How to Start Building your own Therapeutic Wellness Package (Part 1: the Legend, aka you)

Part 1 – The Legend – or Key – every map has one, so we can better read the map. So this part is all about us – or you, as it were, the most important thing in our lives, but the thing we give the least of our prime time to and leave for last, at that. It’s ironic that to have the most incredible version of life possible, understand our map, as it were, we have to actually understand who we are so the map makes more sense. Most of us just go off the version we currently deal with as opposed to spending time to really get to know ourselves. We can hardly have respect for others or the natural environment if we don’t even respect ourselves enough to give us a portion of our best selves. And it isn’t necessarily about becoming something new or different, but more about figuring out who we’ve always been, the parts got pushed down or hidden during the constant barrage of family and societal ideas of who we “should” be.

So! Now it’s our time, our turn! So, let’s get started! I hope you’re as excited as I am for you! And a little secret… each day I still uncover something new about myself, especially when I’m helping others or learning something new to share with others… so this will be fun for me too – still! 👏 On a side note, I loved the sound of calling ourselves a “Legend”. Think about what comes to mind when you think of a legend – like Thor or Joan of Arc… we should start thinking of ourselves as legendary because we’re about to start a Pilgrimage and do something most people spend their entire lives avoiding! We will be the stuff of legend – even if it’s just to our families or friends – but in reality, if you continue down this path, your Pilgrimage, there is no way you won’t come to mean more to all those you touch along the way. So… keep that in mind and maybe add something or someone legendary to Part 3 to help keep you on track!

Like most of the Pilgrimage process, things won’t happen all at once or even just once. And, like any truth you learn, as you revisited along your journey, it will show different views of itself to you and mean different things. Just like the food or toys we enjoyed at 2 aren’t what we enjoyed at 22, per se, so, as you continue down your path, the vision you have of yourself will evolve. This process should invoke in you a sense of being a lifelong learner always seeing things from new perspectives, not something static and immoveable. Keep this in mind as you go through some of the activities below – don’t hold on to what you learn as an end all, but more, of a starting point and some ideas to move forward with for now. As you continue, you’ll start doing more things you truly enjoy and will interact with life more on a level that works for you instead of just dealing with what is forced on you, defining your Legend even more, and this will open up more routes and experiences that help you learn even more about yourself. When I first started my Pilgrimage over a decade ago, I thought I was this rigid, right brained church going Conservative that was more about being analytical and exploring the world through my brain. Now, don’t get me wrong – it that is truly who you are, that is great – for you – but for me, the majority of those ideas were handed to me or forced upon me by others. As I’ve peeled back the onion, so to speak, I’ve learned that I love to follow my heart, I hate overthinking things and being analytical constantly, but do love researching things that interest me or that I stumble upon naturally. I also hate finding my spirituality in a building, though I can still find it there if that is where I end up on occasion and because I WANT to be there, but I also enjoy finding spiritual truths in all religions and philosophies, not just in the Christian scriptures I was raised on. I kind of straddle the Conservative-Liberal divide, and I’d rather be creating something with my hands then using my mind, when I’m trying to experience joy. I’ve learned I’m a hopeless romantic, prefer visual media to reading and like all the stories to have with happy endings and an underdog that succeeds AND helps the bully. As well, being cold, working 9-5 M-F, and staying in one place for the rest of my life are not my actual dreams. I also don’t like to be constricted by fashion norms or being sensible most of the time, am tired of saying no and being scared of trying new things or making mistakes, and would rather only do things I can have fun with or find joy in. I’ve also found that while I love the idea of certain things, like hygge or yoga, I actually will rely on my left brain side to do the research to understand the true idea of those activities, not just the more western “fast food” type of quick fix, so I can get the true rewards, but I also have to approach them in a manner that works for me so I can do them as a lifestyle and not a fad. The picture up above is representative of the new me, wearing about 4 different patterns and not really caring much about social norms…

Along this journey, I’ll end most of my posts with some ideas for some things you can try – remember to pick or try them in a manner that will work better for you, plus, I will also add what I’m currently working on so you know it is a continual process – we are all WiPs (works in progress) and none of us is alone in this.

And overarching across all of this process is the concept of wUpiiwUgo (I pronounce it as woo-pee-woo-go because it makes me giggle) – what you put in is what you’ll get out. The truly meaningful part of life has always functioned in this manner, we just tend to forget about the dirty, painful, and hard work involved in all aspects of life because social media only shows us the perfect part of what others are doing, not all the steps or re-takes it took to get there. Much as a baby bird or newly formed caterpillar have to fight their way out of the egg and cocoon, you will have to fight your way out of your old self and life and into the new version of you and the hard work to get there is what makes it so you have the knowledge & courage to tackle the more incredible version on your life that will open up. So, I cannot do the work for you and you cannot copy what I’ve done – you will have to do it all yourself. We’re in this mess because we tried to take the easy way through life already. Don’t worry, even though I can’t do the work for you and you can’t copy, I am here to help guide you along the way – think of me like your quirky co-pilot. I’ve been on a ton of journeys so I have bits of wisdom for along the way, especially when it gets hard, and I’ve learned how to read and interpret my map better, so I can share that insight with you too so you can figure out how to read your own map. A word of caution – once you get going on this new journey, you will have a hard time going back to your old way of living. There’s a scripture about that (and there’s a post about that!): you cannot put new wine into old bottles (Luke 5:36-39). There is more to the parable or story in those 4 verses than just the basic gist that once you start to change, the old way of doing things won’t work anymore because it no longer suits you so you will essentially burst the seams because you no longer fit in that mold, but you’ll have to read and think about it yourself to gain a better understanding.