I’ve known that I needed to update the website for a while now, but I’ve been putting it off. I didn’t know what to say or where to even start. 2018 was, quite literally, a lifetime ago.
Those of you that know, know, and those of you that didn’t know at that time, well, now you will. 2018 was the year that I left my husband. Our lives had completely shifted and it wasn’t working anymore. I got my own apartment and really felt like I stepped into myself. I wish I could say that everything stayed bright and sun-shiney and “wow, look at how beautiful my life has turned out.” Unfortunately that’s now how things go when you’ve given up a large portion of yourself and you have to rediscover or recreate an entire new way of being. Life didn’t follow a brightly lit path; things got messy. I had a lot of shifting and growing that was happening on the inside that I told very few people about. Maybe one day those darker bits of my story will get told; but maybe not.
Either way, many lessons were learnt about people, my place amongst them, my core values and beliefs. Everything was created new again – for me and by me. I had a lot of work to do, discovering exactly who I was and where I wanted to go. This is a very different path to balance than expected when I originally started the Pembina Valley Wellness Studio. I am so so happy about where I am currently headed. It just feels so good to be growing; in the ways that I now am. I do realize that I just skimmed over almost 4 years of my life and gave only the briefest of comments. I do not apologize for that. If and when more about that part of my story needs to be told, I will share it. But right now, it’s just not necessary. That story will get told if/when it’s meant to. What I will share, though, is my latest thoughts on what balance means for me. These are some of the lessons that I am learning:
- Life has seasons. Accept that. There will be good and there will be bad; you can’t truly appreciate the good without the bad. I have a tendency to want to ‘fix’ things in the hope that one day I will ‘get there.’ That there is a happily every after just waiting for me somewhere. That once I reach it, then I will have arrived and life will be good. Reality is, that we are human and we are constantly growing and changing. That’s a good thing. I will never have ‘arrived.’ There is no end other then when we die. So just keep flowing with life as it happens. Try your best to enjoy the journey as it unfolds.
- Do not give up the self things. Ever. Our relationship with ourselves is the building block for everything else in our lives. Without a loving relationship with ourselves, we can be swayed by outside influences. It is never a good thing when we give other people power over us and lose sight of our truth for them or to make them happy.
- Always strive to be authentic. I am still working on this every day. This doesn’t mean you have to be loud and “y’all are just haters” (but it can be when it needs to be). Speak your truth! If you feel like at some point you haven’t, make sure you take the time to ask yourself why that happened.
- The people that matter don’t care; the people that care don’t matter. The people that care about how clean your house is, how well you did something – in the grand scheme of things, they don’t matter. The people that truly matter in life are the ones constantly in your corner that don’t care one iota about how clean your house is or if you’re wearing the same hoodie two days in a row.
- Give yourself grace. You are human. Just keep growing each day – that is all anyone can do. No, not every day will you be able to hit all of your goals 100%. What’s important is that you keep moving forward. It’s when we stop moving that we start to lose ourselves.
- Move your body. Exercise and movement are important. Your goal might not be to lose weight or get super toned, but some form of movement that stretches or strengthens your body is important. A dance party in the kitchen is movement. Doing yoga is movement. Lifting really heavy weights is movement. Anything works. Don’t stop moving. Find what works for you.
Living this human life is quite the journey. Reflecting back to 2018 made me feel some feelings and remember some things I had put behind me. But sometimes in order to move forward, we have to look back at where we have been. I am looking forward to where the Pembina Valley Wellness Studio is going. I absolutely love what I am creating! I love that it is organically growing where it needs to grow even amongst a pandemic and major segregation in the world. Everything about this business comes from my heart to yours.
Stay true.
Lots of love,
Amanda