We each have a story—a history filled with heartache, devastation, joy, aspirations, and hope. Your feelings are yours; they are valid, and they are your right. It has taken me decades, but the most profound and raw self-work I’ve done has been over the last nine years. It’s painful and difficult, but it’s so damn rewarding.

I often think back to all the things I had been asking for. The common denominator on every one of my wish lists over the years, the one constant was and still is “freedom.”  I think it’s fair to say that word represents something different for each of us. For me, it’s freedom of time. To choose where I go, when I want, and with whom I want; to be able to come and go as I please from any location and to feel peace around me. Stillness, nature, people enjoying life. To look around every day and be mesmerized by what surrounds me. Pride in the life I have created. That’s my freedom.