Opening yourself up

This blog is for anyone who is sitting in a place of hope, uncertainty, possibility, or even overwhelm. Anyone feeling stuck or immobilized. Anyone brave enough to ask: What if? And: What next?

That’s where I am today.

I write from the National Wellness Institute’s Annual Conference — one of the most stimulating, enlightening, and instructive conferences I’ve attended in a long time. The National Wellness Conference brings wellness leaders, professionals and experts together from all over the country. People who are in a health and wellness, helping people, making the world a better place profession.

Who would have thought that I would be at a WELLNESS conference as a “wanna be” professional helping change the world? And how cool is that?! If you had told me this five years ago, I would not have believed it because I wouldn’t have dared to dream it. It wouldn’t have made sense. Yet today, here I am!

After just one day of outstanding sessions, relationship building, and serendipitous encounters, I am overwhelmed with information, ideas, inspiration, hope, and options. I’m not sure what any of it means yet. And I definitely don’t know exactly what’s next. But I predict many future blogs out of this incredible experience.

All of these new experiences and opportunities are coming during a tough patch in my life. A time of struggle. A highly emotional time. A time when everything I’ve learned in this journey about putting and keeping myself in the equation is being tested. And yet, I know, that is exactly how it is supposed to be. It’s a time of change. A time of growth. A time of sadness. A time of overwhelm. A time of hope. And a time of possibility. All because I am open to it.

And it is out of THIS very place, when I am not feeling at the top of my game, that I am on the brink of the next big thing in my life. So I am opening myself up to the possibilities with hope, wonder, and gratitude. All the while allowing myself to feel my crazy emotions – some positive, some negative. I am not allowing myself to be stopped by sadness, fear, or even overwhelm, because I don’t know the answer to: what next?

Today, I am trusting my journey. I am trusting the universe. And I’m trusting all of those wise leaders who said, when you open yourself up to the possibilities and embrace change…when you are brave enough to forge ahead with the lessons from your challenges in tow…you will experience something even better, greater and more amazing on the other side. I trust that.

So, for me personally, the takeaway as I sit in this cloud of uncertainty, hope, and wonder of what if?… and what’s next? … is one of pure gratitude. I am grateful that I am capable of sitting with the discomfort and ambiguity. I am grateful that the universe is serving up serendipitous encounters, people and experiences that may very well become part of my story, part of my future, and part of what’s next? And I am grateful for every emotion experienced on the roller coaster ride and every life lesson that comes in tow.

How incredibly cool is that?!

My hope in writing this not fully formed thought today is that it somehow helps anyone who is sitting in a muck of mixed emotions — a place of wonder and uncertainty and maybe even overwhelm — to be open to the possibilities and the lessons now working themselves out. That is the gift.

My hope, for you — and for me — is that we find the patience we need to endure. That we learn to be okay sitting in this place, taking it in — all of it — until we’re ready to roll on to the next big, wonderful, great adventure.

And we will roll on. I guarantee it.

#gratitude #what’snext? #hope #wonder #possibility

XXXOOO

Lori

Thank you Jana, Zonya, Carrie, Mary, and more!