The last 5 years have really brought so many changes to my life that I hardly recognize the person I used to be. I went through a spiritual awakening after my divorce and near death experience 5 years ago. (I will be elaborating on this in my book) When I was married my only concern was ever my husband and kids. There was not a day that went by that I was not overwhelmed, undervalued, takin advantage of and stressed. I’m not pointing fingers I allowed my family, friends, clients to treat me this way and often lacked the confidence and esteem to put my foot down and establish boundaries. It wasn’t until after my marriage was over and my ex husband started to have my kids half the time that I even really thought about what I wanted and especially as an individual. While this time was painful and scary for me at first because I had never been away from my kids other than one time for a one week vacation. It was lonely and hard to be away from them half the time and I spent a long time crying, feeling lonely, and getting adjusted. I decided to put in some deep thinking about my life, about what I really wanted, and what I aspired to do. I started to spend a lot of time in nature- exploring, walking, fishing, swimming and camping. I cannot even begin to explain how it nurtured my soul and how much clarity I received when doing so. I started working on writing my book which is actually something I had always dreamed of, and I started painting and making mixed media canvases. I have always been creative in many ways such as decorating, designing spaces, woodworking, making crafts and digital art- but this was my first ever experience with paint on a canvas. Who would have thought within just a few short years my artwork would be noticed and I would be invited to have a art show and display for a month at the building owned by local art association and a very nice interview and write up in the newspaper. It was exhilarating- mainly because I loved and still love doing it. For me art was a form of therapy- it allowed me to release and express so many emotions (much like writing and poetry had always done for me) and the end result was beautiful. At the time I owned a salon and displayed new pieces of my art seasonally. I began a more spiritual path during this time and I committed to finding answers to questions I had always had about religion in general. In the beginning I kept this to myself but as my spiritual journey continued I felt called to make changes in my life so that I could be in better alignment with my true and spiritual self. The near death experience is something I have not told many people about but what I can say in short- is that it changed my life and my beliefs all the way around. I started to feel like having a salon business was no longer for me- even though I had been doing hair nearly 15 years at this point, it was successful, and I appreciated all I had. I started to feel guilty and wonder how on earth I would ever walk away from what I had started and worked so hard for. As my spiritual journey deepened my interests in glamour and external beauty changed quite dramatically and I no longer felt in sync with such superficial things. On top of that I really wondered if all the demands mentally and physically were even worth it and I missed the simplicity of life before it. I cared about my clients and had developed deep relationships with many of them so I think that was holding me back from quitting as well. I had a dream about my business closing and a few weeks later our town was hit by a monstrosity of a tornado which ultimately led to my salon building being torn down. I had lost everything I had worked so hard for and it was a very trying time for me. I found a salon to work at temporarily and hoped our salon would be back open soon but later got the news the building was being torn down and was not being rebuilt. My car was totaled and my house was damaged and it quickly cleared the money I had in savings. It was like one day I had everything and the next day I had nothing. I didn’t plan to be at my friends salon permanently and I missed the freeing and creative atmosphere of my salon- so I decided to try some new things and trust the universe had taken this out of my life for a reason. I had started polishing crystals and stones and wire wrapping them into jewelry. It caught the attention of a store owner in Des Moines that asked if I would like to bring them in and possibly start selling them at his store. I was excited and nervous about the new opportunity. I invited my friend/tattoo artist to go check out the store with me after a tattoo one evening. The store was awesome it had so many things I loved and an especially spiritually charged atmosphere. I set up a meeting with the owner after telling him how much I really liked his store and would love to have the opportunity to have my necklaces there. We went for lunch and spoke more about the opportunity when he asked if I would possibly be interested in working there a few days and doing tarot readings. (Another interest I dove deeper into) The pay is not nearly what I make at the salon but it wasn’t bad either plus I would make commissions off my jewelry and tarot readings- so I decided to give it a go. I really loved my new job and was only working there part time and still working part time at a friends salon in Marshalltown. Shortly after starting there my friend that had previously worked at my salon Hair Junkie died unexpectedly. (she had been there during the tornado and moved to my friends salon with me) Things really we’re never the same without her and I was dragging my feet to go into work everyday after she died- plus the loss of my salon had already been quite devastating. Shortly after that an opportunity came up for me to rent a house with a small salon studio in it and I jumped on it. I desperately needed to make some changes to my life I was sad and uninspired. I was so thankful for this opportunit! I started working more hours at the store in Des Moines and I started college again after the tornado. (I am working towards a degree in psychology and philosophy but also studying metaphysics.) I have significantly cut back my salon hours but I still have my most valued clients. People ask me all the time about getting in to get there hair done and I try to tell them politely I am not taking new clients at this time. I know several clients I had to let go of are upset about the changes I have made too which is partially why I wanted to write this. I don’t feel like I need to give an explanation for making these changes in my life but I want to if nothing else to help people understand why I did. I am much more happy doing hair minimally now because I’m not drowning in it and my body isn’t so sore I can’t move when I have a day off. Plus it allows me to be more creative because creative people are inspired by creative things which I have been doing more of. My necklaces have been doing really well in Des Moines and I am now nearly as busy with tarot reading than I used to be with hair. I have sold several pieces of art and recently worked on and completed my first ever commissioned, custom artwork which went really well and I am planning a few more custom pieces for them in the near future. I have recently had some problems with my right shoulder and will be starting physical therapy soon plus may need surgery so I have no choice but to keep my salon schedule limited at this time. All I can say is I will take care of the clients I have, the best I can and for as long as I can. What I can’t promise is that my whole world is gonna revolve around hair because it just doesn’t anymore like it used too. I have become more drawn to spiritual and humanitarian work at this time and I embrace the idea that everything happens for a reason. I feel quite happy with where I am at the start of this New Year and I am thankful for my family, friends, and clients ❤️❤️❤️ May you all be blessed! Thanks for checking out my blog and have a great day!
Comments