It wasn’t until my financial situation crumbled and my lifestyle was in jeopardy that I realized all my material things were just a mask, a cover-up of my insecurities. As long as I was able to maintain the façade of success I felt ok. Financial stability has always been very important for me, because I grew up in an environment of scarcity and fear. There was never enough money.
I had heard that everything we have or experience in life is of our own doing, our own choice. But, I didn’t ask for a huge financial loss and certainly didn’t want it. No, this was somebody else’s doing, not mine. I wasn’t ready to accept responsibility for what I had created. I wanted someone to take the blame and then fix it too. Then I would be whole…. oh yeah, that’ll work. I aimed this demand at my boyfriend and business partner. After many unsuccessful attempts at insisting that he fix the situation, I realized I was only making everyone miserable.
I needed a break. I knew that once I was free of the relationship, my life would suddenly improve….wrong again. Before long I realized that my problems were my own. That was a first step and a process of real change. Once I realized I had created the mess, I knew I could now change it.

This realization was instant. I was elated and excited to tell my story to anyone who would listen. Now that might not seem like much to some of you, but for me it meant I could stop judging and being so hard on myself. I could finally stop pretending to be perfect and self-contained. That gave me so much freedom with others, to love and accept who they were. That’s when my world expanded. That’s when I knew everything I would ever want was a just a wish away.

