The Truth about my Reinvention
There I was on the beach in Tulum, pondering my future. It was 2008, weeks after the news of my company's demise was announced. I needed to escape the chaos and disappointment of the past few months, I felt exhausted and broken. But I saw a glimmer of possibility in the midst of it all---and was keenly focused on how to use this upheaval to find a happier me.
It was a pivotal moment that offered a blank slate to sketch the outline of a new life, but I wasn't sure I had the tools.The more I pondered, the less I knew. So I disengaged the brain and jumpstarted my heart. With plenty of time on my hands, I slowed way down. I walked for miles on the shoreline, taking in the expanse of ocean to my left and jungle to my right. I felt the warmth of the sun, the power of the wind. I learned to quiet my racing thoughts with meditation and tend to my stressed-out body with yoga. The spark of creativity began to glow again.
It wasn't long before I made a business out of it. It's just what I do--in my DNA. Tulum was quieter in those days--an intoxicating source of inspiration, the perfect venue for birthing a new idea. Designer that I am, I set my creativity on a new project--to create a format for women's retreats which captured my love of art and and blended it with the deeper practices of meditation, journaling and yoga that are now my daily sustenance. It's a magical combination-- this retreat program that has continued for more than a decade and keeps on growing. During Covid, I adapted the concept and took it online with weekly sharing circles and guided meditations for anyone who cared to join. For free. I felt it was the least I could do--my way to provide solace and inspiration to so many who felt lost and alone. After more than a year, we still meet once a week and it's still free.
My reinvention could have stopped there. From fashion designer to retreat leader, yoga teacher, gatherer of women. But, in my heart, I knew I wasn't finished. There was the seed of another business in me. One that would grow stronger, nourished by everything I've been through, everything I've learned. Authentic, inspiring, uplifting.
With encouragement from the circles of women I've come to know and inspiration from the beautiful seaside town where I live, Beach to Bistro was born. Tiny steps at first, tentative and fragile, but growing stronger with each passing day. Starting a new enterprise at any age is not for the faint of heart. It takes focus, consistency, determination and--most of all-- synchronicity. Being open to the right ideas at the right time...knowing what to pursue and what to let go of. Overcoming obstacles with steadiness and ease, Shtira-sukham --a concept learned from my yoga teacher training. In fact, so much of what I have gained through yoga and meditation has helped me stay strong throughout this process. It's my foundation on which to build a life.
I was just discussing the concept of reinvention with an online group I belong to, an offshoot of The Covey Club ( Lesley Jane Seymour's post-More Magazine networking venture that serves to engage and empower women in the next chapter of their lives.) During our conversation I had a realization--my personal reinvention has not been so straightforward. It was not a direct launch into a new field, but a detour inward to gain new tools to proceed more authentically, with courage and self-awareness. It is less of a reconstruction, but more of a renewal. Not a straight line, but more a full circle. Life is all about circles anyway.
