The Journey: Mastering the Art of Slowing Down into a Beautiful Existence by Cathy Trinh 

These were my favorite passage’s from my friend Cathy Trinh who is such an authentic healer. I hope you enjoyed these beautiful quotes.

“For everyone who feels with their heart, gives with their soul, believes with their vision, who are ready to receive the same endless abundant love you give, this book is for you. For those who are ready to tap into that divine inner peace that is Source, joy, love and beauty within you – I’m so glad you’re here. Welcome.” 

 

Ultimately through years of my own self-healing journey, it became clear that the man who raped me years prior had suffered from a mental and spiritual alcoholic malady. From that point on, I prayed that it would never happen to anyone else. From acceptance, there was forgiveness. I was finally able to forgive him and move forward. It was quite an eye-opener for me. I worked hard and I dug deep. The truth is: The Landmark Forum helped transform me and shift my perspective in life. I used other programs and tools to help experience breakthroughs, slow me down and learn how to live an extraordinary life. On my Landmark registration form, I wrote “I want to have a breakthrough in communication and learn how to slow my life down from everything I was running away from.” And I did just that. 

 

WHAT IS SLOWING DOWN? What is slowing down? How do we slow down? And why is slowing down so important? These are the questions I have pondered for many years. On my search, I discovered the art of slow living. I am happy to share the joys of a simpler and more soulful way of living. This allows us to be more present in our daily lives to focus on what truly matters. 

 

I lived a hectic, chaotic, spontaneous and impulsive life for many years. Due to addiction and trauma, I didn’t know how to take time to appreciate beautiful Moments in my life to understand fully what I did have. I finally learned how to take a step back and start living life at a more conscious level. 

 

Build stronger, deeper, more intimate, meaningful and lasting relationships simply by being more present and listening with the heart. 

 

Reflecting back, I can say now that there have been no disappointments in my life; only great lessons that have been taught by great masters revealed through trial and error and time. Each one of the spiritual experiences has been valid as they have taught me to love myself more and more each day and have given me the peace I’ve been searching for in my life. They all led me back within myself to arrive home where I needed to be, and finally am. 

 

In my personal experience, Taoism has taught me to live gracefully and explore my infinite potential. 

 

Slow-Care (Mind) Self-Care (Body) Soul-Care (Spirit) 

 

“Think of this book as my tattoo, something that’s shareable in its own language. This book was born from nonsensical chaos – the sheer want to get every important element and learning down on paper to pass to my son as well as my clients. It didn’t turn out anything like I first imagined. Instead, with every rewrite and answered question, it shed its skin and ego to help me realize the following valuable truths that I didn’t know were deep inside: • I have embodied both joy and pain. • My heartbreak gave me purpose. • My body is a canvas much like my future: I own the outcomes. • Recovery has no destination, no one is ever the same as they were before. I am better, more purposeful and deeper in my understanding of the “Why’s”. • Progress is not about perfection.” 

 

You are not your past – you are what you decide to be. Let this be the start of an incredible journey… 

 

We battled dangers of not only the treacherous stormy weather, but dehydration, starvation, siege by Thai pirates seizing, raiding and raping those in our boat. 

Highlight (Yellow) | Location 637 

Over one million refugees did not make it, and many of those that did faced danger and peril from the pirates. With overcrowded leaking boats crippled in the middle of the vast sea, most went underwater. Lifeless bodies washed up to shore. Parents searched for their missing children. Orphans were being abandoned by parents. Pirates of surrounding countries ransacked many boats, including ours. Women were mercilessly raped, with their men witnessing this. Every single person had to fight for the will to live. 

 

“Having a trendy Mom, we were supported as well as inspired by her passion to re-define the Asian-American culture by sporting a famous streetwear brand with wild hair, visible tattoos and piercings at a young age. We had more rebellious freedom in how we looked than the typical Asians from more conventional families because of Mom’s career. Later in life, this ended up playing a part in our identities, expressions, who we became, the friends we hung out with and how we integrated into American society.” 

 

On the outside, our family looked relatively healthy. However, at the same time behind closed doors, Mom suffered grief and depression. I believe this was largely due to the unhealed traumas she experienced during the war, as well as being separated thousands of miles away from her homeland. I always felt there was something severely wrong at home. Mom never seemed happy, but she also never talked about her fears, loneliness or suffering. I don’t blame her. She always remained strong. I can only imagine that she suffered significant trauma from the war and post-traumatic stress of being forced out of her homeland, 2,000 miles away from her parents and extended family. 

 

My relationship and connection with my father was especially tricky. We hardly saw or communicated with him. I resented him and my mother for years because I felt, as a family unit, we could have been stronger if we learned how to connect and understand the pain we were all enduring on the inside. He wasn’t a bad father. He just was a very hard worker dealing with the pressures of survival and providing for us. Dad hustled and did the best he could. Both my parents did the best they could. His routine of leaving at 4:00 am trekking to Los Angeles and operating a city bus all day long was a daily routine, working 6-7 days a week at times. He was never home and would arrive home after a long shift, after our homework was done and problems had already been resolved. 

 

We especially yearned for the emotional care, nurturing and protection that we required from a male figure within a family. 

 

Growing up, I didn’t feel like I fit in. My family didn’t know how to give me the love I needed and deeply desired. I wanted that perfect type of familial love I watched on Disney movies and television. I don’t remember feeling the warmth of a hug, kisses and closeness that a young child needs in their formative years. I always felt as if I didn’t have anyone to care for my emotional well-being. I had to take care of myself. I sought shelter in the arms of the wrong boys, and then men. 

 

Knowing what I know today, I probably wouldn’t have rebelled so severely, but I was also a child coping in the best ways I could in my circumstances. 

 

“The world belongs to the energetic.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson 

 

I didn’t know how much danger I was in until years later. It was too late, because I had grown addicted to the effects of the chemicals. Even though I was experiencing side effects and symptoms, it did not stop me from searching for more. When the supply ran out, I stole the remaining pills from my mother’s medicine cabinet. Eventually I found out I could order a similar type of pill on the internet or buy them in Mexico, or wherever I could get them by forging prescriptions. 

 

I was no longer a lost girl, but I was simply going to be nowhere to be found. I will never let you in, and you will never really know who I am. 

I always had the urge to rebel against my parents. Forbidding me and keeping me away from something, made me want more of it. I desired a secret and forbidden love full of passion, intimacy and a sense of safety. Something I didn’t see my parents consistently show each other. Maybe my parents always screamed and yelled at each other was because they were lacking this? Perhaps that is why they abused one another? 

 

With endless hours of laboring and work, compounded with limited time and resources for healing and self-care, my parents’ broken expressions of love were most likely a by-product of years of hurt they endured. Traumas and pain perpetuate and manifest different cycles. My family was no different from this painful and truthful reality. Maybe that’s why I turned out the way I did. In great frustration and in their internal struggles with the external life, Mom and Dad argued all the time. Mom would cope by using abusive language and demeaning language. Dad would cope and still copes, by smoking. 

 

My childhood home often felt like a war zone, where I did not feel emotionally safe or stable. I internalized that trauma and pain. I didn’t feel the peace and joy of a quiet, loving home. There was so much anger and resentment. Mom told us that she got the short end of the stick by marrying my father, who didn’t provide her luxuries promised by other men back in Vietnam as a teenager. Dad had a hard life too. His mother was forced to leave Vietnam and left him an orphan as his father had passed years prior. 

 

I was riddled with so much guilt and shame throughout life. It was easier to cope by blocking out what happened than to confront it or tell anyone. I internalized the trauma and felt like it was my fault. 

 

it was so hurtful to hear this judgment from my own father. I made the conscious decision to then shut down from every man even further. 

 

“Looking back, I’m sure Dad wasn’t intentionally trying to hurt me by not listening or showing lack of emotion. He just didn’t have the tools to be supportive or know what to say. I don’t blame him. Being a parent myself, I can only imagine the pain I put him through knowing your own child was a victim of the cruel world he warned me about all these years. I love and forgive you Dad.” —Journal entry, January, 1 2015 CHAPTER TWO THE “ISM’S” “Life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent of how I react to it.” —Charles Swindoll What other choice did I have but learn how to shut out trauma and unhealed wounds that were bottled up inside? 

 

Our most profound and intimate relationships are our most accurate mirrors reflecting what we cannot see within ourselves individually. In that sense, we are all 

 

I tried to overcompensate by putting my best effort in to fix others externally and internally. It took me a long time to realize I was worthy of love too. 

 

I finally realized that life is a beautiful flow of reciprocity when it is in perfect balance. 

 

I switched addictions – from food to drugs, to alcohol, to men, to chasing people, places and things that gave me instant gratification or a “high.” 

 

The blessings I received from that marriage were I discovered 12-step programs and I had a child named Noah – my greatest blessing in life. 

 

I truly learned about acceptance and forgiveness. I learned how not to drink. I learned how to stay away from things that hurt me, but I never learned who I was. 

 

Yet, it is in our being, which is – at its core, a presence and mindfulness practice – that we find the greatest peace. When we strip away our emotional defenses, our professional accomplishments and even our limited personalities, it leaves us with the quiet space where our awareness, or consciousness, is seated. 

 

This led me to only attracting toxic relationships once again, because that was the vibration I was sending out and the dynamic I was asking for by embodying it. It was the message I was casting out into the Universe of what I deserve – until I realized I no longer deserved it. Until these toxic patterns and behaviors brought me to my knees, praying and begging to God, the Universe and Source energy – whoever is out there watching out over me – for desperate help. 

 

Through deep self-reflection and work in the various recovery programs, I was able to truly forgive myself. I believed at one point in my life that I was so unworthy of love and acceptance that I didn’t deserve goodness or success. I hid my talents for fear of what it could bring. That was, until one of many Moments where I faced a difficult decision. 

 

There is always something magical that happens as soon as you invest in learning, apply a principle, put pen to paper, work with a coach/sponsor, set intentions of a vision and work towards a future goal on the calendar. You will find that your attitude starts to adjust, becomes optimistic and hopeful. You become excited about what’s about to come. Through that, you have the power to change your thought processes and trajectory of life. Like the wise Tony Robbins explains, “Anything in motion tends to stay in motion.” 

 

no one can turn back the hands of time. We can only move forward with the wisdom we have gained from the lessons and the pain. 

 

inspirational leader, who has since passed, once said, “Don’t die with your music still in you.” Music can be anything, but for me, it’s developed into writing. Each note is a word and the crescendos of melody are my exclamation points! 

 

Remember, your diet isn’t a means to an end; it’s just a level of awareness of how you exist in relation to your food. In the same way, sobriety offers you a new level of consciousness in the way you are living in relation to what you consume and allow into your body and being, whether substance or energy. 

 

WHAT IS ACCEPTANCE? “Acceptance to me feels like learning how to live in slow motion and falling into an undercurrent that sweeps me gently and peacefully away. Each slow deep breath draws me closer to the person I am supposed to be.” —Cathy Trinh, Journal entry – January 01, 2020 

 

This honest realization blew my mind. I came to understand that my self-worth and self-esteem had been tied to the constant need for validation from people and especially men, to prove my worth. 

 

worthy guys and couldn’t help but question my sanity. I saw a funny meme that read, “If you line up all your ex- lovers in a row you can see a flow chart of your mental illness. That was me in a nutshell. 

 

Looking back now, I cringe because as I was searching for my identity I broke a lot of hearts, left relationships hanging, hurt people, but worse of all broke my own heart along the way. They say that “hurt people, hurt people.” 

 

I saw that I was in a constant need of approval, of people pleasing, of preserving my self-image. I saw that I did not have clear boundaries with men. All this led to me feelings of self-pity, feelings of being unlovable, feelings of being unattractive, unworthy, and inadequate. 

 

I’ve made peace with this and other relationships on my journey. 

 

I was an open book who overshared and inevitably “trauma-bonded” with everyone. I thought this was an effective way of communicating and building connections. However, I recognized later I was only playing the victim, martyr and manipulated my way into relationships with emotional attachments. As far as I can remember, I was always enmeshed or entangled in one relationship or another. After leaving one relationship, I 

would show up at another person’s door with a big trash bag of emotional wreckage, debris and remnants from the past or recent turmoil. Sadly, sometimes with one or more emotional liaisons at a time, desperately seeking that feeling of validation I could not find from one source. This was because I was unfulfilled within my own self. 

 

Throughout my life, I was like an enslaved warrior who hunted and broke the hearts of many men. Despite any love that I was showered with, I couldn’t trust anyone with my heart. For so long, I remained aloof and arrogant in relationships. 

 

destructive, for fear of loneliness and abandonment. The relationships always slowly burned, but I needed to experience them so that I could learn and finally, deeply realize the self-love and self-respect that I deserved in a relationship and how I treated my own self. Within 

 

I consciously decided not to spend time with men, even as friends. Instead, I put all of my time and energy into building deeper sisterhood relationships with other women. This was a game changer for me. By healing my feminine energy and connections, I started to see myself changing. I was beginning to transform into the person I knew existed. Someone who was lost a long time ago. I read poetry and listened to my favorite music. I studied self-empowerment videos and familiarized myself with professional social media marketing strategies to improve my business. I focused on my health, wellness, spirituality, my son, re-centered my priorities and grounded myself in ways I haven’t during my entire life. 

 

for me to cope as well, so I had to also get rid of that habit. I became vice-less. I also was not able to use food as a way to cope because I was on a strict diet through all of my cancer treatments. Thus, I was left with my own raw self. 

 

I was face to face with me. Just me. I then found humor, awareness and peace in the rooms of AA and SLAA again. I loved going to meetings because other people could relate, had similar struggles and passed no judgment in my shares of my problems and adventures. I finally enjoyed my life even though it was mainly working, the recovery program, lots of journaling and introspection. 

 

Every day, I remind myself that I am truly a powerful force of love and freedom, here to inspire greatness in myself and others. I get to enjoy and have fun and embrace the ability to create the life I love. I am so blessed to have the roles of mother, teacher, protector, nurturer and guide for my son to help him learn how to fulfill his own needs the best ways he can on his own journey. 

 

I have grown exponentially on my journey. Being single and not searching for others to fulfill my life has allowed me to discover who I truly am. 

 

Being more thoughtful: Slowing down allowed me to develop more thoughtful responses. Being in a technology- driven age, we can interact and move so fast in and out of dialogue with people via phone, text and email. Social media also diminishes the quality of the connection with individuals. Being more thoughtful in your words, actions and connections cultivate deeper bonds within yourself and others. 

 

Moving fast interfered with my ability to perform well and disengaged me from taking care of myself. 

 

• Have clear and healthy boundaries: Slowing down allows you to focus on what feels right for you and having integrity with yourself and others – allowing you to respect your personal needs and desires. 

 

But the good always comes with the bad. He made me realize I was not ready to be in a relationship because I hadn’t fully learned how to love myself and to have a healthy relationship with myself. 

 

“I had to relinquish all of my control in order to heal.” —Journal entry, January 30, 2019 

 

come in the writing of the inventory, but it comes from the resistance of looking at where you have been wrong in your life. The mistakes you have made and people you have hurt. Some addicts would rather act out and be loaded than have to face inner truths or as some would call them, “inner demons.” The freedom from self is made when you let go of fears and secrets you’ve hoarded all your life. Letting go of this is a way to create strength through vulnerability. 

 

Sharing your inventory with another person, someone you trust, allows you not to hide or run away anymore. We face our truths and we turn the incomprehensibly demoralizing secrets into power by giving it no power over our life anymore. I have worked the steps three times and have shared my secrets with several sponsors in various stages of my addiction. 

 

Each time I left a facility, my heart was filled with so much gratitude. Gratitude for a second chance to live. Sharing my story allowed me to remember where I came from and to see the miracle of recovery and growth in myself. Having a positive impact on others gave me a renewed sense of hope and purpose. I knew I was walking into my Soul path, calling, and purpose. 

 

Step 8 – “Make a list of all persons we harmed and become willing to make amends to them all.” Pro: Through this step, I identified people in my life that I had to make amends to. I came to realize there were a lot of people that I hurt. I also realized that there was a lot of hope knowing I was able to clean up the past. 

 

Step 9 – “Make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.” Pro: I was able to clear up the wreckage of my past and come to terms with it. Also, I cleared up my mind so I did not make the same mistake again. Once you get to this step, life becomes real and you recognize the hurt and pain you’ve caused. This step helps you clean your past up. Even though it’s a hard step, it’s a fruitful one. Con: There were some people that I haven’t been able to find to make amends to them. 

 

“Sometimes, we’re so concerned about giving our children what we never had growing up, we neglect to give them what we did have growing up.” —James Dobson 

 

I feel so deeply for my son. I love him just so much. In return, he gives me so much joy – we always find ourselves coming back to each other with hugs and kisses. He looks a lot like me, although I see other people in him – his grandfather, his father and the many individuals that have come before. His soul is embedded with depth, grace and unconditional love. 

 

Noah said to me. “Mom, it’s been on my bucket list to get you off social media since I was five years old.” That was a powerful Moment for me, one that made me realize: Technology had overtaken the Moments I should be parenting. At that Moment, I realized Noah’s sudden weight gain was the result of child neglect and abandonment. I was abandoning my son and made the realization that I had also abandoned myself. I was reaching for things outside of me to make me feel better. I broke down and cried. 

 

Havening came from extensive experience and research on psycho-sensory therapy. “This healing modality uses the foundation of neuroscience and neurobiology, which uses sensory input to alter thought, mood and behavior,” (Reference: http://www.havening.org). When an event or experience is perceived as traumatic or stressful, it becomes encoded and changes your life as the event is stuck permanently in the psyche and the body, often with life-altering consequences. Unfortunately these traumatic experiences for me manifested as recurring dialogue full of negativity, fear and painful events that I was not able to directly “get over” or “shake off.” 

 

“I would do it again in a heartbeat to find the unconditional love I’ve been searching for all my life – the passion within me. To find the love of my life, every inch of me.” —Journal entry, February, 14, 2019 

 

The only problem is that we forget to take care of ourselves, our health, take a break, until it’s too late. Unfortunately the majority of this wisdom and training was handed down by our ancestors, parents, friends, peers and leaders, but I didn’t always integrate it into my life. 

 

I spent the past twenty years cultivating my craft and earned a great living with the “gift of gab.” But not only was it a great asset, but it also helped me launch me into the great state of misery as well. I talked my way into exhaustion, became a people pleaser and lacked boundaries in all my affairs. My passion and zest for life, along with a long list of addictive behaviors, transformed me into a workaholic and I sacrificed my health and vitality – as previously mentioned in the Chapter 2 called “Workaholism”. 

 

She wrote the post, not seeking condolences or even prayers, but the post was almost written like a public service announcement to heed a friendly reminder to warn people of the dangers of working hard and pushing yourself to the limits. 

 

I worked hard 50-60 hours a week in a corporate setting for many years. I confused high volume activity with productivity. Working hard was supposed to equal results. I didn’t make time to care for my health, plan fun trips, hang out with friends, or stay in contact with my family. Sometimes, I forgot that prayer, meditation, journaling and practicing mindfulness was necessary during long work hours as a way to help minimize corporate burnout. 

 

Slowing down was the answer. Inaction or slowing down was the only action that made a difference between happiness and burning out, between failure and success. As I was trying my best to learn how to slow down, I miscalculated my efforts. 

 

I’m so grateful that late-night Linkedin post gave me the inspiration to complete the book. I’ve been working on this book project for a very long time. I have to admit I was dealing with low vibrating nonsensical chaos, self- esteem issues, self-loathing and self-diminishing issues that stemmed from years of not taking care of me. I obsessed with other things and did not focus on slowing down. I had every excuse not to get this book to the finish line, but this is it. I focused on finishing it in 2020, no matter what. 

 

would encourage each one of you to never stop pursuing your dreams and list your passion projects down. Like Tony Robbin’s say, if its’ not written down or not on your calendar – it doesn’t exist. 

 

A part of the program was to declutter different areas of my life. Purging, clearing and cleansing became a weekly routine. The only problem I had was the more clarity I had in my life, the more I was forced to work, rework and refocus the book so many times. 

 

I called this phase in my life “The Big Cleanse”. During this cleanse, I completely removed distractions. I had to identify what my biggest distractions were and refrain from acting out on them. 

 

Daily reflection allowed me to clear and purge the pain when flashbacks from the past happened. Journaling captured times when I set fire to myself to keep another person warm. 

 

They helped me heal, grow and allowed me to experience miraculous breakthroughs, both personally and professionally. My life has been a series of mini traumas that allow me to be the woman I am today. My main purpose now is to help others heal on their journey. My hope is to move, touch, inspire and help others find peace in their lives and create the joyful life they deserve and love. I hope my roller coaster adventure allows you to free yourself from your imperfections. 

 

Parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole. Treatment of the whole person. 

 

On a spiritual level, I spent time in nature and found a deeper connection with myself. I spent time looking at the stars, watched sunsets and continued to dream and embrace what I believed. I kept my soul happy. I practiced the gift of being of service, performing random acts of kindness, smiling at strangers, decluttering my space and letting go of things that no longer served my present-day life. 

 

When I made a conscious decision to create a routine to eat more natural foods, practice yoga and balance my mind with Morning Prayer and meditation, my life began to change. I let go of negative energy around me and blocked negative thoughts about the way people thought of me. I began to feel free and motivated. 

 

• Value your time, don’t overcommit, overdo and push yourself to the limit. Being selfish with time is a healthy way of living. Don’t rush and try to maximize your time. 

 

Be respectful to others and love your neighbors. You never know what battles someone is going through in life during each season of their lives. Your kind words might be the push that is needed to stop them from hurting. • Connect with others that are on similar paths. It will be easier to live holistically by being around people who are on the same page and chosen path. Connecting with others who are on a similar journey will improve your way to a better life. 

 

Here are some simple, little things in daily life that can bring you true happiness: • Take an extra-long bath or shower when you have free time. • Call a friend, family member or loved one and check in on them. • Be present with your children and enjoy each Moment you can. • Smile at strangers and be kind to one another. • Enjoy the little things at home, at work and play. • Keep track of small things. • Thank someone for small things. • Compliment someone for small things. • Appreciate yourself for the small things. 

 

“Live in the Moment and appreciate the little things in life. Enjoy the little things in life because one day you’ll look back and realize they were actually significant milestones in life. Having the ability to appreciate the small things in life can upgrade your life in a magnificent way. There is a reason to celebrate the small things and be grateful everyday no matter how small. Gratitude is a powerful attitude that will continue to attract that same energy of graciousness and high vibration of love and awareness into all aspects of your life.” 

 

“The effect you have on others is the most valuable currency there is.” —Jim Carrey 

 

no longer feel that statement holds the truth. I am loveable, whole and complete today. Today, I accept all of my flaws and who I am as a person. As I take a Moment to reflect on the years that followed that incident of losing my job during a horrific act of violence against America, I know I had to go through that experience to become a brave person to talk about this today. 

 

COVID-19 will come and go. I am reminded how fear can control our lives. Fear in our hearts, minds and life as we know it. From our local community, our financial institution, to our government, I will never forget how easy it is for them to take full control of our lives. Access to every sporting event, classroom, restaurant table, support gathering, church pew and even food supply is under the control of our government. We are asked not to leave our own homes for our safety and the safety of others. During this time, the news flashes with an overwhelming sense of fear in our society, communities, locally and worldwide. 

 

This pandemic has brought people together from all walks of life, around the world offering help to one another more than ever before. This is more than a global pandemic, but more a spiritual or Universal cleansing. It served as a hard reset for everyone globally. To help shift our perspectives to what is most important in life.

 

The pandemic is creating more values within families, who now care less about material things, and who care more about the environment and appreciate life in general. Many of us will have the opportunity in the coming weeks and months to do this. During this time, I am taking a look at the world around me and also within myself. I spend time looking out the window to gaze at the beautiful palm trees and greenery that surround the front entrance of my apartment home. 

 

Sometimes in life, things happen that aren’t according to plan and you make the most of it. Every season has a reason and so does this critical time in our collective lives. Our ability to be flexible and open-minded during these moments of our experiences of discomfort and dis-ease can determine so much. My hope for everyone is that you are able to stay calm, level headed, connected within, no matter whatever is happening, and make the 

most of what is going on in life through this period of immense slowing down. Life is asking us to slow down, truly without an option this time, and we must listen to all heal. Amid this Coronavirus madness, I am incredibly grateful for the privilege of continuing to take this journey of deep self-reflection and produce a book that will embody my life’s work to help inspire, uplift and possibly heal those who are suffering. I am grateful to be fully immersed in supporting others, steer them away from toxic addictions and offer solutions that can help people cope with all the anxiety, stress and craziness that’s occurring in reaction to what’s going on in this world. I know that at the end of the day, “This too shall pass.” Please be kind to yourself, your neighbors and respect yourself and others. 

Please be considerate of those who are not as fortunate as you. Be compassionate and put yourself in others’ shoes. Be a pillar of strength and support others, but reach out and ask for help if you need it too – as all we have is each other. Be impeccable with your words, be intentional in your actions and be thoughtful in your presence. 

Twenty-twenty is the year that is going to make or break us. It was inevitable because of the way we have been operating as systems on overdrive and abusing life. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has globally crippled thousand through sickness and fear with nation-wide quarantines, one of the most uplifting results was the usually dark and murky waterway canals in Venice turned noticeably brighter with dolphins, swans and signs of nature and life swimming through it! The water became clearer because there was less traffic and pollution on the canals. The air quality improved as well since there was less boat traffic than usual. In China, many overproducing factories of stopped during their pandemic quarantine and their usually polluted murky skies cleared to bright blue skies. Even during these challenging times, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Mother earth is healing, as humanity learns to improve.” 

 

“You are loved, wanted and thus valid. You are enough. You are irreplaceable.” 

 

What is the overall tone of your inner dialogue? A positive mindset allows you to live in grace, poise, focus and inner calmness that is needed in everyday-life scenarios. 

“Journaling is a beautiful way to slow down the mind, as it allows you to take time to reflect while writing and purging. Say kind words to yourself each morning and night.” 

 

Self-Care Guide: Practice by taking time to eat healthier, focus on your breath and detox from chemical dependencies. • Take 30 minutes of uninterrupted time for meals. Make more thoughtful food choices and create time to eat rather than rush through the day eating to feel satiated. • Focus on your breath. Breathing can help prepare and recover the body during difficult Moments and when making critical decisions. Practice slowing down your breath. Take deep breaths and feel the air coming into your body and feel the stress going out. Focus on each breath and slow yourself down. • Detoxing from chemicals and alcohol may be a great way to start the body’s healing process. Avoid alcohol or any substances that will block energy frequencies.” 

“Distinguish Emotions: Slowing down allows you to feel, identify and distinguish the emotions you experience and will enable you to express those feelings. • Better Decision Making: Slowing down allows your mind to assess circumstances to make better sound decisions. • Setting Intentions: Slowing down allows you to reflect and set your intentions throughout the day and become mindful of what it is that you’re doing. Also, you will go forward with a clear and deep sense of clarity and purpose.” 

“Scenic-Care Guide: Take time to be in nature. Various activities will allow you to view the vast scenery our planet has to offer such, as hiking, walking, camping, snowboarding, surfing, bike riding, golfing, mountain climbing, the list goes on and on. • Appreciate Nature: Slowing down allows you to enjoy the sensation of nature with water, wind and earth against your skin. Take deep breaths of fresh air outside while enjoying the serenity of trees, plants, birds and flowing water. You can also take nature walks, go for a swim, hike, Etc. You can try doing this daily with a loved one or by yourself. While many of us are shut in our offices, cars and homes most of the time, we rarely go outside to enjoy nature.” 

 

“You’ll never find peace of mind until you listen to your heart.” —George Michael 

This was a very deep and vulnerable story. Her writing this story has inspired me to double down and take care how I would want to write my own biography. I enjoyed the progress and how she is so open about life. Most people are afraid of sharing themselves so freely. 

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