A Breakthrough Story: A Fed Up Woman And Her Paddleboard

I met this woman by chance, I am friends with her mother and she stopped by for a chat with us one night. She had cracked. She was done with how she had been living. Done with her being burned out and overworked in her 70-hour workweek legal social work job, done with pushing the grief of her father's sudden passing 6 years ago down, overwhelmed with the pressures of being a wife and mother, feeling alone and craving friendships. She was worried she was having such a breakdown but since the moment she started talking, I thought to myself,

"This woman is breaking through."

I felt a moment of shimmering light from her when she mentioned she had borrowed a stand-up paddleboard. She couldn't stand or kneel on it and she didn't have any confidence in the ocean but she felt like it was her calling and had made a goal for herself to try and stand up by August 31. She's not as out of shape or "bad at it" as she thought, she just needed to be shown a few techniques and some empowerment. I believe knowledge is power so, we went for a paddle, I gave her a lesson on how to stand up, taught her about the tides and safety concerns, and coached her with some, self-connection mantras. The whole session was only two hours and then I went on my way.

I received this text and photo A WEEK later:

"Zero Fucks Given. How fearlessly I blew through the August 31 date to stand on the board! I was truly blessed to meet you. Here I stand in warrior pose with the paddle over my head. Nothing left but me and this board life now, I'm obsessed. I suddenly became very aggresively vocal about what's making me happy/unhappy in my life, personal relationships,etc. Decided it's time to save myself, decide for myself, fill up myself, put my mental health first. The board is the first step. It took me 39 years to get on a paddle board, to build up the confidence to have my own voice, to kill the self doubt, to be my own cheerleader, to stop looking to others to validate my worth, and be true to my authentic self. It begins with a hint of passion for something you think is unattainable. Mine was standing on a board. Thank you Ash for helping me break through the wall."