Where is Your Mind?

(original blog post on 2/9/16)

"Mind, body and soul are like a musical ensemble. Each must be finely tuned, well-nourished, diligently practiced and lovingly maintained in order to reach full potential." ~Facebook.com/walkingcircle 

My name is Raela Marie Villanueva, and this is my story; It's no longer my brother's story, or even my mother's story, but my story - I'm finally fully owning it! I will of course write about my brother's story as he no longer has the voice to tell it, my mother's story as she's never really shared it, and even some others' stories along the way (with permission of course) as I get private messages frequently from people who want to share. And in the end it could even be YOUR story. That's why I'm sharing. And what it all boils down to is best practices for self-care, which is essentially what this recovery blog is all about, and that's where the awareness lies.

I was diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder sometime between my younger brother's suicide March 30, 1997 (wow, it's been almost 19 years) and my last "meltdown" as I like to refer to it this past October, merely 3 months ago. I don't believe in labels, as I'm certainly not the extreme case (like my mother with her intense bouts with mania in the 80's and 90's) and sometimes it seems like everyone has just a little bit of chemical imbalance within themselves, right? Or as it is commonly referred to as having a lil' "crazy" in him or mostly her. So ok, if you're going to label me Doctor, given my mother's history and my brother's same diagnosis, then that's the one that seems most convenient to keep on file.

I'm not sure how but I captured two photos layered 

while taking screenshots from Noel's website from my iPhone. 

It looks as if the feathers from my wings are growing out of my weary soul.

And what seemed to be the iconic moment, the realization that I was actually adding to the stigma was just a few weeks ago when I was advocating with my fellow stigma fighters at the annual Florida Suicide Prevention Day at the Capitol. My new attempt survivor friend Doug and I were in a meeting with Representative Barbara Watson (Miami-Dade), vying for her support of a bill that would require all school personnel grades K-12 to take 2 hours of youth suicide awareness and prevention training annually, which would essentially help save young lives.

I made a comment to her when I handed her a DREAM Project CD, an awareness tool in memory of my brother, about how I was a survivor of suicide loss and that I dealt with my own bouts of depression. I told her that Bipolar Disorder ran in the family on my mother's side. She looked me straight in the eyes and said, "but it can stop there, this is YOUR story, you can write it." And I got it right then and there in that moment of clarity - yes, the chemical imbalance is genetic but I can control my own mental wellness through consistent self-care! I no longer have to use genetics as a crutch for the occasional build up of the lack of self-care. And really, how can I attempt to be of service to anyone else if I can't take care of myself?

I also realized after this last meltdown that the more I tried to hide it or deny it even though it was such a quick recovery thanks to the support of family, friends, and my therapist, I was adding to the stigma by hiding behind the truth. This time there were no drugs involved to escape the pain. This time no one was unintentionally harmed. This time there were no close friends who scattered afterwards. This time I had a safety net within different circles that caught me before it got worse and supported me throughout. This time there was no major depression immediately following. This time I didn't have to crawl in a hole and hide from shame, wishing I could just die. This time was proof that an episode can reoccur but doesn't have to be life-threatening.

Hiding "Behind the Mask" as most people with depression 

do. This is my favorite mask gifted from a friend during 

a very free-ing time in my life 3 years ago.

This time I had nothing to hide, just a minor setback in which my mind, body and soul needed a little TLC. And it was partly a result of moving away with no support systems, slowly isolating myself with no one to catch the spiral. My boyfriend at the time didn't see it coming even though I tried to let him know I wasn't sleeping, I was stressed at a job I did not enjoy, and that I wasn't eating enough. It's all about the awareness and having a support system in place, no matter how far away they may be. And when I reached out in the aftermath, trying to make some sense of it all, people I least expected reached back, even from the other side of the world.

What has happened to me can happen to anyone given the right circumstances - 5 meltdowns in 19 years, 4 of which were hospitalizations spanning from a few days to two full weeks. Prevention, intervention and post-vention - these are the topics to be discussed. Everyday practices, routines, resources, and ideas - things that work for me and things that work for others. When we share, we help each other to live mentally well.

What I've learned in the last year is that it's really just mind over matter - our mind is made up completely of thoughts, and we are fully in control of those thoughts. Your mind can be all over the place, it can be stagnate, it can be focused - it can be whatever you work towards and allow it to be. Just as we are in control of our thoughts, we are in control of our actions which can sometimes affect how our brain functions. Lack of sleep, use/abuse of drugs and alcohol and other factors can lead to our demise. Having that daily checklist (which I pin to my mirror) can be helpful and sometimes mandatory in order to maintain a healthy mind.

Practices that have helped me get my mind more centered are yoga, Transcendental Meditation, any type of exercise, cleaning, practicing positive affirmations, and applying the Law of Attraction and daily gratitude. I love listening to meditations on YouTube as I fall asleep at night. And one of the best releases for me is writing it out, where I can go back and read later to see where my mind is today. Writing is a major blessing that stemmed from the tragedy of losing my brother to suicide.

I'm excited to share this journey of recovery with you through writing, to help stamp out the stigma from within and from all around. There's no sugar coating - what you see is what you and I get. And I promise it won't all be dismal! I'll be throwing in some wit and charm wherever possible.

And I also chose after the Chinese New Year of the Fire Monkey as the start of this migration, as for me it signifies the real beginning of a New Year. So let's find out on this stigma fighting campaign disguised as best practices together, just where is YOUR mind today?

Representing the high side of Bipolar Disorder.

Handmade feather wings made by me with special 

feathers given by the grandmother of 

Lydia Jade Mahone, a 19-year-old who died by suicide

October 2014. "Lydia's Song" is the final song that

completed the DREAM Project CD Volume 2

released one month later. This is the first time wearing 

these finished wings.

Read about Noel's 52-week Creative Portraiture Challenge here  - Noel Nichols Photography Blog

*Mental note: I am a mental health advocate - Founder of the DREAM Project Compilation CD, volunteer for UWF Active Minds, member of the Florida Suicide Prevention Coalition, volunteer for the AHERO Foundation, and advocate for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I am also a survivor of suicide loss.

I am NOT a trained mental health counselor. The advice and information in my blog are shared from personal experiences, are expressions of my own opinions, or may be sited from other sources. 

Questions, comments and concerns are welcome, however if you or someone you know is at risk of harming themselves or others, call your local law enforcement if it's an emergency (911) or go to the emergency room, contact a mental health professional in your area, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800) 273-TALK (8235) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting "HOME" to 741741. 

Photo Shoot representing the highs and lows of Bipolar Disorder through lighting, color, and styling.

Photo shoot styled by Emerald Coast Pixies, Noel Nichols Photography,  and Angelynn Krys Hair & MakeUp/ Arrow Salon & Spa

Have a Little Faith In Me

(This article was written last month to be published in the January issue of Pensacola Bella Magazine and is dedicated to Gregory "Wolf" Hodges for lifting me up during a very emotional year and helping me find my voice.)

"When the road gets dark, and you can no longer see, just let my love throw a
spark, and have a little faith in me.” ~lyrics by John Hiatt

Raela at the beach facing the Gulf of Mexico

I went walking on the beach after a month of stay-cation with my love to reflect on the year coming to a close, with toes in the sand in search for my favorite flat scalloped shell. It's always a good sign when I find one perfectly whole, like finding a lucky penny.

That morning was dreary out, and instead of finding the perfect one, I found a few broken ones and still scooped them up. Still beautiful, just fragmented from their journey from the Gulf through undulating tides and finally reaching shore.

This past year presented several forks in the road on the path, each outcome turning into a blessing in the end. It’s good to realize that when things don’t work out the way you expect them to, it’s all part of the journey.

Expressing gratitude and having no expectations was my mantra for 2014.
Finding peace with myself and forgiveness with others for past mistakes while
feeling love for myself after heartbreak the previous year was my intention.

Sharing my truth was my biggest fear. Fate stepped in after a few months of
uncertainty after reconnecting with the love of my life, gaining his support in
helping me share my truth through the music of the Dream Project CD.

I tried fighting the uncertainty, realizing that the man who opened my heart to music nine years ago has always held the key to my heart and was the integral factor in helping me fully find my own voice.

He helped me wholly accept and surrender to my calling after an emotional roller coaster year dealing with loss for several friends, with family members’ depression, and staying on my path after feeling the universe work against me. My mission and passion to help others through music became crystal clear.

At some point in life, we all feel broken. We have to forgive ourselves, love ourselves, and then allow for the love of others into our lives. This is the time of year to cleanse and let go of what no longer serves us, be grateful for its purpose in our lives, and make room for what’s to come in the brand New Year.

Send forgiveness and love out to those you feel you need to, including yourself, with no expectations and see just how much lighter you will feel. Express gratitude for every person and thing in your life.

All it takes is that one person who believes in you, but first you have to believe in yourself. Have faith in yourself and in those who will lift you to higher places and catch you when you fall. Be willing to give love a chance knowing that love will always lead the way. And when life grants you a second chance on love, embrace it. 

  

Gregory and Raela in Nashville

The year brought several unexpected events but in the end it brought true love and clarity. The close of the year also brought a close to my seven year career with Culinary Productions, Inc. I’m grateful for my good friend Mike DeSorbo for taking me in when I needed a job during my darkest time, and for allowing me the flexibility to work on my dreams on the side.  

The CPI crew has and always will be part of my family, but now it’s time to focus solely on my own dreams and allow true love to soar. A retreat near the mountains for the month of January to focus on those dreams is something this beach girl has been waiting for. The beach will always be my sanctuary and the place I call home, and I know it will always be waiting for me.  

  

May this New Year bring you everything your heart and soul desires. 

Sunset on My Soul 

I sit alone, my feet buried in the soft white sand; 

In our special place, the edge of the world, God’s quiet land. 

The sun’s love sheds warmth upon my rested soul; 

As I reflect, this past year God has allowed me to fully let go. 

He whispers softly as each gentle wave reaches the shore; 

He washes over life’s past struggles, soothing the soul ever more. 

Looking back I realize that He sent another soul to help me grow; 

This gentle soul to lead me, a new path of this life he did show. 

We sat at the edge of the world, soaking in God’s blessings on our lives; 

A sacred friendship that will continue to grow and never die. 

I look up now, God speaks through the sun’s rays for us to hear;

Preparing for the final sunset of this strengthening year. 

As God’s light fades into the earth, he plays a familiar tune; 

New hope is shed in the brilliant light of falling stars and the sweet smiling moon.

Written by Sweet Thing for the White Wolf on 12/31/05 

I recently found this poem I wrote for Gregory when we first dated and gave it to him on his birthday. The poem also reflects the past year after reconnecting.   

Bella Magazine January 2015 Article

Reflection of The Overnight journey

"The wound is the place where light enters you." ~Rumi

   

                                         

Each year before the Overnight walk through all the excitement of travel and getting out in whatever city it takes place to see the sights and have some fun, there comes a time of pure reflection. The reason behind the trip settles into my bones once again. On March 30, 1997, our family's youngest brother and son took his own life at the young age of 22, ending his battle with depression and burying the demons with him. He was on the brink of graduating from the University of Florida with a desire to follow in our father's footsteps and become a doctor to help others, I feel we were cheated from ever knowing how great his life would have become. 

The strength I have now to participate in these walks year after year since 2002 comes from a 17-year journey of finding forgiveness with him for leaving us with questions unanswered and with myself, for feeling as if I looked away that day. I know that I did everything humanly possible to try to keep him here. For whatever reason, God chose me to be the rock of our family, sending me to drive to UF and bring our brother and son home during his hardest time, only to have to bury him five months later. 

For his friends who had not seen him since high school, who never understood how the most loved and happy-go-lucky student and friend, all around athlete and musician, never seen without a smile that could light up the room, it was depression that took over his life during his 3rd year of college. Depression that runs on our mother's side of the family, which we had witnessed our mother experience since I was in the 7th grade. Her bi-polar or anxiety disorder was never really explained to us - all we knew was our mother was "sick" and that it could happen to us as well. All I knew was that I had to become mom and take care of my 4 brothers and dad the times she was away. Depression runs in our family and knowing your history is part of the awareness. Still, never in a million years did we think it would lead to my brother taking his own life.

                                         

I'm grateful 17 years later for the resources that are available though there is still the stigma surrounding mental health and the ability to talk openly about depression and suicide. But how can we prevent it from taking more lives and affecting more families when we don't talk about it? This is something I will never be quiet about, I will share my brother's story til the day I die if only to help others who are struggling, help others who have lost someone find the support they need to go on living their lives, because that's what our loved ones would want.

I chose to become an open advocate for raising awareness in the hopes of helping others, I just couldn't let him die that way without others knowing what a wonderful and loving person he was. The undulation of my own depression has taken years to try to control. In the midst of trying to help others, I wasn't allowing myself to fully grieve and heal first, affecting all of my relationships. I ended up in the hospital 7 years after his death and was able to deal with the anger I wouldn't allow myself to feel. I found myself able to finally forgive him for leaving us too soon. 

Then just three years later on the 10 year anniversary, I experienced a fall in New Orleans that I barely bounced back from. It wasn't until the past 6 months that I've been able to finally bury the demons that resurfaced, they no longer exist and I feel I have fully redeemed myself from that fall and learned more about handling my own battles with depression. 

The most important thing I've learned as a survivor is that everyone grieves in their own time, you may or may not ever reach a point of forgiveness or acceptance. For me, finding forgiveness in myself on the 15 year anniversary and for what had happened in NOLA was the pinnacle of finally putting it all to rest, so I can move forward with my path of helping others heal. 

My journey of healing began with the Dream - my brother came to me in a dream the week after he died, the only way he could say good-bye. I expressed that experience in a poem which became a song  in 2009, was recorded in 2011 and The DREAM Project compilation CD was produced as an awareness tool to help others. Music is universal, healing, and a way to spread a message of hope. My brother even contributed to the project - I found a painting of a sunset from 1989 the week we produced the cd (my second poem turned song on the cd is titled "Sunset"). Coincidence? I think not. His way of encouraging me to keep moving with it.

        

Now 3 years after the cd was produced, more great things will be coming through the DREAM Project with a follow up cd. I've met more people in the last year alone who have lost someone and the numbers keep rising, from youth being bullied to military dealing with PTSD. I had someone message me, "What are we doing wrong?" It kinda hit me in my gut, like saying "what more can I possibly do?" 

Well there is something more, keep sharing my brother's story and my own personal story of dealing with depression, continuing to do these walks, and moving forward with re-recording the Dream, singing all the vocals myself, something I said I wouldn't do after the first time I sang it. I've learned to overcome fear in many ways and after letting go of past relationships last year and learning to fully love myself again, moving forward with no expectations is the flow of my life. I fully accept that The DREAM Project is part of my path and I honor it for my brother and for myself.

       

When I walked the Overnight in Seattle in 2008, I was still coming out of my last bout with depression. Though I was able to visit with an old friend, I felt very alone, kept to myself, didn't really go out and experience much of the city. This time I have experienced the city and then some, with all it's beauty and charm, and with my dear friend Linda Price. Linda walks for the second time, sharing her story and walking for others who have lost someone. Her courage has inspired me and given me strength to keep doing what I do. 

                           

I feel so much gratitude for the people I've met along the way, who have shown so much support and love, who have walked with me. Mostly I feel gratitude for the 22 years I did get to spend with my sweet brother. These walks have allowed me to travel to places I'd never been to, meet others who share the same experience, and have a little break from the FL heat during summer. Our shared love of music has allowed me to connect with so many amazing musicians through the DREAM Project - I am excited to see the unfolding of it's path. 

So I thank you brother for helping me to find my voice, to use it to sing and speak out to others for you and thousands of others who couldn't speak out because the pain was too great. Rest in peace sweet brother of mine, we will dance in the heavens together one day. Until then, I will walk on through the night for you, and I will see you in my dreams. Streets of Seattle, here we come......

                          

                                                                         

       

The Dream

I had a dream of you the other night

And in that dream everything was alright

I dreamt that you were alive and well

Was this dream real? I just couldn't tell

We hugged and laughed and talked for awhile

I saw your face and your beautiful smile

We were together just like before

If it's a dream and it's real I want to dream more

Please don't go yet I have so much to say

I want you to know before you go on your way

Even though 's a dream it's so real to me

Your beauty is all that I can see

Your energy feels so pure and strong

I feel as if I just don't belong

You radiate your light so true

As the dream ends I grab onto you

I don't want to wake for the end is near

Your voice is all that I can hear

I wake from my slumber the dream is gone

I rise to meet the early dawn.  

www.cdbaby.com/cd/dreamproject

www.theovernight.org

On the Wings of Love

  Love After Love

by Derek Walcott

The time will come

when, with elation

you will greet yourself arriving

at your own door, in your own mirror

and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.

You will love again the stranger who was your self.

Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart

to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored

for another, who knows you by heart.

Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,

peel your own image from the mirror.

Sit. Feast on your life. 

--

On the Wings of Love!

Written Thursday, January 23, 2014 on flight to the Philippines

On the quest for finding love on a spiritual path, that quest begins with the self - falling completely in love with every aspect of your true being. To me, that means embracing all the positive and not-so positive things about yourself, as well as all the positive and not-so positive experiences you've endured thus far in your lifetime. This is the year that I share my story and my truth in the hopes of helping others. This is the year I master my relationship with myself, feeling and expressing unconditional love for myself before I can share fully with others.

Since high school, I had the pattern of staying in long-term relationships, one after the other, without taking time to find myself in between. Each relationship had it's purpose - to help me grow and get to the next place on my journey of self-discovery and finding love.  And though they didn't work out, I will always keep the positive and let go of the rest.

Then at the age of 24, my younger brother Jr. took his life at the young age of 22. My whole life's journey or at least what I thought was my path changed forever. To try to find comfort, I relied solely on my boyfriend of 4 years at the time to provide me solace inadvertently pushing him away. That relationship dissolved and I found myself dealing with deep depression for the first time in my life. I finally found forgiveness in that relationship and know now that was the best he could do at the time. 

I will always feel love and gratitude towards him for being there and holding my hand the night my brother was swept away from this earth, and have accepted that was his role in my life, to get me through that night and the months to follow. I'm glad to say the few times I do run into him I can still feel grateful for the good times we shared, for opening my eyes to see our country on a three week road trip to Colorado and back. To see the Grand Canyon with my very eyes made me truly believe that God (insert your own version of what that means to you here) exists.

In less than a year, I was dating again. The next long term relationship of 5 years was clouded and toxic. It took a long time to find forgiveness and I've let it go. That's all I'm gonna say about that. A year later I find myself dating a younger musician on and off for about a year. I found myself denying the chance to open up completely to him as I felt deep down it wasn't the lifestyle I wanted to be immersed in forever, but it was a damn good time while it lasted. I felt love for him, but not the love that he deserved and desired from me. So for the first time I did what had been done to me in the past - I broke his heart.

                     

I knew he would not stay in the area as his talent was too big for our small town. It took him moving to New Orleans for us to finally be free of the back and forth of it all. We didn't speak for the next 6 years until he finally reached out to me and shared a song he had written for me based on our relationship. He was always pretty serious about playing, never succumbing to the typical rock n roll lifestyle. He finally found his voice, and as expected has played with all his favorite well-known musicians in the NOLA scene. After reconnecting, I was reminded that the gift of music he shared helped open my heart to the voice within me. I'm thankful that we can still be friends and be supportive in each other's lives. 

Around the time that he moved, I started writing a single's column for Bella Magazine, a local women's magazine. But it wasn't about dating - it was about finding myself and opening up to my passions at the ripe age of 32. I spent the next three years finding ways to meet new people, taking up surfing again, learning to play the guitar, promoting bands, shows, and festivals, traveling, and more. Apparently by sharing my experiences I've received feedback that I was inspiring others.

In April of 2007, I took a hard fall while at a wedding weekend for a dear friend in New Orleans, on the 10-year anniversary of my brother's death to the day on Easter Sunday. Without any intention but to escape the pain that resurfaced, I used drugs to get lost in the haze. The result was a break-down that disconnected my mind from my body causing me to not remember what happened. My best friend and roommate at the time was unfortunately the target of my aggressions and anger, and not really knowing what happened, all I knew was that in that moment I had died inside. I still express my gratitude that things were not worse than it already was, that I was not locked up in a mental institution forever.

The years of living down the humility was almost unbearable at times. What was my support network diffused and a small network was there to try to console me. What I had to learn was to search from within to find forgiveness and my own strength. I hid in my cocoon at Et Cafe, a coffee shop in an old hospital building almost daily. With my laptop I would write but my writing now felt meaningless, so much so that I almost gave up my column. I was also studying online for a masters degree for a holistic school that eventually folded, just escaping all reality for as long as I could muster. I wore a mask that hid the fact that I was dying inside. And what was explained to me recently after having to rehash things lately after a recent trip to NOLA for New Year's is that they did the best that they could at the time. 

                          

What I learned is that not everyone is equipped to deal with depression and mental illness, that some may find it easier to turn the other way, and that I and others who remained close to me can really relate to the fact that there is still a stigma surrounding a very prominent social issue. I felt just an inkling of what my brother went through and can honestly say that I was ready to disappear from this life altogether. No I didn't have a plan - I may have had the means to end my life but would never intentionally do that to my family after what they'd been through. But if I was taken from the earth, I felt I would have been better off than the emptiness I was feeling. 

In the throws of feeling sorry for myself, feeling alone, and keeping mostly to myself, the young baristas working the coffee shop reached out to me. I watched them from afar - their confidence, the way they dressed, the friendships they shared with each other, the support they gave each other - I asked myself why I wasn't like that when I was their age?

Besides a few close friends who never left my side, these young beautiful women helped lift me back up, when I needed it the most. They were the sparkle of light in the darkness of my cocoon, enticing me to emerge and be reborn, shedding past mistakes and heartache and friendships that ultimately were not what I now know to be unconditional and real. I was hesitant at first, but that light was inviting and comforting.

I shared with the baristas the concept of my dream to run a company along with other strong women with the one mission - to empower women and girls of all ages to empower themselves. That dream is coming to fruition now the more I let go of the past and past relationships. We all brought creativity and strength and beauty to the table and they helped me produce a music show fundraiser at a skate park for kids with autism a year after my incident in NOLA. I never thought I'd stand again in the public eye but I guess it was just the beginning of my true calling in life.

The concept of Pixie Productions was brought into the light. Our symbol, handmade wings that represent freedom, soaring to your dreams, uplifting each other instead of tearing each other down. Each of those beautiful baristas moved away to bigger and better cities one by one, with so much to offer the world. I am so grateful to each one of them as they will never know that they literally saved my life.

                        

After my baristas moved away one by one, the next year and a half was spent still searching for something, feeling incomplete, lacking true love in my life. In January of 2009, some college students came to me wanting to host a music show to raise awareness about suicide and depression. Something I had longed to get involved with was raising awareness on the college campuses as my brother should have graduated from the University of Florida and gone on to live out his dream to become a pediatrician. His dream was cut when he lost his battle with depression. And unfortunately the suicide rate on college campuses is still extremely high.

We planted a Seed of Hope at the University of West Florida and since then more awareness has been raised than I ever thought possible. These students became another integral force in continuing to lift me up out of my own darkness. But even after we had established our first music and art show on campus and became an official student org, I was still in search of something missing.

An opportunity arose for me to journey to the Philippines later that same year to embark on a mission trip and stay an extra five weeks to visit with family and really get down to my roots. I felt incomplete and when I left, I was in search of a job or meeting someone and if an opportunity presented itself for me to stay, I had no intention of coming back to the States anytime soon.

I took my laptop and my mostly empty heart and embarked on a six week retreat to my parents' homeland. While over there, I had my own letting go ceremony of what had happened in NOLA, by inviting all involved through my intentions to forgive me as well as be forgiven. I stood on the balcony of my Lola's house in Manila, stated my intention to the universe, blew a feather and watched it dance in the wind until it disappeared, leaving me feeling lighter. I knew I had to return as there was no opportunity that presented itself for me to stay - there was yet more work for me to do.

            

I returned and immediately dove into yet another long-term relationship, one that's purpose was to keep me grounded through the next 3.5 years while I accomplished more great endeavors I didn't know I could achieve. I stayed in a co-dependent relationship for all the wrong reasons and had become close to two children, making it harder to leave the several times I tried. The long drawn out ending finally freed me the end of last summer and I have not looked back since. 

And yet again I was reminded of what I don't desire in a relationship and knew that I deserved to be treated with respect in every aspect of my life. Relationships are a two-way street and I know my heart was eventually not fully with it after trying so many times to receive the respect I longed for. There were good memories and the love I felt for the children was eventually the only thing keeping me there.

The last straw was beyond what I could imagine, feeling more hurt than I'd ever experienced before. I feel grateful now in looking back that it was my way out. The aftermath of the break-up was filled with the back and forth emotions but I knew the night I decided to end it after seeing an undeniable sign from the universe (I had ignored several signs before when I was unsure and felt I just couldn't let go) that solidified it was time to end it for good.

As with the rest of the relationships, once the anger, heartache, and hurt subsided, I have recently been able to accept it for what it was, forgive and let it go completely. Since before then, I've been so blessed to acquire such a grand network of loving friends (and have always had the support of my family) to keep me moving forward and make me realize that I deserve the best life has to offer.

Though I've fallen in love with all of my friends, especially the beautiful women in my life who have helped and are helping me to bring Emerald Coast Pixie Productions LLC to full fruition, it's time to fall back in love with me. This time it's with a greater awareness and appreciation for all the blessings in my life. I express gratitude every day first thing in the morning as I rise and dreamily when I lay my head down to rest.

Since letting go, I've been opening up my heart to the universe without fear and expectations, something that's not been easy to do in the past because of the consistent disappointments in my relationships and the complete loss of my brother. This year I feel as if I have nothing to hide, I am more honest with myself and others, and by sharing my truths I know it can and has helped others. This is me getting down to to the bare bones, naked if you will, and loving everything about myself - all the flaws, mistakes, fears and more - so that I can share that love with others.

                                  

It's then when you least expect it that true unabashed love will greet your heart and soul. Excitement and intrigue will pulse through your veins, fear and expectations thrown out the window, impossibilities become possibilities, all with time and patience. This time is about taking time for me. I've been the rock of my family since the 7th grade and especially after losing our dear brother and son. I've been told I'm the nucleus of all our friendships, connecting those I love with others - the greatest compliment I've ever received.

But sometimes the strongest need to step back and get back to the core of their true being. I never thought I'd be able to pick myself off the basement floor, but with the help of some angels I'm still standing and excited to see what this New Year of the wooden horse will bring. I feel fortunate to know that my family and friends will never let me fall. Finding and feeling love for myself again after feeling inadequate in relationships for so many years has really helped me to live more in the moment and look forward to things that may come my way. Finding forgiveness in myself and in others has been the key to making room for more love.

Fate offered me an opportunity to ring in the New Year with a bang in New Orleans, soaking up the familiar sights, sounds, and smells, the melting pot of music everywhere you turn, delectable food, dancing all night long, and sharing good times with new and old friends. The visit also stirred back up the incident from 2007 which I thought had been laid to rest. Last week after talking to a good friend, I was able to release what was unknowingly left inside of me, the last of the emotions of shame, guilt, anger, feelings of betrayal - and making things right with him, myself and others without them actually being present. So I am grateful for the invite that inevitably helped to bring complete healing so that I can move forward with my dreams and let love reveal itself through those I spend time with. I felt revived after leaving NOLA  four days later on a high beyond the euphoria of ecstasy. What I felt was the highest frequency of energy - the feeling of love.

                           

And another opportunity arose for me to take another journey back "home" to my roots in the Philippine Islands for a week of mission work after the devastating earthquake and typhoon hit a few months back. My reward is another week that will be spent visiting with my family on the other side of this planet. How blessed I feel in this very moment, sitting on this 15 hour flight to one of the most beautiful third world countries with the most loving culture of people. 

It's all about family - putting God first and then family. Being in the moment together, being happy in poverty with the richness of love and togetherness. My hope is to plant a seed along with my dreams so that I may continue to revisit the islands on a more regular basis and stay connected to my roots. I plan to reconnect with all my relatives four years later and discover as much as I can about my family tree. 

When you go back to your roots, you can fully develop and instill those wonderful traits in everything you do. I feel blessed to be immersed in the language, food, island life, and all it's majesty. And I'm in search of our family's coconut mangrove as well as an overdue visit with my mom's aunt, the last of the three sisters named after Middle Eastern Princesses, my Lola Zorahyda. 

I've never fully rooted where I'm at today, now open to the possibilities life has to offer and excited to see where it takes me. Join me on this journey of self-discovery as I soar with the help of family and friends on the wings of love - let's just see where I land!