This Fall has brought me to a new place, a place of power and honesty in the vulnerable space of the pieces the last couple years have reduced me to.

Is power even possible after such tremendous loss?

Am I as strong, or stronger than the version of myself that didn’t know what was coming?

Is there any piece of who I was that comfortably fits into who I want to be moving forward?

Like a snake shedding skins humans evolve and grow; sometimes faster than we have time to be fully conscious of; sometimes integral pieces of ourselves get shed only to discover later they are still needed; and we are called to regrown and reintegrated those pieces!  We become a tapestry of what was, what is and what could be; that’s what ‘whole’ entails.

How do we know … how do we let go … how are all the versions of myself that have taken me through being a toddler, tween and teenager alchemized into the version who navigated motherhood and being a wife and a grandmother?  Running businesses and the constant desire to learn more, do more, be more and all the while seeking calm and peace … I am a walking contradiction.  The picture of duality, filled with grief and celebrating the idea of joy.

How are all of them relevant to this new me I am becoming?

Everything we do matters … over and over I have shared this belief.  It isn’t one meal, one workout, one event, or one seat in meditation, that shapes our being … it is the cumulative practices that reflect in how we show up … every choice we make, every day; is who we are and how we nurture that version of our Self.

Self care can manifest as a grand event, but more often than not it is that gentle check in over morning tea … how am I today?  It’s that quick intentional breath cycle on the morning commute?  That salad instead of fries at lunch … the call to a friend instead of a text, the choice to fully connect instead of throwing out an unmanned life line!

Self care is so heavily monetized in the luxury of time and services, so much so that we have lost the simple truth of caring for ourselves every day.

We don’t always have time for Spa Days or get aways; but there is always a moment for awareness … how am I today?  And what of all those versions of yourself that you left behind?  What of the stressed teenager fretting over Prom or final exams?  What of the new bride who wasn’t sure she was enough?  Or the new mom who was overwhelmed with the realization that she is responsible for keeping a tiny human alive? The wiser slightly heavier version who struggled to find beauty in grey hair but let it grow out anyway!

Every version of you faced fears they either succumbed to or overcame; lessons that were learned and even ones that were rejected, joy that filled their hearts and events that shifted their trajectory, times when your perspective was altered so deeply that you no longer recognized the face in the mirror.  Every decision that every version of you made impacted the version of yourself that is evolving today … each and every version had your best intention at heart, wanted to grow up to be just like you <3

Following natures lead in the Fall is a beautiful Self Care practice!

*Let go, like the leaves to what no longer serves you, it comes at a price but it is a necessary piece of taking care of your core being!

*Dim your light just a little like the sun, take time to appreciate the darkness – the rest that it offers and the healing blanket of reflection it holds you in.

*Slow down like clouds floating across the October sky, gather your resources and find gratitude for the fruits of your labours! This is the perfect time for a progress check in with your Self!

*Nest like the hibernators, prepare your space for the coming cold; lean into what warms you physically, mentally and spiritually … and create that space.

*Nature is pulling back into its roots; how can you nourish your roots, your foundation over the coming months so that when the Sun returns you will be ready to flourish?

All the versions of Me are holding circle right now, at least that’s how I feel … a little dark and twisty as I invite everyone to the fire; so many versions of Me that I never really liked, that I am ashamed to have treated so badly; but there they are around the fire holding space for who I am becoming!

Their fears have mostly gone unrealized, but others sit with a deep knowing that their worst fears have come to pass – totally out of our control but here I am still standing in what I firmly believed would have destroyed me all those years ago.

I can’t help but feel so fully supported; it isn’t coming from outside of me – it is all the versions of who I’ve been that hold me up today, that cheer me on and continue to push me to more!

Invitation to invite all of your versions to tea, acknowledge and honour who you’ve been and how it has and continues to impact who you are today ❤