My Purpose Is Not What I Do
I’ve been reflecting on the year 2025 over the past few weeks. Almost every aspect of my life is drastically different from how it began: my career, my love life, my closest relationships…everything. But the most significant shift has been my understanding of, and commitment to nurturing…my SELF.
A few years ago, I began actively engaging in a journey of self-love and healing. As long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to self-improvement; curious about growth, meaning, and transformation. That curiosity, paired with my natural and nurtured love of reading, meant there was never a shortage of personal wellness books surrounding me.
In 2022, I was unknowingly crossing the threshold of menopause. I was surprised to learn earlier this year that I’m already postmenopausal; a story for another time. But in the fall of ‘22, something shifted. I felt a growing internal strength, a readiness to actually change me. Around that time, a friend casually said, “You know, I think you’d really like this therapist I know.”
Now, it’s important to say that I’d been to therapy before, just never for any sistained period. This time was different, I was ready to do the work. I made the call, and three years later, I owe a significant portion of my healing to her loving guidance. The rest? I gladly and proundly take full credit for myself.
Throughout thsi year, amidst the chaos unfolding in the world around me, I’ve been stripped of many things: people, beliefs, habits. Many cords have been cut. At the same time, several relationships have deepened and blossomed in unexpected ways.
In 2025, I learned that my purpose is not what I do. My purpose is what happens to people when I do what I do.
It is because of the healing work I’ve committed to over the past few years: talk therapy, float therapy, massage therapy, reiki, yoga, journaling, meditation, prayer, and visualization that I have survived this past year. I not only survived with my sanity, but I thrived.
The close relationships within my inner circle were key. I cannot, however, ignore my spirit team; the ancestors who have held me, protected me, and set things up for me along the way. Through meditation and prayer, I have nurtured my connection to God | Allah | Source | The Universe. And because I have tended to that relationship and have learned to be present, I can hear, see and understand guidance and lessons around me with greater clarity.
When the professional career that I had built over the past 20 years, began to crumble before my very eyes, I was most definitely shaken! AND…
I have learned how to be still. I was working on trusting the Universe and my spirit team. I believe in the Universal Laws, and understand the Law of Surrender. It was time to put the intellectual understanding into practice. In the stillness… Living Memory Gatherings™ came to me! I have spent the 2nd half of 2025 gestating, nurturing, and grooming this gift.
Because my purpose is not what I do, but what happens to others when I do what I do… I am excited. I know that what I have created has the ability to have a profound impact. My goal is to start with the community around me: MY community. My hope is that, through my years in Toledo, I have cultivated strong relationships, moved with integrity, and shown my heart and authenticity. I have always believed that a sexy woman does not need to wear a t-shirt that says “Sexy” on it. If you know what I mean (wink, wink).
My goal is for Living Memory Gatherings™ to be a part of Toledo, OH being the strongest, most connected city where our individual and collective humanity is recognized and celebrated!
