I was in a very well-established career in the medical field, managing a multiple doctors’ office and laboratory. Part of my job was to take care of the money. I was asked once to go to the hospital, see a patient, and collect the bill. I went and saw that the patient was on a ventilator and was in the last stages of their life. At that moment, I decided I wasn’t going to do it. That’s not how I was going to show up in my life. I decided right then and there that some kind of change was going to happen.
I quit my job and went to Herbal school in New Mexico. I gave a six week notice and changed my life.
Among the most difficult aspects of the change was in facing fear of the unknown. Everything in my life was very routine. I knew every aspect of my life in my daily routine. But I threw caution to the wind and took on this new challenge.
I had been on vacation just a week before, and on vacation I picked up a brochure. As soon as I decided to leave, I went through my purse, found the information, called, got my slot in the class, and sent a check.
I had emotional support from my family, though they were 3,000 miles away. And I was moving from one way of being to another completely. I traded in my high heels for hiking boots. I traded in my little sports car for a four-wheel drive vehicle. I needed to be able to get to the kinds of places where I could gather the herbs.
How has your life been changed as a result of your ordeal?
It changed my entire life. I had to face the physical challenges of being out in nature, being in an environment over which I had no control. For a year and a half, I became immersed in something that was totally new and exciting. I was 38 at the time. I learned a lot about being in silence, in nature, depending on myself, going at my own pace, and also about dealing with the others in my class – they were all male.
I learned how to survive, and how to make lifelong friends. Before that, my close friends were all women.
What would you advise another facing similar circumstances based on what you have learned?
Be bold, and be fearless. There are rewards in doing that, though it may seem the opposite of what people might tell you to do. But throw caution to the wind and do what your heart is telling you to do. And trust.
Thank you – if you would, please tell us a bit about yourself.
I have had many different lives, different careers. I currently have an herbal business I work at part time. I have a lovely daughter. I think part of the gift of being free to do the thing you want to do the most is just the best thing. I have seen too many people spend their lives doing what they did not really love. It’s great to live a life with joy.
