If you can see your path laid out in front of YOU
step by step you know it’s not your path.
Your own path you make with every step you take.
That’s why it’s your path.”
~Joseph Campbell
The good news is that while I may not know exactly what turns will get me to where I am going. I do know that thriving can only when I nourish my soul. Only through breathing deeply, moving my body, and being creative can I fuel my essence into being. It takes intense work, but I am up for the holy work that comes with choosing life.
I am not sure if I saw myself as a creative before the last few years. In fact, I think I may have seen myself as a wallflower or perhaps even a little insignificant. I surrounded myself with people that were dreamers, artists, musicians, activists, and so much more. While I was a loving soul, a passionate writer, and a giving human being. I wasn’t enough. I wasn’t smart enough, creative enough, or beautiful enough.
Looking back, I know that was a bullshit story I told myself.
Today I feel much differently. I have found my rhythm. I trust that I am enough. I have a way of staying grounded while soaring. At the same time, my open heart invites others to do the same. I am inspired by humanity even as I struggle with parts of what I see. I show up, I strive to do the next right thing, and I take time to live authentically as a mother, a friend, an activist, and a creative. I embrace the magical world and allow it to guide me with each step.
My happy place is anywhere that I am being creative. Over the years I have moved from being ‘just” a writer to becoming a creative in so many different areas of my life. I love to watercolor and to weave, but I also love to play with sand or food or really anything. As an educator, I seek ways to inspire kids and their teachers to simply play. My hope is to empower people to leave their boundaries behind and allow themselves to explore new horizons. None of us need to stay in a box that was often chosen for us.
There is nothing self indulgent about navigating the world as I do with an open heart, mind, and spirit. In fact, my entire being has not only the right, but the responsibility to show up fully in my own life. And what I know today is that I can only do this if I listen to my inner voice that so clearly nudges me (ok shoves me) towards creative endeavors.
Over the last couple of years, I have been blown away by the many messages that keep showing up while reminding me that I need to do the same thing in every area of my life.
- Working with an incredible rabbi and community that invite me to show authentically.
- Elle Luna’s book, The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion and amazing podcasts inspired by her book.
- SARK’s teachings – Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy’s mentoring focuses on giving her students tools so they could begin Making More Alive Choices.
- The following creatives continue to fuel my work including Chase Jarvis, Glennon Doyle, Indie Arie, Jennifer Pastiloff, Brené Brown, Seth Godin, Elizabeth Gilbert, P!NK, Mary Oliver (z’l), Indigo Girls, Katy Perry, Neshama Carlebach, Shoshana Jedwab, Tracy Chapman, too many scholars to mention, and so many more
- Watching how “This Is Me” unfolded and ultimately touched so many lives in “The Greatest Showman”. As I viewed this scene, tears rolled down my face as I processed my own journey towards finding inner courage and bravery to stand strong as the woman I am. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLFEvHWD_NE
As someone who has been battered and bruised, I literally lost it when I first heard Keala Settle sing:
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I’m meant to be, this is me
Look out ’cause here I come
And I’m marching on to the beat I drum
I’m not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me
As a THRIVER, no one would want to see the darkness that I have seen. I am blessed because today I have emerged into the beautiful and strong woman than I am. My writing and my art have become my roar. And I would have never been able to do it without guides and beloveds that have come with me on my journey.
Life continually calls to me in new ways. With each word I hear or read, I am carried to somewhere I have never been. I am learning, stretching, and evolving on a daily basis. I am literally moving in directions that I have never seen before.
My path is not obvious. I seem to have to do a lot of weeding along the way. And yet, I am finding the path that was meant just for me.
Hineini, Here I am! I am alive; I am thriving; and I have made it to this time!
Onward with love, light, & peace,
Chava
PS: Thanks for reading what will likely be part of my memoir which at this point is being called, Living Out Loud: A Thriver’s Journey. If you like what you are reading, please take a moment and like it on WordPress or any social media site, AND if you have feedback, I’d love to hear it.