Weight Weight Just Love Me – Guidance – Day 36
Waiting until I am inspired to take the next logical step has helped me continue to show up in the most loving and kind way to myself and others in the development of the Inspired Eagle business. Loving myself more is about showing up where and when I feel the most love.
Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT
Several years ago I had an idea on how to be of better service to humanity based on what I was learning from my own challenges. I was experiencing one difficult life transition after another and realized as we age these major life transitions increase in both frequency and intensity. Are we ever really prepared for what is inevitably around the next bend?
The healthiest and happiest amongst us get the privilege of routinely rising to the occasion of being there for others as cheerleaders, caregivers, mentors and guides. But who is there for us?
As I saw this play itself out in one friend after another’s life, I wanted to do something to offer solace in the storm – as I figured if I needed it, others needed it as well. Plus I felt called to honor the memory of my mother – as she was my steady home base – that voice of reason about whatever standard life challenge appeared around the next bend in my life. I was so lucky to have this for my first 50 years. I wanted to be there for others like she was always there for me.
This is why I created this business I call Inspired Eagle. I came up with the name from an experience I had when caring for my Mom in the late stages of her brain cancer. She had slipped into her first coma and I was out taking a walk on a river path near the South Florida hospital where she was. This bald eagle followed me. At first I did not think much of it as I was rather lost in my own morose state. Then I stopped and took a picture of it with my phone and sent it to my daughter in Alaska. It dawned on me – how unusual there is a bald eagle here. A bald eagle appeared two more times that day – back at my parents home and again as I was getting onto the highway. Too often to ignore. I researched this a bit and learned in Native American lore, eagles represent the transition between heaven and earth – exactly where my mother was.
I knew what I wanted to be for others to offer solace and support through life’s challenging transitions and had some ideas of how to create this. The key element was doing it. As well, I can get kind of busy with life as I had already created it. But I just kept taking the next logical step whenever I felt called to do so and showing up how I needed to in the moment.
Usually I get everything done at Cheetah speed – this was not to be the case with this new idea. How to create an environment of loving kindness and support for others in a way that uplifted them into a plane of enduring happiness – this was my goal. After all why shoot for a life of half lived mediocrity?
What has emerged is so incredible. I just finished my fourth Inspired Eagle Yoga Retreat. My first two we had four people over four days. I changed the format and we now do it in two days. Now we have eight people there. (If I change it to one day does this mean 16 people will be there?). What made it quicker was the introduction of this yoga mat I designed that has all the yoga poses and flow. But it’s so much more than just teaching how to do our Happy Aging Yoga. Connecting with my peers in this way is always so profound.
My team and I did this yoga retreat in conjunction with this magical cooking school experience. We had people come to it from Florida and the Bay Area (Northern California). Sometimes my ideas don’t play out like I initially envision them – but not this one. How we created a supportive community for each other around our yoga mats was exactly what I envisioned.
I am going to continue showing up to take the next logical step as I am guided to do so. I am assembling a fantastic team that is taking care of details beyond my capabilities – they are showing up too.
For me it is truly about showing up in the ways where I feel the most love. Whether it be planning on where we are hosting the retreats or who’s invite to accept to lead a retest, to the people who are attracted to come to the retreats. It is as if my Mom is guiding this through the language of love. As I’m learning how to love myself more, I’m finding myself more open to this guidance and showing up where and how I need to as I am needed.
Kate’s comment: I got shudders when you mentioned that bald eagles represent the transition between heaven and earth. In Haines, as you very well know, we have the American Bald Eagle Festival. It’s starting here next week, and I’ve always felt that Haines itself is a pleasant, suspended limbo between heaven and earth. There’s this great, full life energy here.
As for the subject of “showing up” – I once won a 5k just by showing up. I’m not a fast runner by any means, but all the fast runners in town decided to run the 10k that morning. For the curious, I ran the 5k in 31 minutes (definitely not a typical winning time).
