Comfort Zones, Lessons Learned and Committments

"The deepest secret is that life is not a process of discovery, but a process of creation. You are not discovering yourself, but creating yourself anew. Seek therefore, not to find out who you are, but seek to determine who you want to be." Neale Donald Walsch

Wow.....if that didn't hit me right between the eyes!! I have felt the depth of that...especially over the last several months...i GET TO CREATE MYSELF and WHO I WANT TO BE! To that end, I have challenged my comfort zones, learned many lessons and decided on new committments for myself for the upcoming year. This may be a long blog, but there has been so much going on, I just feel like I am beyond Glass Full!!

Comfort zones..where do I begin?!?! I blogged about my conquering the mountain and such in the last one..then there was Spain. I was in a country where English was not the first language and while enough was spoken to communicate at points, it was still an adventure. There was lots of pointing and head nodding and gussing at times. But what and AMAZING country. Salamanca was one of the most beautiful places I have been to and speaking of comfort zones...I stepped out of many. Although it may seem little, I let go of alot of fear on my tapas tour. So here is how tapas works,,,,you go into bar and there is glass casing covering many different types of food. So you order a drink and get to pick one tapas to eat. The beautiful thing about the Spanish (or maybe it was just the people I was with) is that you all share...drinks, food..etc..you just share and it is such a simple, lovely thing to do that we don't do enough of. There is such beauty in the sharing of food and drink..I just loved it! So the tapas..there is all sorts of stuff...food I would have no problem eating and food that I normally would wrinkle my nose up at and say "No Way!" to..but I figured when in Rome... So I tried Jamones on bread. Jamone is pork that has been cured for years, has not been cooked and the leg literally hangs from the ceiling by the hoof until it is ready to be served. It was good. I figured I like bacon and prok chops, this should be an easy leap and it was. Then we went on to the next bar. Here i tried octopus on potato and it wasn't bad! I actually had two pieces of it. I then tried the bluest blue cheese on bread I have ever had. Very strong nad pungent, but very good. I also triend the potato, fried egg and fried pig fat dish that was pretty good as well. There is a certain freedom and a definite courage that comes with letting yourself experience new things. One of the great realizations for me was that I don't have to like everything, but in trying things, I leave the element to be surpirsed there. I love that I have this whole new aspect to my life..I get to be surprised when I let myself try new things...how cool is that?!?! I think too many times, we don't let ourselves be truly surprised and it has been eye opening to let myself not try and control my comfort, but just go with "it". It was also wonderful to catch up with old fiends, Marie Eve and Roger..what great hosts! A million thanks to them!

So..as the year draws to a close..I have had the chance to reflect on lessons learned over the last year. I am humbled to realize that at 34 years old there is still so much to see, do and LEARN. So here a few of the lessons that have really struck me this year and some of these are also committments I am making to myself...not resolutions, but committments:

DON'T LIMIT THE POSSIBILITIES: What a huge one for me! So many of us live in the can'ts, shouldn'ts and wouldn'ts that we miss out on the potential we have for our lives. I almost let the can'ts get in the way of taking the leap to move here to Ireland..I then would've been living in the should'ves! I look back at the way I used to see the world and how limiting that was for me. The only limits I have are the ones I place on myself and I refuse to draw conclusions and put limitis on the possibilities..whether that is on myself, friends, patients or whatever...NO LIMITS. This coincidentally opens the door up to be surprised which I am coming to love more and more every day!!

JUST TRY IT: This goes along with not limiting the possibilities. There is soooo much to learn in trying. So what if I don't like it, fall flat on my face or "fail"..it is all part of the experience. I have no idea what I may have missed out on not trying various things because of fear...but I am committing myself to not living in that fear anymore. I will leap, jump and push past that fear and take in every opportunity I can.

CONVENTION: I tried for so many years to stuff myself into the "right role". School/Marriage/Kids. All along, there was this wanderlust in me and I am so grateful that i get to do all the things I want to right now. "It Must be nice" is a comment I hear alot and all I can say and WITHOUT one ounce of guilt is "YES IT IS". This is the life I have chose and I won't feel guilty for doing exactly what I want to do. Obviously the path of convention was not working for me. Does that mean I don't want those things..NO! I absolutely want marriage and kids someday, but for this moment, I am enjoying the freedom to experience and do whatever it is that I decide...to create my own exisitence!

JUDGEMENT: I am through being my harshest critic. I have put so much wasted time into self judgement, self doubt and self loathing that I won't do it anymore. If the past 7 months have taught me anything, it has taught me that I am stronger, wiser, more balanced and prettier than I give myself credit for. I laugh loud, I smile alot, I am happy, I get really excited and text alot, write alot, call alot and all the other stuff...that is me and I am done with worrying if it is too much for others!!! Done with trying to be an "ideal"! What if the "ideal" is EXACTLY who I am at this moment??? How great is that?!!

LIVING IN THE MOMENT: I have also learned to be present in the moment...not to let what happened in the past color my thoughts about the present moment nor let worry about the future interrupt what may be the perfect present moment. I really want to live in the moments that take my breath away and not worry about what is coming next...moments like seeing something beautiful, a wonderful moment with a patient, a first kiss, surprise reunions..whatever it is, I want to savor each second of the now!

TRAVEL: I want to continue to take advantage of the opportunity to travel. Whether that be travelling around Ireland or elsewhere..the experience and life I am leading at the moment is amazing and rarely done. I know how blessed I am to do all this and I can't wait to see what else is out there, push my comfort zones and check out the possibilities!

This is but a small list of things. I could go on all night..overall I just have an OVERWHELMING sense of gratitude about where I am at in life and all that I get to do. However, most of my gratitude is felt and directed to family and friends who are always in my corner, cheering me on, loving me and giving me the suppport to go chase my dreams and CREATE myself!

Love you All!!

Sally

I Left All I Knew and Found The Better Part of Me

"Tis Better to live your own life imperfectly than to imitate someone else's perfectly" Elizabeth Gilbert from Eat Pray Love

So here it is.....the eve of my 34th birthday and I have to say that it really feels like I am just starting my life in so many ways. The last seven months have been amazing...so many moments of sheer joy, overwhelming gratitude, giddiness tempered with the occasional moments of self doubt, maybe a little twinge of homesickness now and then but mostly just an overwhelming sense of awe at the experience I am living in the midst of! I have accepted that I am a bit crazy to move to a country that I had never even visited, not know anyone and carve out a life...even people who are well travelled and such find it a bit crazy or "daring" that I would do something like that. But...forsaking convention and comfort zones has opened more doors in the external universe as well as my internal one. I struggled with convention...school/marriage/kids because that is the order things are supposed to go typically and the box I tried to stuff myself in. (maybe that is why it never worked!) So I have decided to form my own brand of "convention" and not wait for life to come to me..rather I am just going to go out, start my own traditions, learn by experiencing things and getting out of my comfort zone and follow my bliss!

Breaking out of my comfort zones....big ones were broken through last week in Norway. I climbed a mountain! My very first one! It was a huge accomplishment for me! I thank my wonderful friends Catherine and Michael for the encouragement and patience and further encouragement to get there because it was freakin amazing at the top and the sense of accomplishment was overwhelming for me. I have to say it was amazing to feel like that 10 year old girl playing in the woods behind her house or her grandma's house that day! It also occurred to me that I underestimate myself and abilities...often to my detriment. To break through that barrier and really feel and know the only limitations I have are the ones I place on myself was an amazing experience as well. I have heard that said in various ways, but it took this experience to realize it. I am forever grateful to my friends for pushing me past that comfort zone and getting me up on that mountain!

This past year has been so incredible....how many people actually go live their wildest dreams? And here I am doing it. I can't wait to see what year 34 brings. I am going to have to get some new dreams because the wildest ones I had, have come true. I get to live in Ireland, I get to work in a wonderful practice and take care of wonderful people, I get to travel all around and I still have so many people that I love back home. It is an amazing amount of blessings and riches that the Universe has laid at my feet and I am so happy to receive these gifts...because that is what I feel like all this is...A GIFT! My heart is full of thanks and truly happy.....what a blessed place to be at 34!

Love and Light!

Sally

What a Difference Two Years Makes!

"The moment I let go of it was the moment I got more than I could ever know. The moment I jumped off of it was the moment I touched down." Lyrics from Thank You by Alanis Morresette.

I have spent alot of time in the air in the last two/three weeks, so there has been alot of time for me to think, sort through and digest all that has happened in the last couple months and two years for that matter. WOW! seems to be all I can come up with. Trite and overused, but it is the only word "big" enough to try and convey my feelings on what has transpired in my life since I decided to start jumping! Jumping towards better health, jumping towards confidence in my abilities as a doctor of chiropractic, jumping towards living out my wildest dreams and jumping towards the best version of myself I could possibly be. I had no idea where that would take me!

Two years ago I was in the town I grew up in, practicing with my dad. I was 93 pounds heavier, very insecure and lacking confidence in my abilities as a new chiropractor. Flash forward two years to a much healthier version of me, a more confident version of me and the me that is living in the middle of her craziest dreams. I guess I need to stop calling them "dreams" because it is my reality now. My reality is that I get to live in a wonderful country I want to be adopted into...lol. I also get to travel around this beautiful country and the continent of Europe and who knows where else. I spent the past weekend in London where I went to an amazing seminar and had one of the best nights ever! We got, what I think was the deal of the century, and for 30 pounds a person had our own personal driver take us all around London for four hours...it was amazing and beautiful. London seems pretty magical all llit up at night. I actually got all choked up because I realized that I was doing the things I always thought I could but never knew how to get to do them..and bam! Here I am..doing it! I am filled with so much gratitude everyday for what I get to do as a profession and what I get to do in my life!

Galway continues to be a fantastic town to live in! It is a bigger city with a small town feel and I love that. So many places to eat, drink and be merry! I am starting to feel settled and am looking forward to establishing a social cirlce...you all know me;) It has definetly cooled down here and my patients keep telling me I haven't seen anything yet until I make it through the winter...but I don't think they have experienced a MI winter..lol!

The practice is great! I am truly blessed to be where I am at and who I work with. I love my patients and serving them everyday is a wonderful blessing. Watching people enjoy better health just by letting the body heal itself is pretty amazing. It is a very humbling process to be a part of. The owners have moved back to the states are missed greatly. It is an amazing trust they have put in us and I do believe we are doing them proud!:)

All I can really end this with is the thought I am truly happy. I mean TRULY happy. I have not had so many moments of pure joy and gratitude....it gets overwhelming sometimes. Yes there are challenges and obstacles that I go through and around, but my heart is truly happy and that is worth the risk of any other jump or leap I will be taking. I am so excited to see what the next jump is........

Settling In

"

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." Anias Nin

Over the course of the last two and a half months, I have found this to be true. So many new worlds have opened up to me in the new friendships I am forming. Worlds where I am a little more brave, a little more comfortable in my surroundings and worlds where I am accepted and loved in this new country where I reside. My new world is beginning to be sprinkled with new friends who are opening up other new adventures for and with me.

The last several weeks here in Galway have been busy with the Arts Fetival and then the Galway Races. Lots of people from all over in town to catch these very fun events. I was lucky enough to go and see one of my favorite singer/songwriters named David Gray. He played at the Galway Arts festival and it was an amazing evening. As many of you know, my love for music runs deep and it was so great to be able to see one of my favorites live. He put on an incredible show and we were quite close to the stage. One interesting fact was that the only beer you could get was Coors Light. I found that a bit ironic beeing at a concert in Ireland, that the beer of choice was an American Beer. In a related note, it is strange to see Budweiser and Miller Gebuine Draft listed as imports. They are quite popular over here. I am enjoying that perspective on the stateside brews!

As for Race Week...it was just a tad nuts around town. Apparently it was a bit more tame than in past years, but still crazy none the less. The Galway Races are quite well known. Think Kentucky Derby, but then imagine that it lasts for a whole week. There are races every day and celebrations every night. Thurrsday is always a highlight as it is Ladies Day. That is quite a big deal. All the ladies attending get dressed to the nines...elegant dresses, shoes, purses. Ladies get all tanned up, hair done...the works. There is even a contest for the best dressed and the winner gets something like 10,ooo Euro in cash and several other prizes. Then everyone just gets completely off their face the rest of the night and it gets quite messy that way in town. I stayed away from all of that. However, I did hit town on saturday of the races and had a FANTASTIC time. We were able to snag a table in a pub and had many laughs that night. I enjoyed solidifying new friendships and re-establishing old ties with a classmate from Palmer. It is a truly blessed life I am leading.

There are many adventures I am looking forward to in the coming months. A good friend of mine will be coming to visit at the end of September and then I will be visiting my home in the states for a week. Shortly after that, more family and friends will be coming over for Thanksgiving. I am planning a trip to Madrid at the beginning of December for my birthday and then will hopefully be in Edinburgh for Christmas. Christmas will be tough as I will be on my own completely for the first time in my life....but who knows..maybe another new world will have opened up by then!

I have been asked many times what/who I miss from back in the states, so here is a small list!:) The most obvious would be family and friends and the hugs that I would get. I also miss silly things like People Magazine, my radio stations, and ranch dressing. I am sure that once college football season starts, I will be missing that, as well as tailgating and such.

Although there are things that I miss, I am still amazed and overwhelmed at the opportunities and experiences here. Trying to live in the moment is something I continue to work on and I am finding that relishing each moment is extremely more enjoyable than worrying about what is coming next or worrying about what someone else is thinking. After all, it is up to us to explore the new worlds presented to us and to be open to the possibilites; the doors just open when I do that!:)

Until Next Time!

Cheers!

Sal

Two Months Has Flown By!

"Virginia Woolf wrote, "Across the broad continent of a woman's life falls the shadow of a sword." On one side of that sword, she said, there lies convention and tradition and order, where "all is correct." But on the other side of that sword, if you are crazy enough to cross it and choose a life that does not follow convention, "all is confusion. Nothing Follows a regular course." Her argument was that the crossing of the shadow of the sword may bring a far more interesting existence ...." Taken from the book "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. (my all time favorite book!

I cannot be more happy, excited, grateful, that I chose to cross my own shadow, leap and land here in Ireland. I have been stretched. I have been challenged. I have expereienced more moments of pure, unadulterated joy than everbefore; moments where I actually feel like my heart cannot possibly hold another ounce of joy but then it expands a little more and makes room for the next moment. I love catching myself in those moments...recognizing that I am perfect and happy and savoring every nanosecond of it. I think that has become my own little meditation....recognizing those moments, being completely present in them and being grateful all the way down in to my mitochondria that I have this life to participate in! I am truly blessed!

Galway is beautiful city. It sits on Galway Bay and there is always something going on it seems. The City Center and Eyre Square always seems to have a buzz about it. There are cobblestone streests lined with all sorts of shops and street performers. There always seems to be something to look at or do. Not to mention there is always great pub somewhere close: and YES! The Guinness really is better over here! The weekI arrived here, The Volvo Ocean Race was on a stop over. There were seven boats that docked here for two weeks. These boats have been racing around the world for the past year and Galway was one of the last stop overs, but the largest one of the whole entire race. They estimate that 650,000 people came to Galway over two weeks to see the boats. there were concerts every night, events daily it seemed and just a wonderful buzz about the city while it was going on....quite a time to move here.

Right now the Arts festival is on and it is one of Europe's best Arts festivals. There are musical performances, theater, visual art and so much more! Tomorrow night I will be going to see David gray in concert..I am soooo excited for that! He is one of my favorite musical artists and is playing. In just over a week, the galway races start and apparently that is quite the time! I am looking forward to experiencing that.

The practice I have joined is wonderful. I have had a lot to learn in a short amount of time, but it has been worth every second of it. I have grown in so many ways and I love the patients I am working with. Not to mention the clinic owners and fellow staff I get to be associated with. it is truly humbling and amazing watching how the body can heal when there is no interference to the nervous system. I love watching people get better with chiropractic care....I am truly humbled to be practicing this profession.

People ask me how things are different, what things are different, etc.... so I will try and shed some light on things. A major change for me has been not getting around in a car. I do not have a vehichle here and walk alot of places, take the bus or take a taxi. I miss getting on the open raod sometimes, but I love that I can walk around or hop on a bus and go somewhere. Just last weekend we went up to a beautiful area called Connemarra and Clifden. Absolutely gorgeous scenery and it was only an hour away. We are heading to Dublin for a weekend at the beginning of August as well....just another short bus trip. Of course there are different words for thing...here is a brief list:

Chips= fries

Fries=Fries

Crisps= Potato chips

Prams= Strollers

Lorries= Big trucks

Everything is "lovely" or "grand" here. There are all sorts of expressions I am learning. I think my favorite is "thanks a million". People say this all the time here. I just like it because it seems to go above and beyond a general thank you....rather I am thanking you a million times because I am so grateful...it is just something simple that expresses so much gratitude.

Well, I feel I have rambled enough for one session. I will be more diligent about updating this. So many exciting things are coming up and I can't wait to keep you all posted! I hope you enjoy the pics I have posted on here....I have loads and loads of them, trying to pick out just a few was tough!:) I also included the pic of my new haircut! I love it!

Cheers!

Sally

Less Than 48 Hours

WOW!! So here it comes...the big move. I am officially into the last full day here in the states. It has been a whirlwind of a couple of months....hence the lack of a new blog, so I will do my best to make up for that.

As I said...a whirlwind of activity has happened the last two months. I was honored to be a part of Caitlin and Brad's wedding in april and then spent two weeks at the beginning of May out in Iowa for Part IV National Board Review and The exam itself. While stressful (the studying and exam taking),it was wonderful to be able to spend so much time with my Iowa friends (aka Iowa Family). It was also wonderful to be taken care of in such wonderful ways as they all did.

It has been a month of goodbyes as well. It has been hard to say goodbye to so many wonderful people..family and friends. I am truly blessed to have so many people that I love and care about and that feel the same about me. I have been absolutely overwhelmed by the outpouring of good wishes, promises of prayers, gifts and most of all LOVE that have been sent my way. In fact, overwhelmed doesn't even begin to describe it...it has been truly amazing and humbling for me!

So, now I stand just hours away from leaving and embarking on my wildest dreams. For those that don't know, my wildest dreams were to work in Ireland or England and be able to travel a little around Europe...guess what?!?! DREAMS COME TRUE!! The Universe does conspire on your behalf when you have clear intentions on what it is that you want and the Omnipotent does make something seemingly impossible, possible....AND bigger and better than you could have ever wished for. How lucky are we?!?! I am so excited to take what I have learned and serve the people in Galway. Not only do I get to do what I love...I get to do it in a place I have always wanted to be. My Aunt told me to just leap and the net would appear....it has and it has been a large, finely knit one that has just fallen into place. I have never been more sure of any decision I have made or any more sure of what I supposed to be doing at this exact moment. I could wax philosophical forever, so I will spare you all....but living your wildest dreams can happen...you just have to leap sometimes and trust that it will all work out when you follow your gut.

To my fellow Vassarites that will read this....I can't begin to thank you enough for acceptance back into the community I have recieved. I will miss my nights on the sidelines and behind the bench at the high school, the smiling faces in the office and everyone that I have reconnected with or established new bonds with. Your friendships have meant so much since my return two years ago.

To The Iowa peeps that read this.....you guys continually amzae me with your generous friendships. I remember moving there in 2001, not knowing a soul and look what happened..I made some of the best friends a gal could ask for. It gives me the courage to know that I can go somewhere else where I don't know anyone and be ok.

To my family...I don't even know where to begin. I have the courage and bravery people see because I know you stand behind me no matter what. Thank you for loving me unconditionally and supporting me in living out my wildest dreams.

I know I am a bit sappy, but as a good friend told me today..it is not a goodbye here, it is a "See you later"...and it is! I just want you all to know how grateful I am that each of you hasplayed in my life. I CANNOT wait to update you about all the amazing things that will be happening practice wise and personally. Hang on kids...it is goign to be an amazing ride!!

I can't wait for visitors in Ireland!

With that......Galway Ireland...HERE. I. Come.!!!!

Sally

I am Swallowing Life Experiences Whole

Hello All and welcome to my first blog entry. Many of you will have read some of this stuff already or have been told about it, but for those that haven't...I am moving to Galway Ireland on Monday, May 25th. I have been given an opportunity to join a practice there for a minimum of two years. Galway is a city of around 80,000 people on the west coast of Ireland. (directly west of Dublin) It is considered the cultural center of Ireland and it is also the safest city in Ireland for all of you that are worriers out there.

I have been asked by many people upon finding out about my decision to move over there, "Why would you want to do something like that?". My short reply is usually "Why Not?!". There is also a longer answer to that. I am 33 with no strings and the opportunity of a lifetime just presented itself. In my wildest dreams, the thought of living in another country has always been there as well as the chance to travel around Europe; enter this position. I have also always had a sense of adventure, and although I stifled it at times, it was always there...chiding away at me. When this chance arose, I knew if offered the position, I would go. Of course there is a part of me sad to leave family and friends behind and of course there is a slight fear of the unkown. However, the overwhelming emotions are excitement and happiness at the thought of following a dream of mine and the opportunity to build a practice in Galway.

I do not have a place to live, but will find one when I arrive over there. My mom and sister Kate will be taking me over there. I am excited that they will be able to see where I am going to be. I am looking forward to using this space as a place to share my experiences, feelings, triumphs and anything else that comes my way. I look forward to feedback, questions and anything else anyone wants to send my way.

Talk to you soon!

Sally