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Life
by Sandra Street, H.C.

Looking back, I often wonder how I got to where I am. Life has treated me good and it has also treated me bad (an old perception.) My philosophy of life at one time was, "Life is like a rose, once you get through the soft petals and the wonderful smell, it's all thorns." I guess you could say that part of me was very angry at how I perceived life had treated me, instead of how I was facing life. I was very afraid of what people would think of me. I was also afraid to make friends because when growing up, we moved every two years and it hurt to leave friends behind. If I had no friends, I wouldn't have to feel the hurt again. So part of me pushed people away and I became a loner at a very young age.

I remember one time just before I moved, a girl I knew told me that she was going to miss me because I always smiled, and that I seemed to always be happy by looking at the brighter side of things. She never saw the parts of me being ripped apart whenever I was excluded from a group, or was the last one to be picked on someone's team at school or in the neighborhood games. It didn't change any when I graduated from school and started working. Somehow I was always by myself in a crowded room, going from group to group, job to job, and relationship to relationship.

I was so tired of being angry and hiding it from the world that I became very bitter at work, attacking what friends I did have, and my relationship at home seemed doomed. I was so confused and I didn't know which way to turn. I knew that I needed counseling, but I just didn't feel comfortable going to see a traditional doctor. I knew there had to be a way to solve this on my own so a couple of years ago, I started buying books and tapes on self-help to help me cope with my problem. Some of the things in the books helped, but I felt there was something missing. I was talking about it with my older sister when she mentioned a free demonstration on Thursday nights and said that she would go with me. After the demonstration, for weeks the only thing I could think about was when will I ever have the time or money to take my first class? The longer it took, the angrier I got.

After taking the first weekend class at Journeys of Wisdom (JOW), Level 1, I felt like a new person. I finally understood why I did the things I did in the past and why people treated me the way they did. I had changed so much in such a short period of time, I was truly happy with whom I had become.

Every class I took removed more and more of the layers of self-doubt and anger and helped me to heal myself in ways that I didn't know were possible. A coworker noticed how relaxed and less stressed I was about work, and wanted to know why it was so easy for me to just let go of the anger and resentment that I had previously. So I told her about JOW and the demonstrations on Thursday nights. Like me, she couldn't wait to take her first class.

I enjoy life so much now, people now come to me to ask me to join their groups. And I don't feel alone anymore. I now feel confident about who I am and where I am going. I have received my certification as a Holistic Coach(tm). Anyone wanting more information on how they can help themselves as I have helped myself can set up an appointment with me at 614-571-8280 or stop by the free demonstrations on Thursday nights; I am usually there.