Are you living with “if” or “when”?

Hey there!

Here we are again meeting on a beautiful Sunday sharing our thoughts to loving the life we have, while dreaming of more. Is that the tape that is running in your head? Or is it a more defeating one? I have been using this very question with many aspects of my life. Let’s look at this question. Are you holding on to your ‘dreams and hopes’ if or when you have more money? Are you holding on to your ‘dreams and hopes’ if or when you have more time? In addition, we must realize where we are placing the responsibility for OUR happiness...It is solely our own, no one else has this power for OUR life. Example: I would be much happier if we had more money! or If others wouldn't bother me I would be less crabby. When I have more money I will sit back and enjoy my life. Hello! Today is here now... it's the best time for all. This loving of today will help you move to the dreams of tomorrow.

The key to start attracting more in our lives is to take the first step to look within ourselves. Do you find yourself saying, "I will be much happier if my boss wasn’t a jerk"? Or if everything was less stressful? Often, there are many 'excuses' that fly out of our mouths or pop into our minds. Who is the common denominator? The hard pill to swallow is US! I have been there and decided to swallow this bitter pill a few times in my life. It took me to be at the end of my options and tired of feeling unhappy or unfulfilled. I had to look within to start a changing journey inside of Merna!

Where do you start? I can almost here this question out loud as I am writing here, because I have asked the same questions in life. It starts with you! Remember – just KISS; keep it simple stupid! This is a saying I heard many, many years ago and it still rings in my head at times. Often, WE are the culprits that make our life passionless and hopeless. Each of us has the options to start today and make a better feeling life for ourselves. Think of it like ripples in a pond. When our core starts feeling better it will affect each other area of life.

This is where a personal relationship/life coach can help you break down your own barriers. They are the person to set the stage for you so you see what housecleaning needs to be done - without judgment! If you are interested in working with me go to my website and you will find a link for coaching with this information. You can also email me at the address below.

The first perfect stepping-stone is starting your Pocket of Pearls journey. To start making change we must first see what needs to change. One large ingredient in our fuel daily is our inner voice. How is yours?

I will leave you with that for today. I would love to hear about your journals any time. Drop me a note at Merna@pocketofpearls.com

Take care,

Merna

The Path of Creating This WorkBook Series...

Hello!

I am on my much needed break from school and work this week, while preparing for my first Pocket of Pearls workshops in the Quad cities area in my home state of Iowa. As I was preparing for my interactive workshop using my workbook, I decided to read it once again. I read the introduction out loud in my home to get the feel of sharing it with a live audience. I have to say, these memories of my younger life still bring tears to my eyes; good and bad memories.

During my first year of sobriety in 1986 and being a young lady of 22, it was scary. For me, what was scarier was what I learned about myself in that first year and the relationship I had with Merna. It was very harsh and undefined. Our 20's are all about finding out who we are and I didn't have a clue. It really was the beginning of many things in my life. Back then, I lived on Sanibel Island, Florida and had returned to this state after rehab in Minnesota. I believed Florida was the place for me and my future.

After 1 1/2 years of living on Sanibel Island I missed home and my family, so I moved back to Iowa. By trade, I had been a hairdresser since I graduated from cosmetology school when I was 19. However, this last year and a half on Sanibel I worked in a health club and discovered a whole new world of fitness. It was a new door that opened for me and I studied everything I could get my hands on. We had a huge stack of fitness magazines in our lounge and I borrowed them nightly to absorb it all like a sponge.

Even tho I seemed to have left living in "tropical paradise" to go back to Iowa, it was definitely 'going home' to me. Many individual's move to Florida to discover this wonderful world of living in a tropical place. However, once you get there you realize how many jobs you need to work to survive and pay the rent. There were many times i had 3 jobs at once to just make ends meet. There was very little time to enjoy 'paradise'.

However, I have no regrets about the second time I lived in Florida. I originally moved there when I was 19 and spent two years on Sanibel as a hairdresser then also. I had a short year at home in Iowa in between, which is when I ended up in rehab. In total, I lived on Sanibel and the Ft. Myers area almost 4 years. I do had aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents near by, but working so hard didn't leave much family time for me.

When I moved back to Iowa for the last time I took away some very valuable lessons in life, a new trade {aerobics}, a couple life long friends, and my journaling of a softer voice.

It does not matter where you are and what you are doing, there is a silver lining to each experience we have - we just can't see it when we are sitting in the middle of it. That is normal and to be expected. We need to heal, find our way out, grow, and look back to see how far we have come, while treasuring it. This is the process!

Each workbook I have has a part of me and some of my very tough journey's in life.Once I reached my 30's my journey became harder. You will learn about this in each workbook...

Everyone has had very tough moments in their life and it is not a competition of who has it worse. We all have to find a way through our own life, while healing the tough spots. We each have to survived OUR life, so find a healthy path. Pocket of Pearls is an amazing workbook to get you started with a healthy path for YOU!

If I hadn't started on my inner voice back then, I wouldn't have grown within myself. However, I had to go through the bad to realize how deflating and demeaning I was to myself. It is time to change this and help others. This is what I want to share with you. You are NOT alone here at all!

The emails I have received about this workbook are incredible and each woman related to it immediately! It touches a soft spot in many women who realize they need work in this area, but never knew where to start. Here is your first stepping-stone and a powerful one at that. Doing this workbook, month after month,it is a great gift to yourself to stay on a healthy path.

Take care and I will see you next week!

Merna

Are You wearing Your Ruby Slippers?

Today is my first blog posting for Pocket of Pearls and I was tossing out ideas to myself on where to begin. Thinking of my self-journey that started in 1986, as a newly sober young woman, another moment in my life came back to me.

In my mid 20’s I opened a hair salon in my community. I was very nervous and excited at the same time. It was called ‘Visions’….Hmmm……I knew I could handle self-employment, yet the unknown frightened me of actually owning my own salon. The first few months were nerve wracking, but I did not give up. I continued to work hard while continuing to self-promote and one day – boom! I had more business than I could handle. However, I worked at it and was relentless!

I was thriving with my personal success and FELT successful as well. My sobriety and AA was teaching me so much about life! I really had learned how to stop and smell the roses, but it did take time and I had more to learn. Looking back just a few short years earlier and remembering being at the bottom of my self-worth before I became sober. I would of never imagined then, happiness was truly possible within ME! What I mean by this is I was happy and confident. Not arrogant, I just felt satisfied inside of me.

This is about the time I got my first tattoo. Yes, I have a tattoo of Mickey Mouse on my ankle with a magic wand in his hand. My entire life I have been a huge Disney fan and thought it was a perfect way to keep Mickey with me at all times. It reminds me that the kid in me will never die. Just ask my nieces and nephews!

I remember describing what I wanted in Mickey’s hand to the artist, which was a magic wand. My personal thoughts immediately were….the magic of ME starts inside of me… Hmmm…what a great thought. I have what I need to find peace and contentment with me already. I just have to remember sometimes it means swimming against the current, but it does make you stronger. I had to remember to reach out for support when times are tough, while being kind to self. Life is not about perfect days, but rather knowing when to enjoy each day we have.

Just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and her ruby slippers. All along, she had the power with her to go home, but she did not know it. My hope for you and your Pocket of Pearls journey is to start learning about your relationship with YOU. Do not be afraid, your soul is good, kind, and caring. Sometimes our tough times in life make a few tough layers we need to weed through to feel good again. Some of us need and desire the guidance/structure of a personal Life Coach. If you are ready for a great asset on this journey of self-discovery, I will find you the best fit in a coach for you. I would be happy to do just that, but it is up to you! A coach can show you a healthy path if you feel you have some tough issues to get past, while learning amazing tools for life. Remember, you are not alone. We all have tough layers of self to heal!

Keep in mind; you are already wearing your ruby slippers. Your journey of self-help can start today with your Pocket of Pearls workbook! This pocket journal gives you daily challenges to check in with YOU and work on your relationship with self. It starts you on this journey of finding peace and contentment.

See you next week!

Merna

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