Retreat to Peace
Retreat to Peace
Turning Chaos into Peace: A Conversation about Balance and Gratitude
Do you feel the weight of uncertainty weighing you down? Are you tired of feeling powerless in the face of life's many unknowns? Join your host, Catherine Daniels and Sasha Taylor, on this enlightening journey, where you'll learn to find abundance and peace amid the chaos. Catherine encourages listeners to shift their focus from things they lack to the abundance they already possess, thus fostering an attitude of gratitude. This episode is your roadmap to finding that elusive Zen state, a place where happiness is crafted from within despite the external turbulence.
Catherine further delves into the role of truth and balance in our lives. Oftentimes, negativity from various external sources can distort our perception of reality. It's essential to be conscious of this and learn to unearth our own truth, independent of external influences. This episode is your guide to navigating these turbulent waters, discerning truth from fiction, and providing empathetic support to others during precarious times.
Lastly, we dive into the anxiety-inducing realm of uncertainty, and the human tendency to crave control. Catherine explores the potential for growth and self-discovery that uncertainty holds. She further discusses the importance of faith, and how it can aid in surrendering control and embracing the mysteries of life. We also emphasize the significance of connecting and providing support during periods of isolation. This episode aims to empower you with the tools to navigate uncertainty, achieve balance, and ultimately, find peace within yourself.
Please visit us at: http://retreattopeace.com to find out more about the shows you love to listen to, the upcoming retreats we have planned and your favorite merchandise to help support those in need. Also, send us your testimonial of how the show or Catherine has helped you. We would love to share your story on the air.
Hi, this is Catherine Daniels with Retreat to Peace. It has been such an incredible couple of weeks of January 2021. Now, normally I would set up the show to be around health and wellness and taking care of your body and nutrition and all of the things that we would normally do for January. But 2021 has already set a stage for everything just being totally off the rails, in the sense that it's not a traditional year already, and everybody I know is very hopeful that once we turn the corner from 2020 into 2021, that maybe things would look differently, maybe they would feel different. There would be more help, more optimism, more things on the horizon that were just brighter. I'm not saying that things on the horizon are not bright. They actually are very, very bright. They are bright and filled with a lot of love and peace and truth and authenticity. We really are coming out of an era that has been filled with lies, with illusions, delusions and mayhem. But we're not quite there yet and what I found is over. Especially the last week, I've had people reaching out to me from all kinds of directions asking me what can we expect? What's going to happen? How do we navigate the uncertainty of what's happening on a global scale. Now, as most of you know, I am in the United States and, as most of you know, there is a lot of upheaval. At the time of this broadcasting, our president inauguration is set to take stage. So, literally when you're hearing this, we are going to be experiencing a historical moment, unlike anything we've ever seen. That is, if you're listening to it on Wednesday, if you're listening to it before or after our inauguration of our president, which is set to take place on Wednesday, january 20, then you may or may not know what the events will unfold to be or what they look like. So, prayerfully, as I do every week, I asked for some direction as to what to put into the world this week and, as I said, normally I would put out something around health and wellness and fitness and taking care of your spiritual path and journey, but also taking care of your physical body. So what I did is I chose to retreat and I prayerfully asked for some guidance of words that would help people listening in this audience.
Speaker 1:One of the things that I think has been really surprising to me is that this word abundance kept coming through over and over and over. Interestingly enough, when we focus away from what it is that we have. We feel like we have a depletion, a depletion of something. When we are centered in abundance, we can live our life with love and peace and happiness. But then you ask how do we do that when it feels like things are just spinning out of control, when it feels like our sense of control has been taken away from us? When you look around and you see the events of the world that are unfolding, you see people that are living in a fear state and, as I had shared with you last week, living in a fear state is living in a negative energy vibration. When we live in a fear state, we're actually bringing our body down. What we need to do is raise our vibration and not live in a space of fear. So, as I was guided to share my message, one of the things that Crystal Clear was coming through over and over consistently was the space of abundance.
Speaker 1:When we live in abundance, we can recognize with gratitude the things that we have in our life, and it's not just things, it's more in the space of knowingly know what it is that you have, the people in your life, the blessings of what your life looks like that could be having a roof over your head. That could be having clothes on your back, having food in your belly, having an abundance, but with that, there are these unseen things that create abundance. One of them is love love for your family, love for your friends, love for your higher power. Also, your happiness. Well, where does happiness really come from? Where does that resonate with you? I like to coach people that when they're looking for this piece of themselves called happiness, think about the things that bring you into your Zen state. Think about what it is that you do that you thoroughly can get yourself into a place where you're just lost in what it is that you're doing. When we're in our Zen state, that also puts us in a place of meditation.
Speaker 1:My daughter when she creates art, she goes into her Zen state. You could literally be standing in front of her and she will have hear what you're saying because she is totally focused and doing what it is that she loves. Hours can go by, but to her they seem like minutes. Look for the things that put you into your Zen state. That also serves as a meditation. Happiness is created on the inside. It's something that you yourself can create. You do not need another person, or anything for that matter, to put you into that state. That also is going to create a space of living in peace. And this is the key component right now that people are really, really struggling with is how do I find my centered peace? I want to reassure every single person listening to this right now that you do have the ability to go inward into this inner space and create this abundance of peace. The way you do this is you do get yourself in that Zen state of grounding, you do surrender to your higher power, knowing that all the events of the world that are unfolding, they are outside of our control. They are outside of our control and there's really nothing we can do except be accountable for the space that we live in. It is so vitally important right now that, more than ever, people are taking and releasing the trauma that they are holding on to as we are going into a place of uncertainty and fear and just really not knowing what's ahead.
Speaker 1:It is so, so important that you are doing things to detox the body, because your body is holding on to negative information on a certain level, which will manifest into disease for most people. Make sure you're getting a lot of water to flush your system. Make sure you're eating your healthy foods. Make sure you're doing some sort of exercise. Yoga is an amazing tool to help your body reconnect with the mind and to detox any kind of trauma that you may be experiencing. Another really, really important tool is make sure that you're journaling. If it takes you only 10 minutes a day, or 15 minutes a day, or if you want to journal for longer than that, then please do that, even if you're just writing. This is stupid. It is so, so, so important to detox the body of this stored trauma that people are feeling, especially if you're pregnant. If you're pregnant, do everything you can to release this energy outside of your body so that your unborn baby is not holding on to this as well.
Speaker 1:I was talking to a neighbor last week and she shared with me this incredible story about the power of our higher power and God and calling in our angels for protection, and I thought it was such a powerful story that I need to share it with all of you. So, as we were discussing what is unfolding in the United States, we were talking about how fear can play in part to what happens with things, but with the power of prayer how it also puts you in protection. At first I wasn't sure exactly where she was going with it, but as she started to speak it became crystal clear to me exactly what she was going to say. You see, she was talking about how much she is in with her higher power. In prayer, she makes it a point that when she's driving to work or driving home from work, that she calls upon spirit, calls upon her higher power and God, and just talks to God in regards to what is going on in her life, in her world, and uses the guidance to direct her in whatever it is that is happening.
Speaker 1:Now, how many times have we had a sixth sense, where something was feeling off and we were called to it and then, when we arrived, if we had listened to it when we arrived, we understood why we were being pulled in that direction. I have examples of this over and over and over throughout my life, just listening to that voice, that voice that was directing me to do something that maybe I didn't know I should do otherwise. So, as we were speaking, she shares with me a story what happens when people are not right but may be wrong. So I think it's interesting that we take a moment and just think about what happens when we're right or what happens when we're wrong. When we were in school, we used to get graded on papers or on quizzes or whatever it was that we were learning to decide whether or not we were retaining information. And if you did not retain information correctly, you were marked wrong on your paper. And if you remember getting that paper back and if it wasn't a satisfactory grade, you really didn't have a good feeling around what it was that you were receiving.
Speaker 1:But a lot of times this negative feeling comes up when we have been told that we're wrong. It comes from that same space when we're little kids, our parents tell us you're wrong to touch the stove because it's hot. Was that the wrong thing for them to do? No, because they were keeping you safe. But what happens when someone is trying to convince other people that they are wrong?
Speaker 1:So, as you know, I start each of my shows with my intro about removing all labels from everyone. Those labels include what people look like, the color of their skin, their religion, what they represent. If we removed labels from people and just saw them as they are, wouldn't that make life a better place, a different place, would you have more compassion, would you have more understanding that maybe we're not as far off the mark with one another, because we are all souls traveling in these bodies. When people don't convince someone else of their mindset, they often categorize the other person as being evil or tyrant or whatever it may be that they label this person. But then doesn't that make us human? Because we all have the ability to have these mindsets, to use our mind and know that we are able to decide different things about our circumstances. But here's the thing it's always subject to interpretation. Right versus wrong is always subject to interpretation and when we least expect it, just like life, something happens and again everything shifts, everything changes, and again it's subject to interpretation.
Speaker 1:I'm calling on all of everyone to find ways to find a balance, find ways to make it a point to come from a space of abundance, of peace, of love, of happiness. If things are not working out in the sense that it's pulling you down into a negative state, pulling you down into a negative space, take that and undo it. Just undo it. Turn off the news, whatever it may be. Undo it as we look at moving forward. Look at ways that you can lead other individuals to live in a higher space of gratitude and abundance. Try to look at things for how they really are, not how you would like them to be. It's easy to fool yourself when things aren't the way that you wish they were. But take your time, trust yourself.
Speaker 1:How do you find the truth? You know, when I was a little girl, I was literally, literally beaten over the head, over and over and over, that my mother did not want me. I was three years old and then five years old the last time I saw my mother. And for years and years and years, I was told your mother didn't want you, you were abandoned, you were this, you were that, all of it. So, growing up as a little girl, the only way I could compartmentalize it which is a very normal thing for a child is to put it in a box over there where it's sat, and I didn't touch it and I just left it there, and I took all the facts that I was given at that moment in time and put them in the box too. But guess what? One day a letter showed up and it specifically said that she wanted to get together with me.
Speaker 1:Well, at this point I'm already an adult. I'm already full blown into my adult life and do you know that when I got together with her, when I got together with her, her side of the story was nothing like I ever expected. It was filled with abuse and heartbreak and disappointment and just living in a space of sheer fear. Fear, and at the end of the day, to some degree, that fear overtook her. It broke her down, that she didn't have the ability or strength to rise up and fight fight for her kids. I don't fault her. I understand exactly how she got to that place. I understand the crippling effect of how she got to that place.
Speaker 1:But I ask was it truth that she just abandoned us? Was it truth that she didn't want us? The answer is no, it was far from the truth. So I share this with you, because when we are deceived, when we live in a place of illusions or delusions or lies, when we recognize these lies, we can also get into a space of feeling a lot of grief. We can get into a space where we're feeling a lot of anger and rage. But if you take a moment to take a step back and see things for how they really are again, not the way you'd like them to be, but for how they really are, and then take your time to look at what it really is. What is the truth? Ask the questions. Ask the questions and take into account all aspects of everything and look at what is coming to you from credible sources. Look at what is coming to you so that you can understand it. It's important that we know exactly where it is that we stand in our truth, but it is important to question, because somewhere the truth lies, but where does it lie and how do we fit in with the truth?
Speaker 1:I think the reality is for most people around the world right now. They are confused and unsettled with not knowing the truth. But let's be honest. Who hasn't been lied to? I think everyone, at some point in their journey, has been lied to by someone that they fully trusted, by someone that they really cared about, and sometimes these lies are very small lies and sometimes they're big lies. But it seems that sometimes, when these lies happen, other lies manifest to cover them. There are people who will lie to you. There will be people that have been lied to and will come from a space of truth despite the consequence, because they don't want you to feel the hurt and the pain, but who are the sources that you can trust?
Speaker 1:I ask you to pray over people's souls that have lied. Pray over their souls that they can be out of the illusion and the delusion and the lies. Pray over them that they can live in a place of truth and love and peace. It is so important that we do this to anyone who has dishonored us, who has violated our authentic space. We know that in the coming weeks, astrology is showing that we're going to be in a place where there will be violence. This will be a violent period for a period of time, and if this proves to be true, it is important that we continue to pray.
Speaker 1:It's important that we continue to journal, to remove this stress out of our bodies, to remove the trauma that we're storing. It's important that we continue to detox. Human beings are resilient. Right now, they're facing a wide range of challenges. Different people have different experiences. Different populations have different reactions to what is experienced in the world. I recently was reading an article about how suicide rates are continuing to increase around the world.
Speaker 1:I encourage you please check on people you love. Please check on them, make sure they're safe. Make sure that you're offering to them the love and support. Also, make sure that you're reaching out to fellow people that really may be struggling and having a hard time. If you are experiencing a roller coaster ride in your dream state, please know that that is also something that a lot of people are experiencing. If you keep a dream journal, you can start to document what it is your subconscious is telling you. You can look up symbols and colors and some of the things that people would see in their dreams and then use that to decode exactly what it is that is going on in your subconscious.
Speaker 1:I think it's important that, as we go through this period of time, that we take the time to be gentle with ourselves, to know that we're going to get through this together and it's going to be okay. If you have not already, please email me at retreattopiecellccom. We know technology has been interfering or there's interference, I should say with technology, and this has created a lot of hardship for people getting access to information. I encourage you to register with my website, which is being worked on right now, but I encourage you to send me your email address so I can update you with healing seminars and workshops and things that will be conducted so that you can be part of this journey, of this healing journey that is being done collectively. I'm excited to get started in my next interview, so please hang on a moment as I get that started for you and, as always, live in your authentic space and retreat to peace. Hey you, wherever you are in the world right now, thank you so much for being here with me.
Speaker 1:We know we live in some volatile times and we know that the world is changing. So let's create a bridge as we travel through one another's country, removing all the labels, coming together as one people finding our home in one world. And as we do this, this is why our signature talk today I don't know how three words can set you free is so important. So settle in as we jump right in. And today I'm so excited to welcome my guest speaker, sasha Taylor. Hi, sasha, hi, how are you? I'm doing great. It's wonderful to have you with us today. Thank you for having me, absolutely so. Sasha is a single mom extraordinaire of three amazing kids. She's had to overcome so much in her life, including low self-esteem, verbal and emotional abuse, and she's had to learn how to love herself. In spite of how others may have felt. She believes that we are all perfectly imperfect and, no matter our flaws, we are still beautiful and worthy of love. Wow, wow, wow. I think that is so strong and is so powerful because it applies, I think, to everybody, right, yeah?
Speaker 1:That message that you have. That is amazing. So, sasha, I know you're outside the Philadelphia area here in the United States and I know that you are this amazingly beautiful, powerful woman and mom, especially to those three amazing kids. And you're talking today. I don't know, wow, how many times do people say I don't know, but in your case, these words I don't know set you free, and that is amazing. So tell me a little bit about how that happened for you.
Speaker 2:So at some point in my journey of being a single mom and experiencing so many different ups and downs and things like that, at some point you come to understand that you are not going to have all the answers and we're not intended to have all the answers. And it was at a moment when someone asked me a question you know, sasha, how are you going to get this done? And I was just like I don't know. And after I said it I wasn't panicking at first, because there have been times when I have said that and I felt scared and afraid when I said that. But this time there was something very liberating, without about me not knowing as weird as that sounds and when I said it to the person they were more upset than I was and they were like what do you mean? You don't know. And I was like I just don't know. And it just kind of set me on this journey of kind of like self discovery to know. All right, sasha, you don't have to have all the answers, you don't have to know everything.
Speaker 2:I think by nature we as humans, we are naturally controlling, controlling in a sense that we want to know. You know who, what, when, where, why. We want to know how things are going to get done, when is it going to happen, and we want it all in our timing. I want it to happen at this time and this month. That would be great, right. And when we're faced with, you know, different trials and tribulations, it's very easy to find yourself falling into despair because you don't know or you don't have the answers for anything. And I think admitting, just saying you know what I really just don't know, I don't know how this is going to get done, can definitely set you on a path of a little more self discovery.
Speaker 1:I couldn't agree more and I know right now with the world being in a state of this uncertainty because literally around the world, everybody is facing something that they just don't know right. They don't know the outcome, they don't know what it's going to look like, and there's been so much almost loss that people have been experiencing from the old way that they've been living, and a lot of grief is associated with that. So they're, you know, fumbling through that, trying to figure it out. And, just as you said, not knowing creates a lot of panic and create a lot of fear. It can create those feelings of hopelessness and I think you know those also define the grief as we go through this. I mean talk about that idea of not knowing, like, how does that feel? What does it feel as far as what it's doing inside of you.
Speaker 2:Well, I think you could definitely invoke a feeling of anxiety, right, you know? Let's just say case in point, there is a family of four and maybe the husband lost his job and he's the sole breadwinner. And now he comes home and he has to tell his wife you know, hey, I lost my job. And usually the first question that people ask is well, what are we going to do? You know, I think in that moment, because you know, in your mind you're thinking about all the bills that you have. You got to take care of the kids, you got to feed the kids right, you have to eat. You know you have to continue to live. So I think it can definitely create a sense of anxiety and a sense of panic.
Speaker 2:And I think one of the things that I want to put out there, I want people to change their perspective because oftentimes, when we get into that panic and anxious and fearful mode, we're not thinking rationally right. A lot of times we're thinking that we have to have all the answers and we have to do everything. But if you take a step back and say you know what, I don't know how this is going to get done, and then start thinking about what can you do? That will shift, because now you start to come up with different ways and how you can overcome that situation Versus before, when you were just like I don't know. You're panicking, you're anxious and sometimes, when you're in those states of the fearful state and the or the fight or flight factor, you start making decisions that are just not the best decisions.
Speaker 2:But if you sit back and think about, you know, hey, I may not know what's going on or how it's going to happen. Rather, I may not know how it's going to take place, but what I do know is that I can do X, y and Z. Maybe I can get a part-time job. You know, this is something to think about. I'm just using that as an example. You know, and when you start to think that way, a lot of the fear will start to subside.
Speaker 2:And I'm a firm believer, too, that I have a saying that I live by when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. I feel like whenever, when we're ready to receive certain things, people will start to appear to give you the exact to meet the exact need that you have, whatever that need is. I'm a firm believer in that, but it's hard to see that right when you're only thinking of your abilities, how you can take care of it, how I, I, I instead of saying you know what, I'm just going to step out on faith and do what it is that I can do and trust that everything is going to come together the way it's supposed to.
Speaker 1:That is beautifully said and I know for people that are in that circumstance that you just described, there's so much pressure that they feel and that feeling of not knowing the next step and not having control over the next step.
Speaker 1:But, as you pointed out so beautifully, just knowing what it is, you can control and work on those pieces, like getting a part-time job or doing something like that. I think that's so amazing. But one of the things that happens too when we don't know, is we're actually kind of pulled back into a space where we are literally rethinking a lot of things right. So it's a very, very humbling experience. But as we go through that process, it's not necessarily that you know you're succumbing to something and you have to fall into a million pieces either. So I think that's part of what most people need to recognize as well is that, as these changes occur within our lives, that it's really important to be humbled by them and allow them to happen, but also to understand that there is an element that we do have some sort of control over, but not necessarily that you know we have to succumb and be defeated.
Speaker 1:Right, and with your perspective, as you took the words, I don't know, and how did you redesign that process for yourself that it's allowing you to be set free, like? How did you work through that?
Speaker 2:So, for me, faith and my faith played a big role in that. In fact, it was the main factor in relinquishing control. Because, you know, for me, I follow God, I follow Jesus Christ, and I said, well, I had to say to myself okay, sasha, if you say that you know you trust him to take care of everything, right, but yet here you are stressing over everything that's going on. The question remains do you really trust him? Do you really trust him enough that he's going to take care of you? You know he knows what you need. He knew that this was going to happen. Whatever it was, you know, that happened in my life. He knew it was going to happen before I knew it was going to happen.
Speaker 2:So the question remains are you going to relinquish control and allow God to take care of it, or are you going to continue to worry and stress and drive yourself crazy and insane? And usually nothing takes place at that point. Right, because worrying definitely doesn't change your situation. You know worrying is not going to help you get that job, or it's not going to help you to pay your rent or pay your mortgage. Worrying won't do it. Action will do it.
Speaker 2:But when, oftentimes, we're worrying so much we just kind of get into a fog.
Speaker 2:We kind of we're only thinking of all of the bad that can go wrong. And it's understandable, right, because that I mean we're living in crazy times right now and it's definitely understandable with a lot of families and what they're experiencing right now in this pandemic. It's totally understandable and I get it. I mean, I've experienced my own, you know, trials and tribulations before this pandemic even came along. So I can only imagine, with everything that's going on in addition to regular stuff that life throws at you and now you're dealing with this with the pandemic as well, it can be, it can be really, really tough, but for me that was where my strength came from. Right, and I just want to say too because I want to put the message out that just because you relinquish control doesn't mean that you give up your responsibilities. So a lot of times if you say you know, just relinquish control, most people would would have a rebuttal of but I have to do this and I have to do that and have to do this. That's very true.
Speaker 1:But what you can do, instead of controlling the situation, you can help manage the situation, and I think there's a big difference yeah, and that's very well put, and I find a lot of times that when people are going through difficult circumstances, they actually put so much of their focus on the fear that they're experiencing. And I see that happening right now a lot with people around me where they're so focused on the fear and the chaos that they're not able to take a step back and see what they actually can work with. So, for example, if you're so heightened on the social distancing and the mask wearing and all of these things that are happening to our society as our you know, as our lives are changing, you're creating a lot of stress and for most people that they don't realize that when we go through a lot of stress or we're going through a traumatic situation, our bodies actually hold on to that information, which is why we remember when really bad things happen to us or a bad situation happens, because we are holding on to that information in our bodies on a cellular level. So it's interesting because people really need to be aware of that and all of that stress that they're creating. They're actually bringing their body and their immunity down just by having that kind of stress. So I love this message of it's okay to not know.
Speaker 1:I love this message that it's okay to allow your thought process to be in a different place as far as your mindset. For you know and, as you were saying, you use your faith and you trust and you look at the things that you can control. So you know for the person who's lost their job, finding something else that they can still do. But it's so powerful. You know what we do with ourselves and how we navigate the waters, it's just so powerful.
Speaker 1:But I think, too, knowing the outcome can also create a lot of pressure, right? I mean, we're humans and of course, we want to know the outcome, but sometimes, when we know the outcome, that can create more stress and more anxiety. So maybe it's redesigning the thought process, like you said in the mindset. But for people that already have a low self-esteem, for people that are in these situations that are different than other people because, let's face it, everybody is in their own unique journey, everybody's in their own unique situation. For people that are living alone, they're struggling with isolation, they're struggling with not having the connectedness to other people, but then you have people that are together that maybe there's toxicity, right what would be your advice for these kinds of people and kind of working through this.
Speaker 1:You know this way of the world right now that's a tough one.
Speaker 2:So for those who are living alone, I highly recommend one of the best things you could ever do is to go. That's kind of tough now I was going to say to be around other people, but it's kind of tough when, with all of this going on with the pandemic, become a part of something. Volunteer somewhere. I would tell anyone, if you ever need a wake-up call from some of the things that you're dealing with, go volunteer and help other people who are less fortunate to you. I guarantee you'll walk away more humble, because that in and of itself it helps you to look at your situation and say you know what? I don't have it so bad after all. So, whatever that is, you know, if it's volunteering and feeding the homeless, I don't care If you're giving out books, if you're, you know, helping some children, helping elderly people go and do something.
Speaker 2:We were not created ever to just be by ourselves. We are relational by nature. It's the way that we were designed and I really believe that when we sit in isolation, we just. It causes us to be selfish, right, because we're only thinking about what's going on with us. We're only thinking about what we're gonna do, how we're gonna deal with it, things like that. When you start to get around other people, then that helps you to become a little more selfless, especially when you're helping other people that are less fortunate than you and you get to talking to other people, and that's a big one too, right? We hold on to our stuff and I get it A lot of times.
Speaker 2:People are ashamed of what they're going through and we love to think that we are the only ones experiencing what we're experiencing we all the millions of people that's in this world and we can never seem to fathom that. You know what. There is somebody else who is probably experiencing the exact same thing. Right? We think we're the only ones in our situation. Our situation is unique. No one else has ever dealt with it, and that is so far from the truth. On a flip side, if it's a person who is, you know, on lockdown and they're living in a home with such toxicity, the best thing I can recommend is to try to get that toxic stuff out of your life as much as possible, and oftentimes people will look to other people for the answer, when the answer is already within us.
Speaker 2:We already know what to do right, we already know what we need to do. We're just afraid, and sometimes we're looking for confirmation like, oh, I know I need to do it, but let me go find somebody else that can kind of agree with me. So now I know I'm going to write that we're so afraid of being wrong, we're so afraid of making the wrong decision. But I've come to learn that indecision is worse than making the wrong decision. So, for those people who are in a situation where it's a sad situation, listen, we all deserve to be loved, we deserve to be happy, we all deserve peace and tranquility.
Speaker 2:I am a huge, huge proponent of peace and tranquility and no chaos, and I get it. Some people created and we even have people in our own families, even right. So it's like we can only avoid them. But so much, but as much as possible. If you have to try, like even for the one who lives in a house with someone who's toxic and I know that's a touch-free subject, because that's it's easy for me to say what a person should do.
Speaker 2:That's why I don't like telling people hey, you should do this to get out of that. You just have to do what it is that you know you need to do, especially when there's kids involved, right. But even in that sense, maybe, go somewhere and, again, talk with other people. You'd be surprised how you'll meet someone else because, again, I believe in divine appointments, right, I believe that you know. For me, I believe that God puts people in our life for different reasons, and maybe you'll meet someone along your path. It could be you on your way to the supermarket or you go into the post office. You'll meet someone in your path that can give you the words that you need to hear, or whether it's encouragement or advice, whatever it may be, or maybe they can help you in that situation so that you are able to get out of that toxic atmosphere. I really believe everyone deserves to live, especially your home, right, your home is your haven, so it should be peaceful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and of course, you know there's always resources that people can utilize as well if they need to.
Speaker 1:But I think you know, in this period of time, there's so much turning inward within people because the things that they use to run to aren't available to them.
Speaker 1:So part of turning inward is really the self-evaluation process and thinking through on where they are in their journey and if they're doing the right things to honor themselves and whether or not they're continuing their journey in such a way that they are embracing life and really take like you said, you know, taking the time to understand that it should be restorative and peaceful and those kinds of things. So it's just a reevaluation phase and process, I think. But I think you know, one of the things that makes you so incredible is not only your ability to communicate in such a way with your poise, but also your life experience as a mom and all of the things that you do. But I really would love for you to share with the audience how do you do life where you're really embracing it, because I know there's a lot of single moms out there that are really stressed out, and they're really stressed out because of this whole situation with schooling.
Speaker 1:You know it's like the schooling is in constant flux and you know it's a 24 seven, 24 hours a day, seven days a week position for single moms. And you know there are moms that have the ability to share custody with the dads, but then there's some moms that don't have that break. So what kind of advice can you give to them during this?
Speaker 2:time. I would definitely say tap into your resources, whatever support system you have. And when I say support system, a lot of people think a support system is only family. That's not always the case. I did not have a huge support system with my family. My mother and my father are both deceased and they died young, so I didn't have that support system for a very long time. Sometimes you have to tap into a support system outside of your regular surroundings or wherever your family is. So if that means again you tap into friends, go to your friends and ask for help, right. Especially if they're single parents too, they totally understand, right. Tap into that, don't be afraid to ask for help.
Speaker 2:And it's easy, especially as a single mom, but it's easy to get so wrapped up into yourself and your kids and what needs to be done and you start coming down on yourself and you start thinking that being single is horrible, right. And then you look at your kids and your kids sometimes are often a reminder that something is missing or someone is missing or from that family component. I would say the best thing you could do in this moment is to just breathe in and breathe out and just try to relax as much as possible, and it's easier said than done and it's a little hard for me to say because my kids are older, right, I can't even imagine if my kids were younger going through this time right now. It would be hard and I know my patients would be like really thin. So I would just highly recommend to single moms tap into any resource that you can, any support system that you can, a healthy one at that. Just tap into that resource that you can, because that's really going to make a difference in your sanity.
Speaker 2:You know, and I would just say, for me, embracing my singleness and being a single mom was not easy. It did not happen overnight. I am 40 years old, I'll be 41. I just started embracing being single and that's probably because now I realize that my kids are older, I can kind of come and go as I please. I love the fact that I can go and no one's questioning me about what I'm doing, where I'm going.
Speaker 2:That took, that took time, though. Like that did not happen overnight and it's a process. It's definitely a process, but I'm a firm believer that this too shall pass, even whatever you know any single mom is feeling right now with everything that's going on. This, too, shall pass, and I'm a firm believer too, that you know, a lot of single moms will come out much stronger than the way they went in, and maybe this is being put in place for us to learn more things about ourselves. You know that self-reflection, so that will probably be the best advice I could give. It would be tough to give A lot of people on that one.
Speaker 1:Well, I think, I think it's really important that single moms do take the time, even if it's 20 minutes or 30 minutes a day, that it's just for them, where maybe they get up earlier before the kids get up, or maybe they go to bed later, but they just take time just for them and surrender to just some self-care.
Speaker 1:You know, maybe that's when you read your book or you journal or you catch up with a friend, but it's just your time and I know that's some really good time. You know, especially when you're going through things, that you're taking care of yourself and the other things are put on the back burner temporarily. But I also think for single moms, that whole I don't know is so in their face too, right, especially now. So I you know, I think it's like you said it's so important to even quote unquote to create your family, right, because, like you, you didn't have your mom and dad, so you had to create your family so that you can have your support system. So creating your family is always a good thing to do and sometimes that's not always somebody that you're related to.
Speaker 1:And that's okay, that's okay, and what a valuable lesson for other you know people like even your kids, that it's okay to be family with other people that aren't necessarily people that are, you know, blood related right.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So, and I think you know, part of your I don't know message is just embracing the journey, just really embracing the journey and appreciating where you are in that moment. But, yeah, is there anything else that you had to offer the audience that year? That's on your heart.
Speaker 2:I would just really tell people just just stop putting that pressure on yourself, you know. Just just take it off, and a lot of times we carry the weight of the world on our shoulders, and especially now, you know. So I'm not saying this to make light of what people are going through, because I get it and I feel for people. I really do. Just try to take that pressure off of you. Whatever release that you can do, you know, for those who have kids that are at home go play with your kids, you know. Go, go play a video game. I'm a big video gamer, I was raised on video games, and it's a great way to Release stress, right, it's a great way. Read a book, like you mentioned. Even with single moms, even if you're not single, you know, and you're married, you can still do this as well, you know. Have put the phones down. That's a hard one, right? Because, especially with everything that's on social media, we're always glued to our phones. We're always on Instagram, twitter, facebook and sometimes you just got to take a breather away from social media. Shut the news off, right, Don't even look at the news, because if you watch the news, it'll have you going every which way. It'll have you feeling afraid, it'll have you feeling scared about different things, the future. Just shut it down, turn the TV off. Sometimes even you know, I think, um, it gets better, it gets better, and I know that's so easier said than done. You know, when you say that to a person, right, I definitely don't have the answers.
Speaker 2:I would recommend for anybody who you know you worship. If you are a person who has a faith or religion, pray to your higher power. If you're a person who doesn't believe in God, maybe you believe in unit the universe, maybe you believe in unit the universe then you got to know that Everything comes full circle. You know everything is turned around. We may be dealing with this right now, but it won't always be this way. So I would, I would really encourage people to Just continue to have that faith.
Speaker 2:If you're a person who pray, pray and pray without ceasing, because If you don't, your sanity you'll, you'll find yourself driving yourself insane, and your family and your kids If you're, if you're at home with other people as well, um, and just be easy on yourself, right, like, be kind to yourself. We're so hard on ourselves, yeah, but we are. We listen. No one has to tell us how to beat up on ourselves. We have a fine enough time doing that without anyone's help. You know, and we're always taught to be patient with everyone else, be kind to everyone else, but we miss ourself in a process. So be kind to yourself, love yourself, be patient with yourself. It's okay, and again, it's okay if you don't know, and I think admitting that you don't know is definitely a big step.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Okay. And one last question. So if I were to pick up your earth angel feather off of the ground, what would your message to the world be?
Speaker 2:Just love yourself the same thing. Love yourself, be kind to yourself, hug yourself. I love it. I love it Seriously.
Speaker 1:This has been so much fun. It's been such a pleasure to have you with us today, and thank you so, so much. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Yes, and if our audience would like to connect with you, they can reach you as sasha taylor 1, 2, 1, 8, 3, 1 at gmailcom, and sasha is sa sha, taylor is ta y l o r, and that's 12, 18, 31 at gmailcom. Thanks again, sasha, appreciate it. Thank you and that's all we have time for today. This is Catherine Daniels, reminding you to live your authentic life with peace and, as always, retreat to peace and we'll see you next time.