The Why

We often talk about work as the thing we do to earn a living... the profession we list on a form, the business we build or the title printed beneath our name. We measure it in hours, accomplishments and income. When we ask one another, “What do you do?” we usually expect an answer that fits neatly into a sentence.

The Beauty of Choice

Someone once asked my son what I do for work. His answer was simple: “Whatever she wants to.”

I laughed when I first heard it, but the more I thought about his answer, the more meaningful it became. In many ways, he was right. I get to choose work that brings me joy and, hopefully, creates joy for the people with whom I share it. There is tremendous beauty in that choice.

I do not say this to boast. I say it with a genuinely grateful heart because I know what a blessing it is to shape my days around work that enriches my life rather than merely filling my time. Life has not always been easy, and the path that brought me here was certainly not straight. There have been seasons shaped by responsibility, loss, uncertainty and simply doing what needed to be done. Perhaps that is why I no longer take the freedom to choose... or the life surrounding that work... for granted.

Lately, I have been considering the question beneath my son’s answer: Why do we do the work we do?

Work That Cannot Be Measured

Certainly, we work because there are bills to pay and responsibilities to meet. Money is necessary. It provides security, creates opportunities and helps us care for ourselves and the people we love. But I believe some work feeds something within us that money cannot measure.

Meaningful work makes us curious. It gives us a reason to pay closer attention. It brings us into rooms we might never have entered and introduces us to people whose stories become woven into our own. It carries us to new places, creates experiences and gives us something meaningful to share. The work changes us while we are doing it.

Sometimes that work takes the form of art. Art allows us to express what cannot always be easily explained. It can preserve a memory, hold a story or give form to something we have carried silently within us. It creates a place where another person can recognize a piece of their own story and feel less alone. At its best, art helps people feel seen, held and heard. It reminds us that something does not have to be loud or practical to be meaningful.

Sometimes the greatest reward is not what we produce or earn. It is the person we meet along the way, the conversation that lingers long after it ends or the moment someone feels seen because something we offered reached them at just the right time. It is collaborating with a creative friend to make the most thoughtful gift we can imagine for someone who is grieving. The finished gift matters, but so does the love held within it... the desire to help a hurting friend feel remembered and cared for.

The Substance of a Life

The richness of this life is also found in moments that have little to do with what we traditionally call work. It is encountering a 91-year-old Marine and his dog while walking a trail and pausing long enough for our paths and stories to meet. It is having coffee with a friend at our favorite coffee shop, sharing a meal with people I love or receiving a message from the friend who thinks of me whenever the moon is full or something beautiful is happening in the sky.

It is having a supportive family and partner who make room for who I am and who I am still becoming. It is the love of a church family and the comfort of knowing I have praying friends. It is my five-year-old great-niece running toward me and wrapping me in a hug every single time she sees me. She does not care what I have accomplished, what I have earned or what I managed to cross off my list that day. She is simply happy that I am there.

And at the end of the day, wealth can be as quiet as stepping outside and listening to the sound of night settling around me.

These moments may not look significant on a ledger, but they are the substance of a life.

The Work of Loving Well

Not all important work happens within a profession. Some of the most meaningful work we will ever do happens within our relationships. It is the work of showing up... of listening, forgiving, encouraging, praying and making room for one another. It is sitting beside someone when there are no words that can make things better. It is tending our friendships, our families and the love we have been given. It is helping the people who cross our paths know they are seen.

Some family members are given to us through blood, history and shared beginnings. Others enter our lives along the way and become family through choice. They are the people who stand beside us through changing seasons, celebrate what is being born in us and help carry us when life becomes too heavy to hold alone.

A Different Measure of Wealth

When I think about wealth, this is what I see: I do not measure it only in dollar signs, bank accounts or possessions. A bank statement may tell me what I have accumulated, but it cannot measure the quality of the life I have been blessed to live.

My wealth is found in the people with whom I share this life, the places our paths take us and the experiences we create together. It is found in unexpected conversations, familiar tables, shared meals, open doors, prayers spoken on my behalf and arms that are always happy to welcome me. It is being present enough to recognize, This is one of the good days.

My wealth is also found in the path I get to walk. It is the freedom to remain curious about where that path may lead next and the ability to choose work that brings joy, meaning and connection into my life and the lives of those who share it with me. I do not take that freedom for granted. The work itself matters, but so do the people it brings into my life, the places it carries me and the experiences that unfold because I was willing to follow where it led.

Perhaps that is why we do the work we do... not simply to make a living, but to make a life. A life filled with meaning, rich in connection and open to the beauty around us. A life in which we remain present to one another and recognize the blessing of being here together.

At the end of my life, I do not believe I will measure my wealth by how much I accumulated. I will measure it by the love that moved through my days, the lives that touched mine, the moments I was awake enough to notice and the people who shared the journey with me.

The Why Beneath It All

So when my son says that I do “whatever I want to,” I receive his answer with humility and a grateful heart. I get to choose work that brings joy, and I get to share that joy with others.

I am grateful for this life. I am grateful for the path I get to walk. And I am grateful to finally understand that my why is not a title, product or accomplishment.

My why is to live awake, love people well and create meaning from the moments we share... so that, in whatever way our paths cross, people might know they are valued, feel held and be given the space to be truly heard.

By that measure, I am wealthy indeed.

My Kind of Longevity

None of us knows how many years we've been given.

No supplement, smartwatch, or wellness routine can promise tomorrow. However, we can care for our bodies wisely. We can make thoughtful choices. We can honor the lives we've been entrusted with. But eventually, every one of us reaches the same truth:

Our time here is finite.

Oddly enough, I find that freeing.

Because if I stop trying to control how long I'll live, I can become far more intentional about how I choose to live today.

Over the past few years, I've realized I'm no longer trying to build a business simply to sell beautiful things.

I'm building a body of work.

There is a difference.

A business asks, What can I sell?

A body of work asks, What am I here to leave behind?

That shift has changed everything. It has changed the way I create, the way I teach, the way I gather people together, and even the way I care for my own health.

Health is no longer the destination. It's the vessel.

It's what allows me to write another story, paint another canvas, guide another sound journey, encourage another soul, or sit across from someone who simply needs to know they are not alone.

Those moments become the legacy, not because they're famous, and not because they'll be remembered by the world, but because they ripple outward in ways I'll never fully see.

I've come to believe that legacy isn't built in grand accomplishments. It's woven quietly through ordinary days.

A conversation that changes someone's direction.
A workshop where a stranger remembers they are creative.
A handwritten note kept in a drawer for years.
A prayer whispered over a friend.
A meal shared around a table.
A child watching someone choose kindness.
A painting that gives someone permission to hope again.

These are the things that outlive us.

When I imagine the years ahead, I don't dream about simply adding more birthdays to the calendar.

I dream about filling the birthdays I've been given with enough beauty, truth, compassion, creativity, and faith that they continue speaking long after I'm gone.

That's the kind of longevity I'm interested in.

Not merely living longer, but living so intentionally that every season becomes an offering.

Perhaps that's what stewardship really looks like … not clinging to time, but honoring it, one meaningful day at a time.

If there's one thing I hope my work invites you to do, it's this: don't wait for the perfect season to begin living the life your heart is quietly calling you toward.

Follow your inner compass. Create something meaningful. Care for your body, nurture your spirit, gather with people who help you become more fully yourself, and leave the world a little more beautiful than you found it.

We may never know how many years we have.

But we can decide what we fill them with.

And perhaps, in the end, that's what matters most.

When the Light Is Enough

The first sunset of Summer

Following My Inner Compass at Summer Solstice

A few months ago, I found myself sitting quietly with a cup of coffee and a question I couldn't seem to shake. It wasn't a dramatic question or a life-altering revelation. Just a persistent one that kept returning whenever things became quiet enough to hear it.

What if I already have enough?

Not enough money to retire tomorrow. Not enough to stop dreaming or growing. But perhaps enough to stop running.

As we move through the season of the Summer Solstice, I find myself returning to that question. The solstice marks the longest day of the year, the moment when the sun reaches its fullest expression. For generations, people have gathered to celebrate the light, the warmth, and the abundance of the season. Yet there is another truth hidden within the solstice. It is also a turning point.

The light has reached its peak. The sun does not strive to shine brighter. It simply shines.

There is wisdom in that.

For most of my life, I have been a maker. I create art, jewelry, stories, experiences, and spaces where people can gather and remember who they are. Creating has never been the problem. In fact, creating has often been the thing that saved me.

The challenge comes when every gift, every idea, and every opportunity begins asking for a seat at the table. A new class. A new product. A new certification. A new platform. A new way to grow. None of them are wrong, and many of them are wonderful. But eventually I realized something.

A garden can die from neglect. It can also die from overcrowding.

The last year has been teaching me the difference.

I have spent a great deal of time asking what I want my business to become, what I should build next, what I should offer, and what I should focus on. Yet the more honest question has been something entirely different.

What do I want my life to feel like?

That answer came much easier.

I want room. Room to travel with Jim. Room to say yes when adventure knocks. Room to create because I love creating, not because a deadline is chasing me. Room to write books that may take years to finish. Room to paint the images that live inside my Soul Map. Room to sit on a porch somewhere and watch the sun set without feeling guilty for not being productive.

I don't need a private jet. I don't need a million followers. I don't need a seven-figure business.

What I need is enough margin in my life to hear myself think. Enough padding to breathe. Enough freedom to choose.

For a long time, I thought success meant adding. Now I am beginning to think success might look a lot like editing. Removing what no longer fits. Releasing what no longer serves. Decluttering not only closets and workspaces, but expectations. Especially the ones I placed on myself.

The beautiful thing is that none of this feels like giving up.

It feels like coming home.

The work Jim and I are building together still matters deeply to me. The sound experiences, the classes, the gatherings, the conversations, and the things we create that help people reconnect with themselves are not going anywhere. Those things are staying.

What is changing is my relationship with them.

I am no longer asking every idea to become a business. I am no longer asking every gift to generate revenue. Some things are allowed to exist simply because they bring meaning.

My paintings do not need to justify themselves. My writing does not need to justify itself. Soul Map does not need to justify itself.

Some things belong in the world because they are part of who we are, not because they fit neatly into a spreadsheet.

As I approach this next season of life, I find myself less interested in building something bigger and more interested in building something truer. A life with enough. Enough work to feel purposeful. Enough income to feel secure. Enough time to enjoy the people I love. Enough wonder to remain curious. Enough stillness to hear the whisper of what comes next. And enough trust to follow my own Inner Compass, even when the path looks different from the one I imagined.

Perhaps that is the clean slate I have been searching for.

Not a blank page. Not a new destination. Simply the willingness to trust the direction I have been feeling all along.

Like the sun at solstice, maybe there comes a moment when we stop striving for more light and begin learning how to live within the light we already have. A moment when there is finally enough white space around the important things for us to see them again.

And for the first time in a long time, that feels like more than enough.

If this resonates with you, perhaps you are standing in a similar season. A season of simplifying. A season of listening. A season of letting go of what no longer fits so there is room for what truly matters.

For years, I thought my work was about helping people create something beautiful. What I understand now is that it has always been about helping people create space. Space to breathe. Space to heal. Space to create. Space to reflect. Space to hear their own inner wisdom again.

Everything Jim and I offer, whether it is a sound experience, creative workshop, retreat, class, or gathering around a table, is rooted in that intention. Not because we believe anyone needs fixing. Not because we have all the answers. But because we know the value of slowing down long enough to hear your own inner voice, your own wisdom, and the quiet truth of what matters most to you.

If you are longing for a little more room in your life, a little more stillness, and a little more connection, we would be honored to welcome you.

Together, we will create space to listen, reflect, and reconnect with the Inner Compass that has been guiding you all along.

There is a seat waiting for you.

The Butterfly Effect

A few years ago, I read The Butterfly Effect: How your Life Matters by Andy Andrews.

Like many books that find their way into my collection, I read it, appreciated it, placed it on a shelf, and eventually moved on to whatever came next. The lesson stayed somewhere in the background of my mind, but the book itself became one of many lining the shelves of my studio.

Recently, while thinning out my collection of books, I came across it again.

It wasn't a planned rediscovery.

In fact, I was trying to let things go.

As I stood there sorting through titles I had outgrown, books I had already absorbed, and others I knew I would never revisit, I pulled The Butterfly Effect from the shelf and paused.

This time, it felt different.

The words hadn't changed.

I had.

Over the past year, I've spent a great deal of time thinking about what comes next. I've looked closely at my business, my creative work, my teaching, and the legacy I hope to leave behind. I've questioned what is worth keeping, what needs to be released, and where I should invest my energy moving forward.

Like many creators, I've found myself looking at numbers.

Class attendance.

Sales.

Followers.

Subscribers.

Workshop registrations.

Those measurements have their place, but they can also become a very narrow way of defining success.

As I revisited the message of The Butterfly Effect, I was reminded of something I had forgotten.

The most meaningful impact is rarely measurable.

When I look back over my own life, the moments that shaped me were not stadium-sized events or viral moments.

They were conversations.

Teachers.

Mentors.

Writers.

Friends.

A kind word spoken at the right time.

A story that helped me see my own life differently.

Someone who offered encouragement when I was ready to quit.

The people who changed my life probably had no idea they were doing so.

Their influence rippled outward long after the moment had passed.

That realization caused me to look at my own work through a different lens.

What if the class with only two attendees was exactly the class that needed to happen?

What if the person who reads a journal entry carries its message into a difficult season of their life?

What if a conversation at a retreat, a sound journey, a painting, a paperweight, or a passage from a future book becomes part of someone else's story?

The truth is, we rarely get to see where the ripple ends.

We plant seeds.

We share what we have learned.

We create.

We encourage.

We serve.

Then the work leaves our hands.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about growth. Not just growing a business, but growing a meaningful life. There is a difference.

One can be measured on a spreadsheet.

The other is measured in lives touched, hearts encouraged, and stories carried forward.

Perhaps that is why this little book found its way back into my hands at exactly the right moment.

It arrived as a reminder that significance and scale are not always the same thing.

Not every offering has to reach hundreds of people.

Not every class has to sell out.

Not every creative endeavor has to become a bestseller.

Sometimes the greatest impact happens quietly.

One conversation.

One story.

One act of kindness.

One person at a time.

As I continue creating, teaching, writing, and sharing what I have been given, I find myself returning to a simple thought:

I may never know how far the ripple travels.

But that doesn't make it any less real.

And perhaps that is the true lesson of the butterfly effect.

Not that we can see our influence.

But that we can trust it.

I'd love to hear from you. What small moment, conversation, or act of kindness has had a lasting impact on your life? Share your story in the comments or send me a message. Sometimes the moments that seem insignificant become the ones that shape us most.