you walk past two people talking on the street. The goal is to help you become aware of insights in the moment and to record them for later exploration. Keep your entries simple and brief. Think of yourself as a detective searching for clues that guide you. You can also see this as a Treasure Hunt where you receive one clue at a time. Later, review the clues to see if you notice a pattern and to expand their meaning by writing down things you remember about your life. During the 12-week workshop, the “clues” my participants gathered highlighted the choices they were already making, as well as their habits, strengths, weaknesses, and desires. There were signs of confirmation, clues that inspired simple action steps, ideas that led them to make changes, and reconnections with memories that served as clues. Following the clues is a skill that develops gradually as each layer is uncovered. To embark on this journey, you learn to focus your energy and attention on the present moment while becoming aware of different layers of consciousness. These practices have no fixed end. You won’t master a relationship with your intuition overnight. Your life will be long, and you can revisit the same lessons and practices to apply these skills repeatedly in various situations. See the clues as seeds to plant, and notice which ones feel like a call to take a small action. As time goes on, you’ll begin to hear your own voice more clearly. You’ll learn to trust yourself, even during times of change or transition, and to move through life with quiet confidence that comes from following the clues that lead you to listen to your inner voice. Following the clues is an invitation to practice, explore, experiment, and discover the power of your intuition. Begin here: Carry a small notebook or use an app like Notes or Voice Notes to jot down insights as you go about the world. Dedicate a journal, a Word document, or an app such as Obsidian to expand on those insights. Sprinkle in curiosity and creativity and… Enjoy the Adventure of YOU!
Andrea Hylen: Author of Follow the Clues: Living Your Life as a Grand Experiment with Curiosity, Courage, and Creativity. Founder of Heal My Voice and The Incubator: Online Co-working Space for Women Creatives and Ancestral Lineage Healing Practitioner. www.andreahylen.com
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4
Some moments in life quietly invite us to pause. They rarely announce themselves as turning points or explain why they are happening. More often, they come disguised as an unexpected conversation, a closed door, an illness, a heartbreak, or a season we never would have chosen for ourselves. Often, it's only later, when we look back, that we realize something was gently redirecting us all along. I can see those moments throughout my own life. There were times I was certain I had taken a wrong turn, times I prayed for circumstances to change, and times I desperately wanted to understand why something was happening. Looking back, I can see that many of those experiences were not taking me away from my path. They were bringing me closer to myself. I believe the When Light Leads Movement was born from those moments and the understanding that slowly unfolded through them. This movement is not about becoming someone new or following someone else's path. It is an invitation to remember who you were before life taught you who you were supposed to be. It asks us to look beneath the roles we play, the expectations we carry, and the identities we have created to discover what remains. It is an invitation to Remember. Surrender. Love. Embody. When I use the word Light, I am speaking about the Divine presence within each of us. For me, that presence is God. For you, it may be Divine Love, Spirit, Source, the Universe, your Higher Self, or simply a quiet wisdom within that you cannot fully explain. I have learned not to become too attached to the language. Words are human attempts to describe something much greater than words. I did not always understand this. In 2019, I had a near-death experience. People sometimes ask what I saw or what happened, but those details have never felt like the most important part of my story. What stayed with me were the words I heard: "It's not your time. Go back and share the Light." When I returned, I believed I understood exactly what those words meant. I thought I had been given a mission to go into the world and share the Light with other people. I carried that message into treatment rooms, classrooms, workshops, friendships, and conversations with people from every walk of life. At the same time, I continued asking God what it really meant. I wanted an answer. What I did not understand was that I had been given a journey. Through more than two decades of working closely with people, I have had the privilege of hearing thousands of stories. People have come to me carrying physical pain, grief, illness, relationship struggles, exhaustion, fear, and uncertainty. Their circumstances were different, but beneath their individual stories I began noticing something remarkably similar. So many were quietly wondering whether they were enough. They wanted to trust themselves again and reconnect with a part of themselves they could sense was still there but could no longer easily hear. Perhaps I recognized that longing because I carried it too. Beneath all the helping, learning, healing, and serving, there were parts of me that still believed there was some future version of myself I needed to become. I thought if I learned enough, healed enough, served enough, or understood enough, I would eventually arrive. I didn’t realize my life wasn't leading me toward something I lacked. It was bringing me back to something I had forgotten. A few years after my near-death experience, that lesson became impossible to ignore when I became critically ill with COVID. For months, I was unable to walk, and almost overnight, the life I knew came to a stop. I could not work the way I always had or move through the world independently. The woman who had spent so much of her life caring for other people suddenly needed other people to care for her. That was incredibly difficult because so much of my identity was connected to what I could do. I was a healer, massage therapist, teacher, mother, business owner, and someone people counted on. Suddenly, I could not show up in the ways I was accustomed to, and I was forced to face a question I had never truly considered: Who was I if I could no longer do the things that made me feel useful? I would love to say I immediately recognized the spiritual lesson in that experience, but I did not. I wanted my body back. I wanted my independence back. I wanted my work and my life back. Yet somewhere inside those months of stillness, something began to shift. When so much of what I used to define myself became unavailable, I was left with myself. Beneath the fear and frustration, I began to recognize something illness could not take from me. Beneath my titles, accomplishments, responsibilities, and even the limitations of my physical body was a presence that remained untouched. The Light was still there. For the first time, I understood the message I had been given years earlier in a different way. Sharing the Light was never about giving people something they did not have. The Light was never mine to give. It belongs to all of us. My role was not to fix or rescue anyone. My role was to create spaces where people could feel safe enough to remember what was already within them. I could listen, love, hold space, and trust that the Divine was already at work. That realization changed my understanding of healing and purpose, but perhaps most importantly, it changed my relationship with myself. I began to understand that I did not have to earn my worth through what I accomplished or prove my purpose through how many people I helped. I could simply be. Looking back, I realize that was where When Light Leads was truly born. It was not originally a book or a movement. It became a way of living. Instead of constantly asking, what am I supposed to do next? I began asking, how would the Light lead me today? I am still learning to live this way. Some days I want certainty, I question myself, or fall back into believing I should be doing more. The difference is that I recognize those moments sooner now, and I know where to return. That is the heartbeat of the When Light Leads Movement. It is not another formula for becoming a better version of yourself. Transformation is not always about adding something or becoming more. Perhaps sometimes it is about releasing everything we learned to carry that was never truly ours. Over the coming months, I invite you to explore four simple invitations with me: Remember. Surrender. Love. Embody. They are not steps to complete or another spiritual checklist to master. They are invitations to become curious about our own lives and listen more closely to what may already be guiding us. In the November/December issue, we begin with Remember, because somewhere along the way many of us stopped asking, who am I? and began asking, who do I need to be? Who were you before the world told you who to be? What if the peace you have been searching for is not somewhere farther down the road? What if the woman you have been trying so hard to become has been there all along? Until next time, I invite you to pause a little more often and listen a little more deeply. Most of all, I invite you to begin asking yourself the question that changed so much for me: How would the Light lead me today? Perhaps you will discover that the Light was never somewhere outside of you waiting to be found. It has been quietly leading you home all along.
Cheryl Ragland Pace is the author of Be the Change • Be the Light, founder of Change Your Pace Massage & Hypnosis and Be the Change • Be the Light, and creator of the When Light Leads Movement. An author, speaker, healer, and educator, Cheryl’s work invites others to remember who they are, trust the wisdom within, and allow the Light to lead them home.
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Amen. Ashe’. And so it is. This is the third and final article in a journey from treading water, to surviving, and now to thriving. Each stage has required truth-telling, courage, and grace. Treading water taught me how to keep moving when I could barely see the shore. Surviving taught me how to breathe again, how to choose healing, and how to reclaim pieces of myself that trauma had tried to silence. Thriving asks something even deeper of me: to live fully, intentionally, and engaged with the life God has given me. For many years, control felt like protection. I remember sitting with my therapist and talking honestly about my commitment to always be in control, to do things myself, and to avoid asking for help. We discussed how people who have been traumatized by sexual abuse sometimes make an inner declaration: I will never be out of control again. Bingo. That was me. I’ve been sexually abused more than once by men who were known to my family. That truth shaped how I moved through the world. It shaped how much I tried to carry alone. It shaped the way I performed, achieved, dressed, gave, and succeeded—often in search of a sense of worthiness that no outside accomplishment could permanently provide. Worthiness has been one of my greatest lessons. It took me many years to believe, deep in my bones, that I am worthy. Even now, from time to time, the old feelings still try to ghost me. I have had to learn to recognize them, name them, and return to the truth. I was born worthy. My worth is not something I earn; it is part of my birthright. Therapy, spiritual practices, and affirmations have helped me dismantle the mountain I built while trying to prove I was enough. Daily practices—meditation, journaling, affirmations, spiritual readings, and visible reminders such as “Good morning, gorgeous” and “I am worthy now”—help me stay connected to myself. Speaking love to myself, especially in my most challenging moments, helps me remember: I belong to me, I love me, and I value me. These tools continue to support me in knowing the truth: I am worthy. I love myself. I value myself. I now understand that thriving is not about perfection, constant happiness, or having every answer. Thriving is about living awake. It is about choosing practices that support my spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical self. It is about staying in relationship with my own life. I often return to Maya Angelou’s wisdom: at this stage of life, I would not give anything for my journey now. My journey has not always been easy, but it has made me more compassionate, more discerning, more grounded, and more available to help other women navigate their own paths. That is why I describe myself as a life GPS. As a life and spiritual coach, I do not claim to drive anyone’s car or choose anyone’s destination. Instead, I collaborate with women as they listen for direction, notice detours, reroute when necessary, and move toward a life that feels purposeful, engaged, and truly their own. Thriving begins when we stop waiting for permission to live. It begins when we decide that our healing matters, our joy matters, our voice matters, and our next chapter matters. If you have been treading water, if you have been surviving, or if you are finally ready to thrive, I invite you to begin where you are. Your route can be recalculated. Your life can open. Your next chapter can start now. Questions? Comments? Complete the “Drop me a line” on my website, www.RuthLittlejohn.com
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Publisher, Laura Di Franco, chats with Ginny Robertson about holistic, spiritual entrepreneurship and what it means to lead a purpose-driven life.
Ruth Littlejohn is a life and spiritual coach, ordained minister, and facilitator who helps women move from simply getting through life to living with clarity, purpose, and alignment. She is passionate about guiding others to reimagine their lives and thrive.
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I came to this work through my own experience with Superwoman syndrome. Doing it all, pushing through exhaustion, and relying on sugar and caffeine to keep going. Discovering food as medicine helped me find my way back to my body and my own inner wisdom. Today, I bring more than 30 years of nursing and leadership experience together with my training in holistic wellness coaching, psychotherapy, nutritional endocrinology, clinical herbalism, breathwork, flower essence practitioner and mind-body practices. Through Zest and Harmony, I support women, especially Black women, who are ready to release the pressure to keep pushing, proving, and carrying it all. My work weaves together nourishing food, herbs, flower essences, breathwork, stillness, and nature to help women restore their energy, reconnect with themselves, and feel vibrant and nourished from the inside out. I believe wellness isn’t another task to accomplish. It is a way of living in deeper connection with our bodies, our inner wisdom, and the wisdom our ancestors carried.
Hello, I’m Cassandra Herbert, founder of Zest and Harmony, a holistic wellness coaching and consulting practice.
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A shift happens in late summer. The light changes. The air loses that thick, heavy edge. School supplies show up in stores. Pumpkin spice starts creeping onto menus. And somewhere in the back of your mind, a quiet voice says, okay, this is my moment. I want you to listen to that voice this time. Not with a crash diet or a punishing workout plan you'll abandon by week three. I'm talking about something smaller, steadier, and - this is the part that matters most - something that actually protects your heart. If your doctor has started using words like "let's watch this closely," you already know the stakes feel different now. You need habits that are sustainable, science-backed, and honest about the life you're actually living, the one with the early morning meetings, the friend group that orders dessert, and the family history that keeps you up at night. So let's talk about what actually moves the needle. Starting with the thing most of us were never told. We Got the Villain Wrong - It Was Sugar All Along For decades, fat was the enemy. Low-fat everything. Fat-free labels on foods that were somehow still making us sicker. We followed the rules. We swapped butter for margarine and whole milk for skim. We ate the cardboard rice cakes and called it discipline. And yet…heart disease in women kept climbing. Here's what the research has been building toward for years, and what institutions like the American Heart Association and physicians like Dr. Mark Hyman have been saying with increasing conviction: Added sugar may be one of the most underestimated threats to your cardiovascular system. A landmark study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that people who got 17 to 21 percent of their daily calories from added sugar had a 38 percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease - compared to those who kept it under 8 percent. That's not a small number. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 25 grams of added sugar per day for women. Most of us are consuming two to three times that before lunch. This isn't about blame. It's about information you deserved long ago. Because when you understand what's actually driving the risk, you stop fighting the wrong battle, and you start making changes that actually protect your heart. So What Exactly Is Added Sugar? This is the question I get more than almost any other, and it's a smart one. Added sugar is the term that gets thrown around constantly by doctors, on nutrition labels, in health articles, and almost nobody stops actually to explain it. Here's the simple truth: Added sugar is any sugar put into a food during processing or preparation. It is NOT the natural sugar found in a whole apple, plain Greek yogurt, or a handful of blueberries. Those come packaged with fiber, vitamins, and minerals that slow how quickly sugar enters your bloodstream. Added sugar has none of that protection. It hits your system fast, spikes your blood sugar, triggers an insulin response, and over time, that repeated cycle puts real, measurable strain on your blood vessels, your blood pressure, and your heart. And here's the part that catches most women off guard: it's rarely hiding where you expect it. It's in the flavored coffee creamer. The "heart healthy" granola bar. The bottled salad dressing. The pasta sauce. The yogurt with the fruit on the bottom. The protein bar that feels virtuous because it has the word "protein" on the front. A single grande pumpkin spice latte can carry close to 50 grams of added sugar. That's double your entire daily recommended limit, in one cup, before you've eaten a single bite of food. Now, don’t get me wrong here. This isn't about never enjoying something sweet again. It's about knowing where the sugar is actually coming from so you can make choices that protect your heart and still feel like yours. That's not restriction. That's information doing its job. Why Your Body Is Responding Differently Now If it feels like your body stopped playing by the old rules somewhere in your 40s, you're not imagining it. As estrogen declines, your body becomes significantly more sensitive to blood sugar swings. Every spike and crash puts more strain on your blood vessels and your metabolism than it did a decade ago. That afternoon energy crash you've learned to push through? It's not a willpower problem. It's not a caffeine problem. It's a signal. Your body is telling you that the sugar load it absorbed a few hours earlier has moved through your system, and now everything is paying the price. For women carrying cardiovascular risk factors - elevated blood pressure, high cholesterol, blood sugar numbers creeping in the wrong direction - this cycle isn't just uncomfortable. It's cumulative. Every spike adds inflammatory pressure to a system that is already working hard. As Dr. Mark Hyman describes it, sugar triggers a cascade of inflammation that damages blood vessel walls, raises triglycerides, and drives up the very risk factors your doctor is already watching closely. This is why the conversation about heart health in women has to include sugar. Not as a scare tactic. Not as another thing to feel guilty about. But as information that finally connects the dots between what you're eating, how you're feeling, and what's actually happening inside your cardiovascular system. When you understand the mechanism, making small changes stops feeling like discipline. It starts feeling like self-respect. Three Swaps That Actually Stick This is not an elimination challenge. These are three small, seasonal swaps that protect your heart without making you feel like an outsider in your own life. Swap 1 - Trade the pumpkin spice latte for a cinnamon spice coffee. Brew your coffee with a shake of real Ceylon cinnamon and a splash of regular or plant-based milk. You still get the cozy fall flavor you're craving. You skip the 50 grams of added sugar that would have your energy crashing before your next meeting. Swap 2 - Trade sugary apple cider for a sparkling apple cinnamon spritzer. Look for pure apple cider with zero added sugar; the label should show nothing but apples. Mix it with sparkling water and add a Ceylon cinnamon stick. Ceylon cinnamon (stick or powdered) has been shown to support healthy blood sugar levels and reduce inflammation. Same cozy fall flavor. A quiet but real bonus for your cardiovascular system with every sip. Swap 3 - Trade the after-dinner candy bowl for roasted fruit with nut butter. When something sweet calls your name after dinner, and it will, roasted apples or pears with a spoonful of almond butter satisfy that craving while giving your body fiber and healthy fat instead of a sugar hit that disrupts your sleep and your blood sugar overnight. Small swaps. Real flavor. Real results. Here's what I want you to hold onto: You are not white-knuckling your way through fall. You are making smarter choices with the flavors you already love, and every single one of those choices is quietly, consistently working in favor of your heart. The Breakfast Shift That Changes Everything If you only change one thing this fall, make it breakfast, or whatever your first meal of the day looks like. I know that sounds bold. But after all my years in health and fitness, it's one of the most consistent things I've seen move the needle for real women living real lives. Here's what we know, and this applies whether you're eating at 7am or breaking a fast at noon: Protein at your first meal of the day, not just somewhere in your day, has an outsized effect on preserving muscle mass as we get older. And muscle isn't just about strength or how your clothes fit. Muscle is metabolically active tissue that helps regulate blood sugar, supports your cardiovascular system, and keeps your energy stable throughout the day. In midlife, muscle loss accelerates. Less muscle means a slower metabolism, worse blood sugar control, and added strain on your heart. A high-protein breakfast helps counter all of that. It also keeps you fuller longer, so you are not the woman running on coffee until 11am and then making food decisions that have nothing to do with hunger and everything to do with desperation. We’ve all been here. I’ve been here. The target is 25 to 30 grams of protein at that first meal. Eggs, Greek yogurt (regular or plant-based), cottage cheese, a protein-forward smoothie - all get you there quickly. This one shift is one of the most powerful, lowest-effort things you can do for your energy, your muscle, and your heart. I've included a recipe at the end of this article that makes it almost effortless, even on your most stretched-thin mornings. Your Heart Is Worth This You don't need a perfect plan. You need a true one. One that fits your real life, honors your body, and quietly - consistently - works in favor of the heart that has been carrying you through everything. Start with one swap this week. Read one label. Make one breakfast that actually fuels you. That's the whole ask. Because the woman who makes one small, smart choice today is the same woman who looks back six months from now and can't believe how different she feels. That woman is already in you. Now it's your turn to show up for her.
Suzie Jeffreys is a leader in the field of Health and Fitness with 3+ decades experience. She holds a degree in Kinesiology, is an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, Diabetes Prevention Coach and has credentials as an “Exercise is Medicine” specialist.
Suzie Jeffreys Living Fitness Rx - Your Rx for Heart Healthy Living 443-574-5274 www.livingfitnessrx.com
There is a particular kind of uncertainty that begins before anything has officially changed. You are still in the job, the leadership role, the responsibility, or the life you have known for years. From the outside, everything may look much the same. You continue to show up, meet expectations, and do what needs to be done. But inwardly, something has shifted. You have begun to see the signs. The work that once felt meaningful now leaves you depleted. A role that once fit has become too small or too costly. You can no longer ignore the persistent sense that it is time for a change. Knowing that you need to leave, however, is not the same as knowing where you are going. You may have a vague sense of what you want—more freedom, more meaning, a slower pace, a different kind of contribution — yet the picture remains fuzzy and the path forward even less clear. When Something No Longer Fits This is often where fear and confusion rush in. Capable, responsible women are accustomed to finding solutions. We research, plan, weigh the options, and draw on what has helped us navigate difficult decisions before. When those familiar approaches do not produce clarity, self-doubt often takes their place. We begin to wonder whether we have become indecisive, ungrateful, unproductive, spiritually disconnected, or somehow less capable than we once were. Even prayer, reflection, or discernment may offer no immediate answer. Gratitude can become tangled with guilt: How can I want something different when this life or career has given me so much? The deeper fear is often simple and difficult to admit: What if I let go and never find my way forward? I know something about that fear. After twenty years in the affordable housing field, I knew I had reached the end of a professional chapter. Leaving was not easy, but over time it became clear that I could no longer remain where I was. I imagined that once I found the courage to leave, the next direction would reveal itself. It didn’t happen that way. I spent nearly a year volunteering in rural Haiti, an experience that was both meaningful and transformative. When I returned home, however, I still had no clear vision for my next chapter. I had made a significant change and followed what felt like a genuine call, yet the future remained uncertain. Leaving had been clearer than becoming. The Deeper Transition That surprised me. I was used to taking action, building a plan, and doing what had worked before. This transition required something different. I couldn’t force a new identity into existence simply because the old one had ended. Over time, I began to understand that the in-between season had started long before I resigned from my job. It began when I first recognized that the life I had built no longer fit who I was becoming. We often think of transition as the visible event: the resignation, the retirement, the final day, the move, the ending of a responsibility. Yet the deeper transition frequently begins much earlier. It begins when we can no longer fully inhabit the old life, even though the new one has not yet taken shape. This space can feel deeply uncomfortable. It can also be meaningful. Sacred does not necessarily mean peaceful, beautiful, or free from fear. Sometimes a season is sacred because it asks us to pay attention and even sit with discomfort. It invites us to honor what is ending, listen more closely to what is stirring, and resist the urge to rush toward an answer to escape uncertainty. Like trees releasing their leaves in autumn, we may know it is time to let go while still grieving what the old life has meant to us. Even then, the space between chapters is not empty. When we stop demanding immediate certainty, quieter truths become easier to notice. We begin to see how much of life has been shaped by obligation or by identities carried faithfully for many years. Restlessness may reveal grief; fear may contain an unexpected sense of relief. A desire once dismissed as impractical keeps returning. A conversation, experience, or quiet curiosity carries more energy than we expected. The next chapter often arrives first as a whisper rather than a plan. Trusting What Is Taking Shape Living attentively in this season does not mean remaining passive. Honest conversations, time away from familiar routines, prayer, journaling, experimentation, or support from someone who can listen without directing the outcome can all help. Through small steps, we notice what brings life, what feels constricted, and what deserves further attention. We do not need to see the whole path before we begin. Perhaps the question for this season is: What might begin to reveal itself if you loosened your need to have the right answer right now? There will still be decisions to make and practical realities to address. Trust does not remove those responsibilities. It allows us to meet them without treating uncertainty as proof that we have lost our way. The in-between asks something quieter of us than certainty. It asks us to stay close to what we deeply know, even when that knowing is incomplete: this no longer fits; something is changing; a different life is beginning to call. The next chapter rarely arrives as a complete vision. More often, it takes shape gradually through choices, conversations, and small acts of courage. We may not yet know where the path leads, but we can trust that paying attention to what is stirring within us is already part of finding our way.
“The deeper transition begins when we can no longer fully inhabit the old life, even though the new one has not yet taken shape.”
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Lisa Beacham helps accomplished, spiritually minded professionals in mid-late career who are feeling empty, disconnected, and stuck to build a fulfilling and impactful next chapter with greater clarity, confidence, and peace of mind. She is a coach, spiritual director, and retreat leader with more than 25 years of experience.
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Synopsis of Article I: Every meaningful transformation begins with awareness. In the first article of The Story You Were Born to Live series, you'll discover how observing your life with curiosity reveals the wisdom hidden within your experiences. Throughout these three articles, you'll journey through the Soul Story truths of Observe, Rewrite, and Choose Joy, learning how your story can become a source of healing, purpose, and hope—for yourself and those you are meant to impact. To read the article , click HERE.
Article II: Rewrite — Transforming Your Experiences Into a Story of Possibility Once you begin observing your life, another truth emerges. You realize that while you cannot change what happened, you can change the meaning you give it. You decide what the event means to you. This is where the second Soul Story truth begins: Rewriting your story. For many women, the stories they carry about themselves were formed long ago. Perhaps someone told you that your voice didn't matter. Perhaps you learned to stay small to keep others comfortable. Perhaps painful experiences convinced you that you weren't enough, weren't worthy, or weren't capable. Without realizing it, these beliefs became part of the narrative you carried forward. Over time, they shaped your decisions, influenced your confidence, and affected the way you saw yourself. What if those stories were never the whole truth? What if your life has been inviting you to see yourself differently? Rewriting your story does not mean pretending difficult experiences never happened. It means reclaiming your power within them. It means asking new questions. Instead of asking: "Why did this happen to me?" You begin asking: "What did this experience teach me?" Instead of: "What's wrong with me?" You ask: "What strength did I discover because of this?" Instead of: "I can't because..." You begin exploring: "What becomes possible if I can?" This shift changes everything. The story perspective changes from limitation to possibility. Your attitude becomes one of thriving with passion and purpose. As you begin writing about your experiences, you often discover that what once felt like a wound has become a source of insight. The struggle that nearly broke you developed compassion. The obstacle that seemed impossible revealed courage. The uncertainty that frightened you strengthened your faith. Your experiences become evidence of your resilience. This is one of the greatest gifts of reflective writing. Writing allows us to revisit our experiences from a place of greater understanding and compassion. The page becomes a sacred space where healing can occur. A place where truth can replace old narratives. A place where possibility can emerge. And as you rewrite your story, you begin to step into the person you are meant to be. Not despite your experiences. Because of them. The wisdom gained through life's challenges becomes part of who we are in the world. Your story becomes a bridge connecting your past to your purpose. My breast cancer diagnosis and my writing were and are an integral part of my healing. Sharing the story of that life experience is transformational for me and for those who hear it. I stepped into my passion and pursued my purpose. Your story is a bridge others can walk across as they navigate their own journeys. When you courageously rewrite your story, you offer hope. You remind others that they are not trapped by their circumstances. You demonstrate that healing is possible. You show that transformation is available. Most importantly, you become living proof that our greatest challenges often become our greatest teachers. Your story is unique to you, which is why you are the only one who knows your story from the inside out. Sharing your story allows others to feel they are not alone in navigating the challenging journey they are on. Your story is still being written. And every day offers another opportunity to choose a narrative rooted in truth, compassion, and possibility. The stories you've carried about yourself do not have to be the stories that define your future. When you choose to view your experiences through the lens of wisdom rather than limitation, new possibilities emerge. An Inspired Soul Story Roadmap Session can help you identify the beliefs that no longer serve you, recognize the strengths your life has cultivated, and begin rewriting your story from a place of truth, courage, and self-compassion. Your past may be part of your story, but it is not the end of it. Book your Inspired Soul Story Roadmap Session and discover how your experiences can become the foundation for your next chapter.
Mary E. Knippel, author, speaker, and Soul Story Mentor, draws on 40+ years of journalism and a lifelong journaling practice to help women transform experiences into stories of hope and wisdom. A three-time breast cancer thriver, she inspires others to share their voice, heal, and create meaningful legacies through storytelling. Learn more at
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Until now, Parts 1 through 4 of The New Centenarians have been an accounting of lessons learned and experiences I've had in my 60s and early 70s. I have changed. I am living as a BLOOMER, aka a New Centenarian. I have spent much of the last ten years breaking down walls built by the culture into which I was born. Breaking down those walls has required UN-learning, de-conditioning and de-programming. And I've discovered something interesting: Every time I deconstruct a long-accepted "truth," I leave a void. Something new has to take its place. Spiritual Deconstruction and Rebuilding In the spiritual realm, for example, I was introduced to A Course in Miracles (ACIM), published by the Foundation for Inner Peace. My loosely Protestant upbringing programmed into me a belief in an omniscient, omnipotent "God"—the arbiter and judge of all truth. God was HE/HIM. Masculine. The Father. God was separate from me, somewhere above, and I understood that I would go to heaven if I obeyed the rules—specifically, the Ten Commandments. I lived with this as an underlying truth. I say "loosely Protestant" because I existed somewhere on a spectrum from believer to agnostic, and I generally fell closer to the agnostic end. On the other hand, when times were tough and I was scared—when I was in the throes of uncertainty and trembling—I prayed to that God and pleaded with HIM to save me. HE came through every time. Then I encountered another way of understanding God. A Course in Miracles was scribed by psychologist Helen Schucman through what she described as an inner dictation from Jesus, with the assistance of her colleague William Thetford. Its teaching of our fundamental oneness—with God and with one another —made sense to me. This is what I have come to call Unity Consciousness. Rather than God existing somewhere "out there," I began to understand each of us as an expression of God, with what ACIM calls the Christ within us. A new truth filled the void left by the dethroning of my separate God. Unity Consciousness With that, SPIRIT became the center of my practice, A Well-Integrated Life™. For me, this is not a religious belief system. It is a knowing. It is Unity Consciousness. Unity Consciousness changes the way I see the world. Unity Consciousness changes the way I see myself in the world. Unity Consciousness asks me to become more fully myself—not merely for myself, but so that my individual expression can best serve the whole. It tells me that I serve best by living an authentic life, true to my soul's purpose. And Unity Consciousness opens my eyes to unlimited possibilities. With unlimited possibilities comes one of my favorite questions: Why NOT me? Becoming the New Model of the 100+ Year Life Unlimited possibility means there is no existing model for MY best life. And perhaps that's the point. There’s no model of the 100-plus-year life to which I aspire. I am creating it. When I launched Graceing Agefully™ in 2022, I said its mission was: “To Change the Culture of Aging." I see something that I couldn't see as clearly then. The culture of aging is already changing. The old culture gave us a model of 100 built largely around Expiration. Our generation has the opportunity to create another one. A model of Inspiration and Expansion in the decades after 60, 70, 80 and 90. Imagine what that model might offer the generations behind us. Instead of teaching them to fear getting old, we could inspire them to look forward to becoming older. To live longer and thrive. The BLOOMERS—aka The New Centenarians—are already doing this. I am not their leader. I am one of them. New Centenarians question the rules that have governed their lives. New Centenarians create new rules for the lives they are living now. New Centenarians make their lives their work. Where Do We Go From Here? Go toward Hope. Go toward Peace. Let your life unfold. Just do today. Create small habits. Small habits practiced consistently can change the course of a life. Move when you wake up. Swing your arms. Lift your knees. Make your way to the coffee machine dancing! My chiropractor likes to remind me that "motion is lotion." Live intentionally. The "chores" you do keep your world in order. They provide sustenance for your family, your pets and even nature. Feed the dog. Walk her. Clean the litter box. Water the plants. Fill the bird feeder. Empty the dishwasher. Make the bed. These ordinary acts keep chaos at bay. What changes if you do them with love instead of resentment? Embrace change. You can't stop it. It's happening whether you accept it or not. What you resist persists. Look for the beauty in change. Dedicate time to silence every day. Listen to what comes up without distraction. Write in a journal. Draw. Sit quietly. Allow thoughts to come through—and allow them to go. Listen fully when someone else is speaking before you prepare your response. Try saying nothing for a moment and notice what comes up in the silence. Try something new. Approach it with a beginner's mind—even if you've done it before but haven't done it in years. Push through the resistance. And then give yourself credit. Don't measure the achievement by how well you did it. Measure it by the fact that you did it! You showed up. Know yourself—from your inner child to your higher self. When you're uncertain, ask: What would my higher self do or say in this situation? Then do—or say—that. This Series May Be Ending. The New Centenarians Are Not. The next installment, in the November/December issue of On Purpose Woman Magazine, will conclude this six-part series. I am deeply grateful to Ginny Robertson, founder of On Purpose Woman, and to the magazine for giving me this precious space to explore and create. Writing these six pieces has allowed something to happen that I didn't fully anticipate when I began. It gave me a place to gestate—and give birth to—The New Centenarians. And now I know I am not finished. I plan to continue The New Centenarians as a Substack publication of its own—a place where I can share the unfolding of my own 100-plus-year life and, even more importantly, invite other BLOOMERS and New Centenarians to share theirs. Because if we are creating a new model of aging, one person cannot create it alone. We create the model by living it. I hope you'll join me. And I hope you'll bring your story.
Jennifer K. Sproul is the founder of Graceing Agefully™, a platform she built to change the ‘culture’ of aging. Her program ‘Living a Well-Integrated Life™’ has become the foundational practice for her expansion. Jennifer is a Realtor™ in the Washington, DC metro area.
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Jennifer Sproul Founder, Graceing Agefully™ Creator of The New Centenarians
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Upper Marlboro, MD Beginning With Compassion. Offering digital products focused on self-care tailored to caregivers personal journey and wholistic needs. www.beginningwithcompassion.com beginningwithcompassion@gmail.com 240-354-9174 Dr. Belinda Lee Wright, Fallston, MD I help women rediscover their true essence so that they can create fulfilling and meaningful relationships. www.BelindaLeeWright.com Belinda@belindaleewright.com Beth Shekinah Terrence, Annapolis, MD & Virtual. Holistic Recovery Pathways, LLC. Holistic Shamanic Transformation Programs. Holistic Recovery Coaching for Addiction, Mental Health & Trauma. Healers Mentorship. www.bethshekinah.com connect@bethshekinah.com 443-223-0848 Beverly Hamilton, CHT, Baltimore, MD Soul-utions Hypnosis. Connecting women to their starbabies; 3Keys® Hypnofertility/Hypnobirth. Free self-hypnosis recording www.SoulutionsHypnosis.com HypnoAromaBev@gmail.com 410-663-5089 Cassandra Herbert, Burtonsville, MD Zest and Harmony. Holistic herbalism, 1:1 and group health and wellness coaching, women circles www.zestandharmonycounseling.com cassandra@zestandharmony.com 410-415-1454 Charlotte Habegger. QC CanadaConnect With Wellness. Natural nutrition, home and body care for a wholesome, purposeful, and minimalist lifestyle. ca.shaklee.com/en_CA/charlottehabegger charhabegger@gmail.com 367 380-3019 Charleen M. Michel, Ph.D. Quartino/Ticino/Switzerland Wisdom Unleashed with Charleen Michel. Guiding women to embody truth, express their voice, and transform their lives with inner authority. www.wisdomunleashed.ch charleen.michel@icloud.com +41 79 419 6409 Cheri Martin, Maryville, TN So Social Visionary. The Soulful Strategist in a Season of Shift. Author-in-Progress; Where love, loss, and leadership meet, that’s where my next chapter begins. www.linkedin.com/in/cherimartin Cherryll Sevy, Los Gatos, CA Living Forward After Fifty. Writer/Speaker, inspiring and guiding women to a full life. www.cherryllsevy.com Cheryl Ragland Price, Arnold, MD Change Your Pace Massage & Hypnosis & Be the Change Be the Light LLC. My business helps individuals remember who they are as Souls, reconnect within, and heal body, mind, and spirit. www.ChangeYourPace.com Bethechangebethelight.org Bethechangebethelight1111@gmail.com 410-693-9403 Cindy Freland, Bowie, MD Cindy Freland, Author. Children learn about the Chesapeake Bay by reading my books. www.cbaykidsbooks.com cindyrenefreland@gmail.com 240-882-5429 Claudette W. Gadsden, Caret, VA Coach Claudette & Associates. We guide women to more clear concise conversations. Let's Talk! www.CoachClaudette.com Debb Walker, Orlando, FL Sunshine and Smiles Photography. Images of nature's beauty for your home and office and custom headshot/branding images for entrepreneurs. www.sunshineandsmilesphotography.com www.weeklynaturebreaks.com debb@sunshineandsmilesphotography.com Doria Musaga, Columbia, MD BEMER Distributor. BEMER therapy improves blood flow to increase energy. Decreases, pain chronic fatigue, aids recovery from injury. www.bmruniversity.com/whatisbemer www.nursedoria.bemergroup.com 667-786-1032 Ellen Koronet, Frederick Co, MD LNK Creative. Lead Magnet Strategies: creative bubble mapping, quizzes, and assessments. EllenKoronet@LNKcreative.com Free chat: bit.ly/LNK-talk 240-315-3371 Elizabeth Lerner, Washington, DC CAT, LCPAT, LPC ATR-BC. Your Inspired Choices, LLC. Personal Coaching, Psychotherapy, Divorce Well and Thrive® Coaching, Enlightened Communication™ courses +retreats for luminous living. www.yourinspiredchoices.com Elohi Magdalena Rosa, Annapolis, MD The Rose Grail | Anarayah Collective, LLC. Sacred feminine teachings, channeled transmissions, voice alchemy—guiding women home to embodied love and themselves. www.anarayahcollective.com elohi@anarayahcollective.com 410-639-6777 Emily Shull, The Netherlands Me Myself and Money. I offer holistic money coaching to help you understand and heal your relationship with money. www.memyselfandmoney.com Gail Dixon, Tallahassee, FL The Heart’s Voice Movement. A movement guiding leaders to build stronger relationships, healthier cultures, and greater impact through heart-centered communication. www.heartsvoicemovement.com gail@heartsvoicemovement.com 850-212-3451 Gerise Pappas, Phoenix, MD Transformational Life Coach & Enneagram Facilitator working with growth-oriented individuals ready to replace fear-based habits with inspired action. www.GerisePappas.com Gina Hogan Edwards, Tallahassee, FL Creativity Coach, Author, Editor, Podcaster. Story Camp Women’s Writing Retreats,Women Writing for CHANGE www.ginahoganedwards.com/Links gina@AroundTheWritersTable.com 850-766-6029 Ginny Robertson, Lutherville, MD On Purpose Woman Global Community. 8 Free Zoom gatherings each month. In-person meeting in Columbia, MD and Tallahassee, FL www.OPWGC.com Ginny Robertson, Lutherville, MD On Purpose Woman Magazine. Go to the website to read the current and back issues, for advertising rates, and info on writing for the magazine or being our cover artist. www.OPWGC/magazine Dr. Heather Tucker Another Level Living, Inc. Virtual. Biz/Life Harmony Training and Coaching to Increase Your Confidence, Calm, and Cash Flow! www.AnotherLevelLiving.com Jamie Cole, Columbia, MD Direct Reflect Expect. Life coaching with your Human Design. Calibrate to your inner guidance system. Navigate with confidence. www.directreflectexpect.net jamiec@directreflectexpect.net Text: 443-791-6123 Jennifer Palmer, Columbia, MD Nourishing Journey Café & Wellness Center. Healing Bodies ~ Opening Minds ~ Uniting Hearts. Columbia MD. www.nourishing-journey.com 410-992-3001 Jennifer Sproul, Gaithersburg, MD Graceing Agefully™ . Inspiring Baby Boomer women to THRIVE after 60. I call them “Baby BLOOMERS” www.graceingagefully.com jensproul90@gmail.com 240-888-9495 JoAnne Dykhuizen, Tinley Park, IL Feel So Good Canine Massage, LLC. Providing canine massage that reduces discomfort, eases stress, enhances mobility, and supports lifelong wellness. jdykhuizen2005@gmail.com 815-341-0919 Joanne Young Elliott, Greater Los Angeles Area Spiritual Life Coach and Licensed Science of Mind Practitioner. Reach your goals faster through self-compassion and self-knowledge. soulsprite@joanneyoungelliott.com Judy Micale, Tallahassee, FL Judy Micale, LLC. Executive Coach, Team/Group Coach, Leadership Coach, Mentor Coaches, Mindfulness Mentoring www.judymicale.com jmicalecoach@gmail.com Karen DaGrava, Hanover, MD Stepping Stones To Perfect Health. Health Coaching. End yo-yo dieting. Lose weight with ease through lifestyle, by honoring your hormones. karen@steppingstonestoperfecthealth.com 410-881-8969 Karen Robinson, Alexandria, VA MSW, ACSW, LCSW, CCTP-II Heal Thrive Dream Holistic Care, INC. Empowers trauma survivors with therapy, coaching, retreats, courses, and transformative healing. www.htdholisticservices.com www.healthrivedream.com healthrivedream@gmail.com 571-409-0998 Karen Tasto, Derwood, MD Open Heart Healing, LLC. Life Coaching, Women’s Circles, & Circle Facilitator Mentoring for Aligning with Your WHOLE Self within COMMUNITY. www.karentasto.com karen@karentasto.com 301-646-4385 Kathryn Yarborough, Lake Mary, FL Speakers with Heart. Online. Speaking opportunities, training and community for women solopreneurs who use speaking to attract clients. www.speakerswithheart.com Kay Miller, Mobile, AL Mindfully Well, LLC. Discover your soul's purpose and heal limiting beliefs through the lens of the Akashic Records. www.kaymillercoach.com kay@kaymiller.coach Kristen Burton, Jarrettsville, MD A Pivotal Shift. Trauma-informed equine-guided coaching helping women heal, reconnect, and grow through transformative horse experiences. www.apivotalshift.com kristen@apivotalshift.com 443-570-0884 Laura Di Franco, MPT, Bethesda, MD Brave Healer Productions. Have fun with your fear and share your healing message with the world. www.BraveHealer.com 703-915-3653 Laurie Morin, Wilmington, NC Writing for Empowerment I am a book doula helping people give birth to personal stories that heal, uplift, and inspire. www.LaurieMorin.com Laurie@LaurieMorin.com Lilia Shoshanna Rae, Severna Park, MD Live Your Brilliance Mentoring – Human Design, Reiki, and guidance for entrepreneurs ready to align work with their unique calling. www.LiliaShoshannaRae.com liliashoshanna@gmail.com Lisa Beacham, Baltimore, MD Spiritual Director Workshop/Retreat Leader Helping spiritually minded professionals move from feeling disconnected, empty, lost to a fulfilling impactful next chapter. www.lisabeacham.com Lisa@lisabeacham.com Lisa Montgomery, Palm Bay, FL The Guideline Providing intuitive coaching to eliminate obstacles, uncover clarity, and create a fulfilling, purpose-driven business transformation. www.TheGuideline.com letschat@TheGuideline.com Liz Jameson, Tallahassee, FL Edited by Liz. Freelance editing by writer/editor/content reviewer. editedbyliz.com lcjameson@yahoo.com 850-264-3080 Elizabeth Lerner, Washington DC CAT, LCPAT, LPC ATR-BC. Your Inspired Choices, LLC. Personal Coaching, Psychotherapy, Divorce Well and Thrive® Coaching, Enlightened Communication™ courses +retreats for luminous living. www.yourinspiredchoices.com Lori Pieper, Cincinnati, OH Journey to Inner Joy, LLC. Empowering women to break free from exhaustion and ignite their path to vibrant, joyful living. www.JourneyToInnerJoy.com Lori@JourneyToInnerJoy.com 513-332-7928 Lorraine Cuff, North Hanover, NJ Reset, Renew, & Reclaim Wellness. AF veteran, keynote speaker helping service-driven women restore vitality through rest, resilience, and metabolic awareness. www.lorrainecuff.com coach@lorrainecuff.com 609-746-9382 Lydia Romero Johnson. Columbia, MD Lydia Romero Johnson, LLC. As a nurse and holistic coach with lupus experience, I promote holistic health through nutrition, mental well-being, and physical balance for a fulfilling life. www.lydiaromerojohnson.com Margie Hamner, Montclair, VA CPTC, ACC. Best Selling Author: Magic Ball of Light: Summer Camp. Empowering children through stories. www.instagram.com/authormargiehamner/ Margie@magicballoflight.com www.magicballoflight.com 703-507-1466 Maria Petrucci, DC, Columbia, MD Craniosacral Therapy, Chiropractic, and Mind-Body Tools to alleviate pain and stress. www.mariapetruccidc.com mpetrucci.dc@hotmail.com 240-394-2037 Marie Ek Lipanovska, Malmoe, Sweden Writer, illustrator, artist and meditation teacher. Illustrator of Sötnosen, Jesus and Madame Ooh la la. Founder of Heal My Voice Sweden. www.marieeklipanovska.se Mary E Knippel, Half Moon Bay, CA Your Writing Mentor, Soul Story Sanctuary Community, Written In Her Own Words Co-author book, Wise Woman Wisdom Creativity Retreat, Writing Workshops. www.maryeknippel.com MentorMary@yourwritingmentor.com 650-899-3345 Mary Perry, Sparrows Point, MD Wings Unfurled. I offer Intuitive Angel Readings and Healing Sessions. www.Wings-Unfurled.com Mary Scott, St. Louis, MO BusinessRiff. Startup Consulting, Problem Solving, Business Resources. Get that one thing off your plate TODAY. www.BusinessRiff.com businessriff@gmail.com 917-628-6322 Mia Zachary, Columbia, MD Elemental Abundance. Energy Balancing; Intuitive Counseling; Holistic Coaching. www.ro7es.com Michele Silva-Dockery, Elkridge, MD Caring Onward LLC. Energy healing to help you clear what's holding you back - physically, emotionally, and spiritually. www.caringonward.com michele@caringonward.com Monisha Mittal, Fairfax, VA Center for Somatic Leadership & Communications monishamittal.com monisha@monishamittal.com Rosemary Robertson Bredeson, Severna Park, MD A New Alliance for Change, LLC. Spiritual Mentor/Medium/Teacher. I help evolving individuals discover their purpose, repattern beliefs, and develop tools to live authentically. www.TheScientificMystic.com rosemary@TheScientificMystic.com Sandra Lee, Penticton/BC/Canada Miracle Inspirations. I help people heal brain injuries, and keep brain and memory clear. Imagine what’s possible. www.MiracleInspirations.com Sandra@miracleinspirations.com 253-921-8389 Shari Sternberger, Highland, MD Wellness By Shari. Supporting your body through surgery, spots injury, using Healing Touch, Flower Essences, Aromatherapy for balance. www.wellnessbyshari.com WBSBUS@Sternberger.Today 301-854-0403 Shelly O’Connell, Vacaville, CA. Coaching by Shelly. Gain confidence flirting, attract meaningful connections, move past limits, and have fun with Flirting Coach. www.shellyoconnell.com Dr. Sree Meleth, Atlanta, GA Freeing Ourselves. I help clients cultivate contentment by dropping self-judgement, lovingly integrating their shadow & flowing with life. www.instagram.com/freedomwithsree Stacey Gayer, PT , N. Bethesda, MD Holistic Trauma-Informed Fascia Pelvic Health PT In-person, hands on Myofascial Release, Visceral Manipulation, Craniosacral Therapy & Pelvic Health for All Genders. Also works remotely. www.StaceyGayerPT.com Sue Camaione, Bethesda, MD Write On Sister. My writing guides the reader through life's foibles, vulnerabilities, and humor, offering resilience to help women overcome trauma. www.suecamaione.com Susan L. Ernst. Washington, DC. Author | Advocate for Children’s Safety and Freedom. Raising awareness / inspiring action to end child sex trafficking. www.susanernstauthor.com sernst992@gmail.com 415-713-0588 Susan Flerchinger, Spokane Valley, WA Formed To Soar. Holistic healing: chronic pain relief, energy restoration, angelic guidance, and alignment with Divine purpose. www.FormedToSoar.com formedtosoar@gmail.com Suzie Jeffreys, Ellicott City, MD Living Fitness Rx I help women rebuild strength, energy, and confidence after health setbacks, especially heart scares. www.livingfitnessrx.com Suzie@LivingFitnessRx.com Tamara Robinson, Hanover, MD Love Heals Coaching, LLC. Author and Passion & Pleasure Coach. Heal and connect with your desires, reclaim your pleasure and have more confidence www.passionpleasurecoach.com Tameaka Shelton, Hanover, MD Employ and Relate. I provide fractional HR support for Micro-Businesses. www.employandrelate.com tameaka@tameakashelton.com 443-290-9278 Toni Gitles, Oviedo, FL Heart of Caregiving Caregivers need help. My book, "21 Mistakes Caregivers Make & How To Avoid Them" helps! www.heartofcaregiving.com tonigitles@gmail.com 407-304-6534 Veronica Grey, Baltimore, MD National Campaign for Financial Literacy. Free financial educational presentation and workshops. Text Veronica 443-929-1140 Veronica Grey, Baltimore, MD VG Total Care. We focus on Financial Literacy through workshops and life coaching. vgtotalcare@gmail.com Vicki Ibaugh, Orlando, FL Know You To Grow You. Personalized business coaching for women solopreneurs. www.KnowYouToGrowYou.com Vicki@KnowYouToGrowYou.com 407-342-4434 Vicki Semanie, Havre de Grace, MD Seven Stones. Life and Business Coach who has a passion for helping people reach goals they never thought possible www.sevenstoneslifecoaching.com vicki@sevenstoneslifecoaching.com Wencke Meteling, Washington, D.C Eight Wire – Equine Inspired Growth. We offer customized horse retreats for teams, groups, and individuals just north of D.C. www.connectwitheightwire.com wencke.meteling@gmail.com
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We visit the doctor for our Annual Physical Checkup, and we forget that there are more dimensions to us than just the Physical. In the previous three articles in this series, we examined not only the Physical Body but also the Emotional and Mental Bodies. Now it’s time to look at the next level of our makeup, the Spiritual Body. When I say “spiritual,” I’m not talking about religion, although religion does involve following a set of beliefs. Our Spiritual Body is the layer of us that contains the beliefs we have embraced along the path of our lives and that we continue to hold onto in the present day. Just as thoughts in our Mental Body can be thoughts we picked up because someone outside of us told us or led us to believe them, our beliefs can also originate outside of us and become deeply entrenched. Even when a belief is rooted in something external, why do you believe it? Have you looked at where that belief came from? Have you considered changing or discarding it? Beliefs are below the surface. We tend to look at our actions or thoughts, and we certainly feel our emotions. But do we take the time to look for the underlying belief to that action or thought or emotion? For example, I believe that the Earth is a ball in space. Why do I believe that? Of course, I was taught that in school. But why do I keep believing it? I worked for NASA and saw pictures of Earth from the Moon. That impressed me so much that I wrote my first sermon in seminary about my belief that the Earth is round, based on the evidence of that NASA picture. And, yes, I believe we actually DID land on the Moon! I also believe that the Sun is up there even when it’s raining and I can’t see it from Earth. I have lots of other beliefs that I have examined and choose to continue to believe. There are also a lot of beliefs that I used to embrace but no longer choose to hold onto. For instance, as a baby I believed that I had to cry to get the attention I needed. I left that one behind. In high school, my sister was the artistic one, and I was the brainy one. I believed that I was not creative or artistic. My sister believed that she was not smart. I decided to change that belief and embrace myself as creative and artistic, and I realized those qualities have nothing to do with how well I can draw. I paint abstract art, play the piano, and create solutions to the problems clients bring me. My sister went on to get her Masters Degree with a 4.0 average. Change your belief, and you can change the outcomes you experience. The first step in changing your beliefs is to bring them into consciousness. Beliefs can hide behind how you look at the world and, especially, how you look at yourself. Do you believe you’re not attractive because you don’t measure up to someone else’s ruler of beauty? Have you examined why you believe that and where that message came from? What if you decide to believe that you do the best you can with what you have? That you dress with your own style, take care of yourself, are as healthy as you can be, and that your smile and your heart make you attractive? What if being attractive is based on confidence and not outside judgment? What do you have to believe for that to be true? Do you believe that you are unworthy of __________? Fill in the blank. This is an underlying belief for a lot of my clients. Worth doesn’t depend on any external factor. You are worthy because you are here. I believe this. You are the answer to the request that Mother Earth made to the Universe/Source/Spirit/God for a person with your talents and gifts to be born at the exact moment you were born in the exact place you were born so that you could be a unique element in the tapestry of humanity on Earth. But somewhere along the way, you might have questioned that. What if you heard something as a child, like, “You’ll never amount to anything!” or, “Why can’t you be more like your sister?” What belief might have been instilled in you that you have never thought about? What do you believe about money, prosperity, and abundance? Are those beliefs your own, or were some of them planted in you by others? Perhaps you heard things like, “You’ll never make money at that, so get a real job with benefits,” or “Everyone in our family becomes a lawyer (doctor, joins the family business, etc.).” Believing something different can risk membership in the tribe. Sometimes we keep believing what those around us believe so we can stay connected to that tribe. We are loath to be the black sheep or the outsider. Everyone wants to belong. Religions may expect you to believe the doctrine you are taught. Companies have cultures they want you to participate in, and there may be beliefs you are expected to share in order to remain connected. The invitation here, as we do a checkup on your Spiritual Body, is to consciously examine your beliefs so you can choose whether to continue believing what you find or to change that belief. Stay open to new ideas to explore. Be willing to change your beliefs. I’ve been on this planet a long time, and it bothers me to see so many people remain rigid in their beliefs, with no possibility of change. I invite YOU to remain, as E.B. White advises: “Always on the lookout for the presence of wonder.” Don’t believe everything you believe until you choose to believe it! I’ve been on this planet a long time, and it bothers me to see so many people remain rigid in their beliefs, with no possibility of change. I invite you to remain, as E.B. White advises, “Always on the lookout for the presence of wonder.” Don’t believe everything you believe until you choose to believe it!
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Email: Rosemary@TheScientificMystic.com
Mobile: 410-991-6139
Rosemary Robertson Bredeson is The Scientific Mystic and Oracle of The New Consciousness. She has mentored clients for 30 years guiding them to break through blocks, transform their lives, and live their dreams. Using Human Design, NLP, and cosmic wisdom, Rosemary helps You live as Your Authentic Self.
www.TheScientificMystic.com
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Did you ever have one of those days when you just didn't feel like doing anything? That's what happed to me this morning. I had a full day planned, starting with a morning gym class and a chiropractor appointment, followed by a full schedule of writing tasks (including this newsletter). But guess what? I didn't want to do any of it! Chalk it up to a bad night's sleep, or some chronic health issues, or just plain ennui - all I wanted to do was crawl back into bed and throw the covers over my head. Fortunately, my good girl instincts took over and I made it to the chiro, but after he prescribed a rigorous elimination diet and twice weekly sessions to deal with some nerve issues, I felt even worse. Is this going to be it, I wondered? Am I joining the ranks of elders with long lists of aches and pains, doctor's appointments and medical treatments, and nothing interesting to talk about over dinner? Speaking of which, am I ever going to be able to enjoy the foods I love at dinner again? Obviously, I was in a funk and I had to shake myself out of it. So instead of heading home to my waiting laptop, I took myself for a walk at one of my favorite spots, Greenfield Lake. I hadn't noticed that it was a beautiful crisp fall day, with temperatures in the 70s and a light breeze. I had missed the sun dancing on the fall leaves, and the subtle colors of late-flowering plants. I had forgotten what it's like to wander aimlessly, with no destination and nothing on my mind but how to find a reason to go on. It took a good 10 minutes of walking with my head in the storm clouds before I started to notice the beauty all around me. When I did, I remembered that Mama Gaia is the greatest healer. She reminds us that to everything there is a season, and there is beauty even in the darkest winter. I can't say that walk made me forget my woes, but it did remind me to be grateful for all that I have instead of bemoaning all that I've lost. Sometimes playing hooky is the best medicine, even if your to-do list has to wait.
Hi! I'm Laurie Morin, best-selling author and book doula. I call myself the book doula because my mission is to help you give birth to a life-changing book based on your personal experiences. I love working with writers who want to tell their stories to help people heal old wounds and change their lives. Are you longing to write your own life stories, but don't know where to begin? Get my free mini course, 5 Keys to Planning Your Memoir.
August marked twenty years since my sister Mary left this world. Twenty years. Some days it feels like another lifetime. Other days, I can still picture her as clearly as if she were walking toward me right now: long dark hair flowing behind her, barefoot whenever she could be, with the kind of smile that made you smile right back without even thinking about it. There were thirteen years between us, and to me, she was the coolest person on earth. She was a free spirit long before that phrase became a hashtag. Bell-bottom jeans. Bare feet. Handmade clothes. I still laugh thinking about the day she showed up nine months pregnant in a bikini. My father was absolutely mortified. That was Mary. Completely, unapologetically herself. A deep love for nature, the beach, and doing life a little differently than everyone else around her. Where It All Began My parents had always been health conscious. We had a garden, my mom cooked nearly every meal, and healthy food was simply the way we lived. Looking back, I realize what a gift that was. But Mary made healthy living feel exciting. There's a real difference between your parents telling you to eat your vegetables and genuinely wanting to be just like your big sister. When Mary became a vegetarian, I wanted to become a vegetarian. It drove my parents a little crazy. I didn't care. She worked in a health food store and introduced me to sprouts, havarti cheese, avocado on sandwiches, fun juices, and foods most people had never heard of at the time. She even embroidered my name on a little backpack from the store. I carried that thing everywhere and loved every single stitch of it. I still have it today. She bought me my very first sprouter and was the first person I ever knew who owned a juicer. Long before juice bars were on every corner, Mary was making fruit and vegetable juices and quietly inspiring even my parents to look at food a little differently. The Birthday That Said Everything One birthday says everything about the influence she had on me. In our family, birthdays meant you got to choose the special dinner. Maybe we'd go out. Maybe my mom would make your favorite meal. Whatever you wanted - that was the tradition. Mine? I wanted Powerhouse Sandwiches from the health food store where Mary worked. I'm pretty sure the rest of my family thought I'd completely lost my mind. But that little birthday choice said far more about my admiration for my sister than it ever did about sandwiches. She quietly made healthy living something I wanted, not because I had to, but because she made it look cool. Movement Was Never Punishment Mary loved the outdoors. Some of my favorite memories are of us at the beach, whether a family vacation or a spontaneous trip we'd take together on a whim. On those last-minute days, we'd throw food into the car, head for the ocean (in the very early hours because she had a fear of crossing the Bay Bridge in the daylight), spend hours talking, enjoy the water, walk along the beach, wander the small boardwalk, and simply enjoy being together. At one of the places she lived, we'd canoe, hike, and spend as much time outside as we possibly could. Long before I appreciated what those days were giving me, she was teaching me that movement wasn't punishment. It was simply part of a life well lived. The Woman She Was She was incredibly creative. When I was little and into my early teens, she made clothes for me. Later, she became an extraordinary quilter, creating beautiful works that reflected the creativity she brought into everything she touched. She loved her children with everything she had. Because I was the youngest of five siblings with such a gap between us, my oldest niece and nephew became almost like my younger siblings. I adored them. I carried them around every chance I got and, much to Mary's amusement and occasional frustration, I spoiled them every holiday I could. Halloween. Christmas. Easter. If there was an excuse to buy them something, often candy, I absolutely did. Mary, with her health conscious approach to life, would shake her head every time I showed up with far more treats than she would have preferred. It's one of those memories that still makes me smile. She taught me so much without ever realizing she was teaching me. Not through lectures. Not through rules. Simply by the way she lived. When Everything Changed Then the world shifted. Mary wasn't someone who spent much time in doctors' offices. Like so many women, she kept putting one foot in front of the other, knowing something wasn't right but not yet having answers. By the time she was finally diagnosed, it was Stage IV ovarian cancer. She fought with incredible courage. But there were dreams she never had the chance to live. She never met the eight grandchildren she had dreamed about out loud in that hospital room - children who weren't even born yet, but who she already loved. She never watched them grow. She never got to grow old. During one of my last visits, we weren't talking about dying. We were making plans - getting her stronger, getting her healthy, taking another spontaneous beach trip just like the old days. Pack a cooler, head for the ocean, windows down, music up, nowhere we had to be. I truly believed we'd have that chance. We never did. The Shift That Changed Everything For years, I thought mostly about everything Mary had lost. Then my perspective changed. I realized her life had quietly given me something I carry every single day. Health isn't just about adding years to our life. It's about adding life to our years. (Oh, so cliche, I know...but how true.) It's about protecting the moments we hope we'll have: the beach trips, the family dinners, the grandchildren, the ordinary Tuesday mornings that are so easy to rush past without a second thought. None of us is promised tomorrow. Not you. Not me. Not the people we love most. That truth isn't meant to make us afraid. It's meant to remind us that right now, this moment, is worth showing up for. Because I Can, I Will Several years after Mary passed, a simple phrase became the way I try to live. Because I can, I will. Because I can take a walk... I will. Because I can prepare a healthy meal... I will. Because I can teach, volunteer, and share the knowledge and purpose I've been blessed with... I will. Because I can encourage women to protect their hearts - and in doing so, touch the lives of everyone who loves them... I will. Not because I have to. Because I get to. The Seed She Planted Mary planted a seed in me decades ago. She introduced me to a different way of thinking about food, movement, and caring for our bodies long before I understood where that path would lead. Years later, my work with the University of Maryland and my years in cardiac rehabilitation gave me knowledge beyond anything I could have imagined. Thousands of patients became some of my greatest teachers. But Mary planted the first seed. Today, every time I make sprouts, pull out my juicer, or take a walk outside, I think of her. Every time I teach another woman or coach a client, I think of her. Mary never knew that the little sister who carried her embroidered backpack and wanted to be just like her would one day spend her life helping other women protect theirs. Maybe that's the most enduring kind of legacy, the one that quietly changes another life long after you're gone. What Seeds Are You Planting Today? A kind word. A healthy meal. A walk around the block. A phone call to someone you love. The courage to schedule the appointment you've been putting off. The decision to care for your heart so you can be present for the people who matter most. You may never fully know how your choices ripple through the lives of others. My sister didn't. But twenty years later, her seeds are still growing, and the greatest way I know to honor my big sis, Mary, isn't to dwell on the years she didn't have. It's to fully live the years I do. Because I get to. Because I can... I will.
END OF TIME
Olive Jones
SONGWRITER SPOTLIGHT
OliveJonesMusic.Com
I just wanted to tell you That I love you That I need you That I want you Right here by my side Keeping me warm in the night
Check out Suzie's other article "We Got the Villain Wrong, and Your Heart Has Been Paying For It: The Quiet Voice That Knows It's Time" on page 82 of this issue. Visit Suzie's website at www.livingfitnessrx.com
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On Purpose Woman Magazine is a force for good. It is a place to be inspired and recharge your soul. Read On Purpose Woman to connect with other heart-centered, authentic and highly creative visionaries, leaders, and entrepreneurs. Write for On Purpose Woman or be our Cover Artist to be part of a community who’s creating the change we all wish to see in the world. Advertise in On Purpose Woman to reach those women looking for your unique products and services.
Look for our next issue Nov 10