back to school
There was life before Back to the Body and life after. I realized I came home from "Sex Camp" a different person than when I left. First there was this honeymoon period everything was more vivid and clear, conversations were deeper and more meaningful. I was probably a bit intense to take to be honest! It was like suddenly things had aligned in my life, I had let go of the past. Hugs were stronger, conversations deeper and I just kind of sparkled a bit brighter.
Surprisingly where everything felt so off to me was in my work life. Earlier this year, I had gone back to working for a small non profit agency working with foster-adoptive children. I was already a bit disillusioned with the bureaucracy of the work but it did connect me again with that creative Social Worker part of me that I had tucked away while I ran an IT company for the past 15 years. Post "sex camp" I was sitting in our weekly foster care team meeting and I could feel the heaviness of the room in my body, the dread, and I couldn't shake it. As the weeks went by it didn't get any better, I began to have this nagging feeling I was not in the right place. That feeling went beyond just the agency but working with this population in general. The work had not changed; it was me that was different. And when honest with myself I was not happy.
I had heard of the Somatica Institute on multiple occasions. I had even met Danielle at the Back to the Body Portal I attended in 2020. But I had never really looked at the website. Once I started reading I couldn't stop. My brain was in total overdrive..."What if?, Could I really do this? Would this work? Will I be any good at it? Is "Wholesome Folsom" ready for this kind of out of the box thinking? Does it matter? The more I read over the certification materials the more excited I could feel myself getting. Then I picked up the phone, had an hour long conversation with a graduate and had my own therapist vet the program for me with a neutral eye. I tend to do my research but I was in love. I had jumped in with both feet and frankly I'm having a hard time waiting to get started. In the meantime I'm reading every book on the reading list I can get my hands on. I'm writing and nurturing my creative side, staying connected to my body and meeting other possible colleagues in the field. I understand how powerful having professional mentors is as I develop my own skills. I even wrote a business plan & registered a web domain that will eventually be a landing page for my coaching practice.
So, as overly dramatic as it sounds, for the first time in my life, I feel I am right where I am supposed to be. This is what I was meant to do.
Cheers to jumping in the deep end and having the freedom & faith to make the leap!
