Hello & Welcome!
Life takes twists and turns. We feel what we need to grow.
It’s been a little over two years since my concession post. A lot has happened since then. Things have changed. I have changed.
The post-election haze brought feelings of despair, failure, and depression. Emotions I‘d not had to deal with before. It took some time. I realized life had other plans for me. Bigger, better plans.
In the meantime, I would need to make space. And so the great cleansing began. Old initiatives that didn’t serve me any longer. There is something liberating thinking about life in chapters. It gives you permission to end a segment and move on. Things aren’t supposed to go on forever.
Our beloved Bear Coffeehouse and Winebar was first to end. After six years, it had become a favorite community gathering spot. It was a work of passion, but one that took its toll on my peace and well-being. Owning and operating a restaurant left no time for such things.
I gracefully exited politics, transitioning out of my city council seat by not running for a second term. It was with mixed feelings as it left no women on the seven person council. And I had seen first hand how often that unique perspective impacted policy and decisions.
I left the hospital board, and ended the farmers market we had started. It was timely endings for both. That gave the freedom to all involved to move forward with their own new chapters.
My husband and I downsized our excessive-for-two home, and are happily living the dream in a 1,000-square foot cottage in the Iowa Lakes area. Abundant blue water, trails and tall, twisted trees make each day a holiday worth savoring.
In 2018, the wave of winning female candidates seemed to skip over our conservative corner of the universe. So I helped start Her WolfPAC to support women running for office here. The intention to build a bench, create role models, and get women to the table. It carries on today.
With all the endings, space began to emerge for beginnings. Quite by accident, some may even say by divine intervention, I discovered Eckhart Tolle. The “modern day prophet” had, to that point, eluded my radar.
A New Earth: Awakening To Your Life’s Purpose resonated to my core and started what would be a year-long transformation of a human spirit. It brought hope where there had been anger and fear, and set in motion the course for finding my own life’s purpose.
That path has brought us to the here and now.
I have so many gifts to share, innate as well as accumulated over years of experience and life. Perspectives to help us all feel our emotions – wherever they may be – and raise them up. Even if just a little bit. The whole world benefits every time one of us rises-up just a notch.
For me it’s always been about service of some kind or cause. My focus now is squarely set on service to humanity. As a teacher and mentor. As an advocate for lifting people up, particularly those without hope. And as a cheerleader for our world – in all its diverse and eccentric brilliance.
Each of us has our own, really BIG role to play in humanity’s evolution at this critical time for our planet. A mentor of mine once said, “Just tell me the rules, and I’ll play the game.” I always liked that and really took it to heart. But at this point I’d add, with emphasis, “And let’s have the courage to break the ones that don’t make sense.”
We all need to be brave. To love, to forgive, and to be happy. There’s much work to do here. And we’re never really done.
