I Never Checked the Boxes—and I'm So Grateful I Didn't Reflections on My Birthday, 30 Years of Inner Work, and Following the Golden Threads of My Life

It's my birthday. 

I was up with the sun this morning for meditation and yoga.

Later today, I'll be hiking with my dear friend Natalie at Garner State Park. (I'm sure I'll share a little of the celebration on Instagram later.)

But this morning, I've been reflecting.

On the life I've lived. The choices I've made. The things I've invested in. The experiences that have shaped me. And the woman I've become.

Something about this birthday feels particularly sacred.

Although today is my birthday according to the Gregorian calendar, my Vedic birthday -- the anniversary determined by the lunar calendar -- was Tuesday.

And as I sit with this moment, I feel an extraordinary sense of reverence. For being here. For being in this body, this life, this opportunity to experience what it means to be human.

And for the deepening relationship I've cultivated with myself over the years.

Because one thing I've come to understand is that a beautiful life doesn't necessarily follow the path we imagined it would.

Mine certainly hasn't.

I haven't followed the traditional sequence of career, family, house, wealth, and grandchildren. There are plenty of boxes I haven't checked along the way.

But as I sit here on my birthday, looking back over everything I've lived, I feel an enormous amount of appreciation.

For the experiences I've had, the relationships, the unexpected turns, and even the difficult chapters that have shaped me.

Some of it has been incredibly challenging. And it has brought me more beauty, love, richness of experience, and understanding than I could ever have imagined.

And through it all, I've continued to grow into the woman I am today.

I sometimes think of our lives as trees.

We arrive as seeds, carrying something uniquely our own. And as we move through life, we grow, we change, we go through all kinds of experiences that shape us.

And like any living thing, we need nourishment.

I've come to understand just how important that is. We need to discover what truly nourishes us, what helps us grow, and what allows us to flourish in our own particular way.

As we're nourished, our roots deepen. Our branches reach further.

Those roots matter because life will always bring its storms. And there's something quite beautiful about developing the capacity to be flexible to move with life while staying deeply connected to yourself.

At this stage of my life, I feel those roots.

I feel the wisdom of my experiences, the strength I've cultivated, the tenderness and openness of my heart, and a deepening devotion to life itself.

I feel deeply grateful for the life I've lived and the woman I've become.

And really, that's so much of what my work has been about.

Making deep contact with yourself.

Getting to know your unique nature, your body, your emotions, your needs, your dignity, your inner knowing. And learning how to be in a loving, respectful, joyful relationship with all of it.

So that the life you're living increasingly feels like a life that belongs to you.

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So today, as I celebrate another year of being alive, I want to turn the reflection toward you.

Where in your life do you feel deeply aligned with yourself? And where might you be living according to expectations that no longer feel like your own?

You don't need to have all the answers. Perhaps you can simply give yourself a few quiet moments today to listen.

Because my birthday wish isn't just for myself.

It's that more of us get to experience this profound sense of belonging in our own lives.

More joy. More love. More freedom. More devotion.

More of the extraordinary experience of being alive.

Love and Blessings,

P.S. A special invitation for the women reading this.

So much of my life's work has been about exploring what it means to be a woman--and gathering together the many parts of ourselves that we've become disconnected from along the way.

Our bodies, our emotions, our history, our nature, our wisdom, and our relationship with life itself.

Blossoming Lotus is an invitation into that regathering.

A beautiful collective space to explore what it means to be a woman, right here, in this body, at this particular stage of your life.

And to cultivate a deeper devotion to life-- not as some abstract spiritual idea, but as something woven into the everyday fabric of how you live. How you listen to yourself, care for yourself, relate to others, and meet the ordinary moments of your days.

Whatever season of womanhood you're in, there's a place for you here.

We'll begin later this month and continue through the holiday season into January, offering connection, nourishment, and support during a time when we often need them most.

I'm offering a special introductory rate for our first cohort.

If you'd like to join us, simply comment  “Blossoming” and I'll send you the details.

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