Smiles Await You

This painting is titled Smiles Await You When Rise. Isn't is beautiful? OK, so the painter, Daniel Nevins, is one of my dearest friends, but I loved his paintings before he became my friend, so I don't think I'm biased at all.

All of his paintings are magnificent. They are my spiritual food.

I asked Daniel for a print because it makes me think of how it can be in the world: You are loved and valued for who you really are. You get to make your life a masterpiece. Smiles await you when you rise.

I also asked Daniel for this print because I wanted it to be a testament to this time in my life when I am making a huge leap and imagining a giant cloud of gorgeous flowers to catch me.

For a while I've been hinting that I am up to something big - I alluded to breakthroughs and accomplishments and not having much time for this blog. And now I'm thrilled to reveal the reason: I'm launching a personal coaching business!

How did this happen? Well, let me take you back about 10 years ago when I was reading everything I could about Mt. Everest. W.H. Murray led early expeditions to that little mountain and wrote the following passage in his memoir, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition (1951), and it has informed my life more than any other:

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.

For years now, I have been telling my family and friends that I am open to discovering a completely new path for my life. The only issue has been that I love my work as a midwife and it was hard to imagine being drawn away from it and toward something else. Nevertheless, I sensed that the time was coming for me to try something new, and I have been paying attention to the signals that the universe has been sending me.

And to be very clear: I am still very much devoted to providing health care to women. I will happily keep my "day" job while enjoying this work, too.

Over the past year, I have been getting some very strong signals. I noticed that friends were coming to me for advice—and that my advice and support actually seemed to help them feel better. I noticed, too, that after years of reading positive psychology, I had begun to synthesize what I had read into an approach that seemed both extremely satisfying for me and unique.

Finally, a few months ago, I put a name on the path that was opening before me, and decided that, I was interested in becoming a life coach. And then the strangest thing happened. I got on a plane in April . . . and ended up sitting next to a life coach! And in the course of that flight I made the connection between what I do now—serve women in childbirth—and what I want to do more — serve people hoping to make a shift in their lives.

Because childbirth, after all, is a series of transitions. There is actually a stage of labor that is called "transition"— the very last before the woman pushes the baby out. But of course good midwives know that good outcomes for mothers and families require supporting women through this major life change—addressing fears, calling out hidden strengths, and focusing the mother on the wonderful new world that awaits on the other side of this challenge.

And so, after years of waiting and months of listening, all the pieces fell into place: I wanted to become a midwife for people's lives, helping people who had identified a new path for themselves to create a meaningful, satisfying, and above all else, happy life.

I would be honored if you would visit my new website to learn more!