How starting over helped Melanie build self-trust.
Note from Sydney: Our third (!!!) class of Blaze Your Own Trail to Self-Love (BYOT) starts on Sunday, and we’re inviting program alumni to share their stories. The post below was written by Melanie K., who has completed Blaze Your Own Trail to Self-Love and attended Hike + Heal Joshua Tree last year.
Looking back at last year, it's been a doozy. I began a process of basically throwing out everything that wasn't working in my life and starting over.
I found Sydney and Hiking My Feelings mid pandemic, living alone, on the cusp of getting divorced, wanting to quit my job, feeling cut off from my creativity, and trying to redefine my life in a major way. I didn't have a lot of support, and, honestly, I didn't really know how to lean on anyone other than myself.
I'm so thankful I joined Blaze Your Own Trail to Self-Love.
BYOT introduced me to a way of being with and listening to others that I'd really never experienced. Being allowed (and encouraged!) to take up space and receive support without judgment or advice was a revelation for me. Showing up each week, I had the freedom to be sad, talk about scary things, or just be quiet and listen.
I think the biggest lesson I learned during BYOT, is this:
My creativity is important and has value, even if I don't make money from it.
I love theater and spent my childhood dreaming of being an actor. But along the way I learned (incorrectly) that if I want to act, sing, or pursue anything really, I better get paid for it. Doing any of that just for the fun of it wasn't supposed to be worth it. So I stopped acting. BYOT gave me space to examine that limiting belief, and the support to step back into my creativity without the pressure to "be good", or make it my career. I also got to see and get inspired by so many different forms of creativity from the other BYOT members.
Today, I'm still on that journey of redefining my life, and it's still scary, but I'm able to trust myself and the path that I'm on.
I quit that job that wasn't fulfilling me, and it's created so much space for new possibilities. I also started taking acting classes again (thanks for encouraging me Sydney!), and even auditioned for a musical! After the last few years, I'm a little hesitant to say that 2022 is going to be awesome, but I've come so far already and I'm feeling really hopeful that I have the tools and support to keep building a life I want to live.
On Sunday, February 20, we are hosting an open house for Blaze Your Own Trail to Self-Love (BYOT).
Come see the work in action and feel the warm embrace of the Hiking My Feelings Family.
During the open house, you can meet the community, learn about the program, and participate in the first activity of the program, the Trail of Life Self-Reflection Workshop. We will reflect on what we've survived so far so we can draw deep inspiration to help carry us through the next chapter of our lives.