Age: 63
Relationship Status: In a loving relationship for over 8 years
Occupation: Divorce Paralegal
Income: $180,000
Astrological Sign: Aquarius
What is your first thought every morning?
Let’s get up and make the fucking magic happen.
What is something you do solely for you?
Take care of my health. I do Hot yoga, Zumba, weights, cryo treatments, and get massages.
What is something you dread?
Being physically or mentally incapacitated.
What is something you are looking forward to?
I look forward to every day.
When do you feel most accomplished?
When I have overcome a challenge.
What is something you regret investing in financially?
My ex-husband.
What is something you regret investing in emotionally?
My ex-husband.
What are three things you think are absolutely worth the investment?
(financially, emotionally, or time/energy-wise)
Financially, learn about money management and passive income.
Emotionally, take time to learn who you are honestly and be peaceful; learn to be alone without being lonely. Once you know who you are and are content being alone, you won’t settle for nonsense.
Energy-wise, exercise your mind by always being curious and learning new things. Once you stop being curious, you stop growing and begin stagnating. Exercise your body because aging is not for the weak. Women absolutely need to lift weights to maintain muscle mass and bone density. And, no, weights will not make you look like a man.
When do you feel most creative?
When I’m writing legal briefs or singing for residents at retirement homes with my choral group.
How often do you compare yourself to others? When?
Comparison is the thief of joy. Instead, I admire people for the things they can do that I cannot.
What is one thing you’d like to thank your past self for?
For not committing suicide when she was 12.
What is one thing you believe about your future self?
I know my future self will continue to be an upbeat, positive person no matter what life may bring.
What is one thing you learned in childhood that you have now had to unlearn in adulthood?
I am not responsible for caring for everyone.
Have you ever felt pure joy? When?
I feel pure joy constantly. When I look at my wonderful son and see what an outstanding, happy person he is. When I look at my boyfriend, I know I must have done something wonderful to have him in my life. When I look at my brothers, I know we should have failed in life based on where we started and seeing us all thrive and succeed, thus breaking our generational issues. When I look at my nieces and nephews and see happy, productive adults, it confirms my brothers, and I broke our family curse of alcohol addiction and child abuse. When I look at my friends, and know how much I am loved and appreciated. When my clients sincerely thank me for helping them through one of the most difficult periods of their lives. When I look at myself, and see how much work and growth I have done to overcome and heal. I feel joy and gratitude for having such a humbling, simple existence where I can be my authentic self.
What is something that would feel really good to get off your chest?
I personally believe religion is disempowering because it teaches people to believe in something else besides themselves. If people were never taught to believe in mythical deities, they would know all the power they need is within themselves.
When do you feel most in your feminine energy?
When I am with my boyfriend because he is confident, masculine energy, and when I am nurturing others.
What is one interaction that changed your life?
My father was an alcoholic abuser. He would get drunk and beat up my mother. From the time I was 5, I would intervene and usually end up taking the beating for her. My father wanted a son. I was first born. He taught me how to box, would have push-ups and sit-up contests with me, and generally taught me how to fight. We were raised Lutheran. I went to church by myself as a child every Sunday to pray for him to stop beating my mother and me. By the time I was 12, I had read the Bible. Of course, the beatings never stopped. At 12, I had the epiphany that there was no god, and I needed to get off my knees and start fighting back before my father killed us. At 14, I hit my father back for the first time. From that point on, I was no longer a victim. Whenever my father came home drunk and started abusing my mother, I would step in and beat the fuck out of him. He did almost murder me when I was 18 but, thankfully, I was practicing Buddhism at that point. I had the opportunity to kill him to save myself, but in understanding the Buddhist principles of karma, I decided I would rather let him kill me than suffer the karmic consequences of killing him. I stopped fighting, and he choked me into unconsciousness. I woke up a few hours later feeling I had expiated my negative karma without creating the further negative karma of killing him. It was very empowering to know I could physically fight a man, and it gave me the confidence to never put up with a man’s bad behavior. Also, I learned that sometimes surrender is the best solution.
What is something you want to give up?
Nothing. I am quite content with everything in my life.
What is something you want to take up?
I am about to have a double hip replacement, so I want to resume my previous activities. I would like to skydive!
What do you believe is a universal truth?
Kindness is the only way to happiness.
BONUS: Tell me something good.
I taught my son that good and bad are labels we bestow on things. I don’t like to think something in my life is bad. Instead, I choose to label it as challenging. Life is not a straight line. That’s a flatline and, therefore, dead. There will be times of ease and times of challenge. People never grow during times of ease. They are cruising. People only grow when challenged. When you are being challenged, embrace it and grow accordingly. Level up!
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