Tag: #sisterhood

Who do you think you are?!

emyminzel

Do you ever dream big and aim for the stars doing something you really want too? Then when you start to take the steps. It seems that once in a while, your self-doubt whispers in the back of your mind. “Who do you think you are?! What makes you think you can do this?”

It’s like there’s a grumpy angel sitting on my shoulder, asking me. “Do you remember where you come from? Let me remind you of all these limiting the beliefs you picked up along the way. Girl, it’s me. Your debilitating doubt, reminding you to watch yourself! Who gave you permission to succeed anyway?! Certainly not me.”

This sounds so silly to write it out and then read. Yet, I genuinely believe I am not the only person to fight these limiting thoughts. It has become a habit for me to write about life lessons and roadblocks to process them. As far as coping mechanisms go, writing is my healthiest. Even then, sometimes, I feel like who cares? Why do I feel this pull and desire to share such personal information?

I believe it’s not that I need someone to care per se. What I need is to feel like I am helping someone else. Isn’t that peculiar? I am a certified massage therapist, I volunteer in my community, and I have a passion for protecting the environment. Yet, with all the action I take to “help” others, I still feel that there is more to do. Then I get frustrated when I don’t see it happening fast enough.

I have this pull to write what I live; in case someone needs to hear they are not alone. Selfishly it feels like I need to write to help myself too. I just listened to a song that said. “Take your time. Life’s lessons are not learned in a day.” How powerful this short phrase is at the exact moment when I seem to be in a hurry to know it all and do it all; like, RIGHT NOW!

Even though I know in my heart that life is a beautiful journey meant to be savored and enjoyed one day at a time. Apparently, I have the patience of Hulu on pause, because when I feel my effort isn’t progressing somewhere fast enough, I get down on myself and just quit moving. That jerk voice in the back of mind kicks in its two cents and asks. “So, this is it then?! Nice try. Remember who you are, sit down and shut up.” Unfortunately, lately, I have been complying.

What an a$$Hole I am to myself sometimes hey?! I mean really, I don’t talk to my friends like this. Why do I speak to myself this way? Where does this icky habit of doubt come from? I honestly think it comes from my lack of patience and just maybe… a buried fear of success. This also seems silly when I write it. Who fears success?!

Most people I know, try every day to succeed on their personal paths. I guarantee they have doubts as well, but do they handle them better than I do? There are days I feel like throwing in the towel on all of it. That dark angel on my shoulder tells me maybe I should just go get a regular job, so I don’t have to worry about doing the books, finding clients, and building my business.

Why do I volunteer my time instead of crawling into bed with a good book and my dog? Why do I pursue politics that get me all riled up, instead of working more on balancing my Zen?! Why do I stifle my creativity because I fear judgment from those who do not create themselves? Why, do I want to have it ALL?! Is what I am working towards even attainable?

Also, why do I have so many questions about life? I hope this is coming across in a friendly and relatable way. There must be others out there who struggle with doubt when pursuing dreams and goals. Are there other people who can relate to my frustration with the pace of life when you feel like you’ve been working so hard but just to feel as if your spinning wheels?

Listen, I believe if every one of us put our problems in a pile, most of us would choose to keep our own instead of trade. This frustration I feel is not a problem, it is an obstacle I know I can navigate. Yet, it feels like I need to a little help to push through right about now. I think we are all in this world together, so I’d like to ask for your help.

What do you do or tell yourself to keep your head up and hopes high? What would you tell your best friend asking this same advice on this topic? I am a fan of sharing sisterhood support, and I’d love to hear from you today!

P.s. I’d love to hear who you think you are! And what obstacle are you working to overcome right now!

Sending the intention of encouragement and self-love to you!

Wishing you the luck you need today,

Love, Emy Minzel 

 Visit me at :

EmyMinzel.com

@EmyMinzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Contact me at: EmyMinzel.AdventureSister@gmail.com

 

Stacy Crep ~

https://stacycrep.com

Photo Credit – Emy Minzel – Slim Lake, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness – Ely, Minnesota

 

 

Joys of Sisterhood!

emyminzel

Adventure Sister Stacy and I went camping with our husbands last weekend at Tettegouche State Park in Silver Bay Minnesota. It was a spectacular park with lots of hiking and stunning waterfalls of the Baptism River that led out into Lake Superior. We were only there for a very short weekend, but it seemed to be the get away that I needed to reset. You know, like an iPhone… power down for a bit and restart so I work on all cylinders instead of just some.

I needed to get out and reconnect with nature. I put my feet in the water, my mind back into the present, and gave my spirit some time to play. My husband and I got to the cozy campsite a few hours earlier than Stacy and Marty. We had time to set up the tent and hit the trail for a hike and to see the water falls. Jason was a little intimidated by the swinging bridge, but he made it over to the other side. I was very proud of him for pushing past his fear of heights, so we could be rewarded with waterfalls.

The next day we all hiked together, the park was scenic and vast, the steps were handier than BWCA portage trails but brutal in their own way. Luckily the water views and opportunities to swim made up for the stair master level 17 drill we embarked on. I think we all had over 10,000 steps in before early afternoon. I wasn’t expecting all the flights of stairs, but I believe they were totally worth the effort!

After our group hike we had decided to go back to camp and eat lunch. There was a great beach at the mouth of the Baptism river that led directly into Lake Superior. I wanted badly to swim and float on this 83-degree day and Stacy was up for some fun too. Marty drove Stacy and I to the beach while my husband who is not much of a swimmer decided he would be just fine enjoying some quiet time while we all went for a dip. We got to the beach that was made of rocks not sand, yet you would sink in them like it was quicksand in the right spot.

There was a sandbar (made of rocks) that reached like a finger of the earth just for the purpose of creating a pool before the river met the vastness of the Great Lake. All three of us wasted no time getting into the water. It was warmer than we thought it would be if we kept the current from sweeping us into the big water the temperature stayed perfect for this Minnesota girl. We know this because Stacy and I had let the current take us until it got so strong that I got a little scared and beelined for the shore and I would be able to put my feet back down.

We swam back and teased Marty about showing up to the beach with two women. All of us floated together having a great time while watched a young boy try to build up the courage to jump from a rock ledge that many others before had just done. In the end he did not jump, his fear got the best of him even though his older sister had jumped three times before. This makes me wonder about how many times I did not do something I really wanted to do because of my fear?

We swam for an hour or so then walked over to the other side of the rocky peninsula, so we could put our feet into Lake Superior. Even though the two waters were connected just yards away the large lake was much colder and seemed to have a fierceness about it. I walked in on the Lake Superior side and the rocks almost swallowed my legs up to my knees. The water was much cooler, and the energy of it was much different. It was a very cool experience to see how quickly Mother Nature can change her power.

I was in my happy place. I am a water baby. Always have been, always will be. Stacy also loves the water and as we turned to leave Stacy and I snapped a picture of us to document the moment. We didn’t check to make sure it was a good picture. We just took it quickly and kept on our path back to the campsite up more flights of stairs. When we got back to camp, I posted it to our BWCAdentureSisters Facebook page to let our readers know we were out adventuring together. It had been months since Stacy and I got together, and adventuring is one of our favorite things to do. We were both energized and very ‘here and now’ the moment the picture was taken. I believe it captured the peak of our happiness during that excursion.

I also believe that beauty comes from being happy. You don’t have to be traditionally beautiful to be perceived as pretty when joy radiates from your whole being and that is what the camera captured. Stacy and I are regular women, we have flaws, grey hairs, extra pounds, cellulite and everything else that comes with being forty-something and at that moment we did not give a darn at all, we were happy. Plain and simple.

Yesterday a Facebook fan had commented on our photo. She said, “You two are beautiful!”

It made my heart sing, not because I wanted to be perceived as pretty but because I knew that this woman could see our joy. It is not easy to find joy in our everyday lives sometimes. That’s why it is imperative to make time to do the things you love. I live in Minnesota, there are approximately 3 months of the year in which you can go swimming for any amount of time. Too soon it’s too cold, too late and dog days take over the lakes with algae blooms and other undesirable effects that keep us out of the water.

We made time to do what we love, and we were rewarded mind, body and spirit including a picture to prove it.

Thank you to our Facebook friend Pam for the nice compliment. I was having a pretty trying Wednesday after a great weekend escape, your compliment made my day. It made me feel like there is still good people who are kind, caring and most of all women who do not have to compete, women who lift others up, encourage other women for being authentic, without a beauty competition. It is okay for women to be kind and supportive of each other, we should encourage each other’s strengths, help each other on our paths, because we are intrinsically connected.

I think of the connection that Stacy and I have, and I am thankful for a different kind of sisterhood I share with other women I adore, the kind you choose. Neither of us have been blessed with a blood related sister but we seem to have found each other again in this lifetime. Don’t get me wrong, we don’t agree on everything and we have our moments of agreeing to disagree but that does not mean that for one second, I think she won’t have my back or I hers.

We seem to have embraced each other warts and all. She knows I am far from perfect and I know she is as human as person can get. I also still believe she is magical in her own way and I love that she pulls magic and courage out of me that I didn’t know I had. Sisterhood can be empowering if you let it! This picture personifies our joy on this day. Joy in just being us! No make-up, photo shop, or special effects can produce a photo that encompass happiness, it all comes from the inside.

Our goal as the Adventure Sisters is to pull this joy out of other women. To encourage others to be authentic as you can be while doing your best to find joys in your own lives. We do this by sharing how we do it ourselves. Feel free to share your own picture that shows you radiating joy doing what you love! It could be loving your babies, grandbabies, or fur babies. Hiking, swimming, or anything that makes your heart sing. We would love to see it!

Thank you for reading our blogs, thank you for the continued encouragement and support of our joint but separate journeys of the Adventure Sisters! We appreciate you.

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@emyminzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

Porcupine Spirit

emyminzel

I am a big fan of Erin Brockovich she is an environmentalist that feels strongly about protecting our water. She investigates and researches water contamination, uncovering hidden pollution of our water supply. I love how she is a feisty, strong and determined woman and mother, just trying to do better for the greater good in the future. I feel like this is something we have in common and why I follow her to hear what she has to say.

I like when I meet other women with a little sass. I like women who aren’t afraid to say what they know, feel, see, or want. I was raised by a wonderful community of strong women, my mother, my grandmother, my aunties, and even my adopted aunties were all smart, strong and fierce women in their own ways. It occurred to me recently that since I was raised by these women, I most certainly hold some if not most of these characteristics myself.

Adventure Sister Stacy tells me she was intimidated by me when she first met me at a class we took. She still came up to me after the class to ask for my business card, so we could meet up to practice Reiki together. I am thankful that she was brave enough to see through my big energy and ask me to hang out even though she felt intimidated. Although she did not seem intimidated, and she didn’t tell me this is what she thought of me until many years later after we had become very good friends.

Hearing this statement from my dear friend I laughed a little and thought “Really? I am 4’11”. How intimidating can I be?” Turns out I can be very intimidating when others are uncertain of my character or my temperament. Sort of like a porcupine. Now that I know this I find it useful and at times amusing. I try my best to help people feel comfortable around me. I try to be kind and patient but at the same time, I have my limits and I will not hesitate to let you know my boundaries.

Before I knew that I would be running for Minnesotat State House of Representatives I had a dream I was a porcupine. Isn’t that funny? I didn’t think much of it, but when I told my husband of this dream, he made a face that said “Well…. Imagine that!” He knows me well and thought it very amusing, taking the opportunity to remind me that I had been acting kind of prickly at the time. Isn’t that what husbands and best friends for? To tell you how they see you, to help us grow? I think so, that’s why I took it as a sign not only from my subconscious but from my husband to relax a little.

Now, I don’t think that the intimidating characteristic I have sometimes are a bad thing. I was blessed with them for a reason. It is a way of protecting myself against any bull that comes my way no matter how big it may seem. You don’t see a wolf or lion picking on a porcupine very often now do you? So, when I decided to run as a candidate in this midterm election I felt that this trait will help me in times of conflict if they were to come about. I feel that since now I know this about myself, I can use it in a way that is beneficial and keep it at bay at times it is uncalled for. When you know better, you do better.

I am thankful for my husband and my friend for pointing out this prickly personality that I sometimes have on when I do not need to. I did not want to continue walking around with my energy looking and acting like an unapproachable porcupine! After all I do have a much softer side more like a cat… Which also is known to have boundaries but likes to cuddle on her own terms and conditions. Okay so maybe just maybe, I was given these gifts for the life that I am living for a reason. I needed to know when it is time to be tough, that I am incredibly able to do so when I must.

My new friend and Campaign Manager Kayla stopped by to meet with me this weekend. She had been visiting her father in Wisconsin and while there she came across a pair of earrings she said reminded her of me, so she bought them. Which is very thoughtful and kind because I love earrings! Besides my wedding ring, it is really the only jewelry that I wear, and I am very specific about them as well.

I wear them as a statement or for energetic reasons. I have a pair of raw emerald earrings I wear when I feel that what I am facing that day will need love or compassion. I wear amethyst earring to feel connected to the divine or my higher self. I wear dragons blood stones when I feel I need energy or courage to power through my day.

The earrings that Kayla set before me were beautiful! I loved them instantly. The same woman who delivered the words “You can’t quit the campaign. We need you. You are the light.” Saying the exact words at the exact time she needed to, to keep me in the race just when I was about to change my mind. Wouldn’t you know it?

Kayla laid before me a pair of beautiful handmade earring made of porcupine quills! I love them and will wear them as needed.

Do you have stories of synchronisities? I would love to hear them!

Wishing you an abundance of love and blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@emyminzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

*Photo credit * Porcupine picture courtacy of World Wild Life Organization please feel free to donate or check out this fabulous cause.

https://gifts.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/gifts/Species-Adoptions/porcupine.aspx

We have already won

emyminzel

Tomorrow Adventure Sister Stacy and I will find out if we win a publishing contest we submitted our book trilogy in. We have been so busy with other parts of our lives that we haven’t had time to worry or concern ourselves too deeply in the outcome. Although we both sincerely really want to win this contest, we are detached from fixating on the win.

Our success does not rest on winning a contest. Our success lies within the people we help, the readers who enjoy our work and get joy from our message. When we started our joint literary adventure, we were very clear with each other that we truly wanted to help others find joy in their lives.  We have both been through our share of tough times and we wanted to share with others how we chose to cope, heal, and rise above to make it through to today.

The community we build on acceptance of being authentically you, doing our best to level up in our lives by being better and doing better, while seeking joy in our lives every day, even the crap days, is exactly what we wanted to create.

We wanted to create a non-judgmental community of authentic, great, and magical in their own way kind of people, that are willing to accept and cherish others for their differences. The Adventure Sisters celebrate uniqueness. We celebrate eccentric and unconventional people who do what they can to truly stay authentic to themselves while being the best person they can be.

When deciding to write these books of lessons, we kept in mind that most people at the core of their beings are good. Keeping this in mind, we knew that even those with the best of intentions make mistakes in their lives, including us! We believe that in general, most people are doing the best that they can in the time and space they are given when on the journey of life.

This gave us strength to be brave enough and support each other while spilling our guts, our dreams, our fears and our feelings out on to the pages of our books. We keep our Facebook posts and blogs positive because we know that the world is bursting with stories of the opposite. We are fully aware of the energy we send out into the world with our words. This makes us hold each other to not higher standards necessarily but to the standard of joyfulness, to do our best to be the light in the dark.

We see the good in the world because we are looking for it. If we can’t find it, we create joy ourselves. We don’t need music to dance, we beat to our own rhythm inside, we radiate with joy because that is what we also need to feel in our own lives. We understand that winning a contest would indeed be exciting and joyous for us both. We also believe that life will support us on the path to our highest and greatest good.

If we win, we will be ecstatic and overwhelmed with thankfulness! If we do not, we will not be discouraged. We will keep on, keeping on! Because that is part of the adventure too. Together we have learned to trust life to bring us exactly where we need to be. This literary adventure has brought Stacy and I closer than we ever were, I can truly say that I now love my friend/soul sister as if she is family. I view this relationship alone as a giant blessing gift wrapped just for us inside our joint journey.

This is the magical stuff of life. Starting out in the deep forest of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, two hippie chicks just looking for enlightenment one portage at a time, has led us to situations in our lives we would have never even imagined. I believe we will succeed, it may not look like what we think, but I know that no matter what… it’s going to be fabulous, because we will make is so!

Thank you for reading my blog and following the Adventure Sisters as we reach for the stars. We hope that you will learn from our wins, our losses and enjoy our unique views on the world around us. I cannot wait to share the next steps of our adventure with you!

Sending you love, luck and most of all JOY!

Wishing you an abundance of love and blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

@emyminzel

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com