Challenging Times & Big Epiphanies

Currently, I'm going through one of the hardest challenges I've faced. And while I truly value transparency, I know in my heart that at this time, it's best not to elaborate on the details. But instead to focus on the message in my experience that feels timely.

You’re reading this because you are part of my community and you care. The inner circle of this Live Unprocessed team has held me in strength and continue to show up for me again and again. So please know that I am ok.

Over the last 3 years, this community has walked with me through some really difficult times and while I may be the "leader" of this community, I'm reminded through these experiences that the way I lead is through connection ~ connecting with you through vulnerability, connecting individuals & community, and sharing life together.

Each day, as I face a new phase of this experience, I remind myself that I will get through this. I will come out stronger. I visualize that day, that time, when the storm has cleared and I stand glowing brightly, face to the sun. 

Part of that visual is feeling confident in myself again. Because, oddly, as I've stepped fully into Live Unprocessed as my "business," I've doubted myself more than ever before. And that's led to an inability to fully engage. A procrastination. A freeze. A constant longing without ever seeing the value or full implementation of my creative knowledge and desires that are bursting at the seams. An inability to share my purpose, in fear it'll never be good enough to truly serve you. 

I feel like, when I get there, to that day I dream of, I'll have the energy, the courage, and the creative burst to pour out all my knowledge and experience into this community...into YOU. I'll be able to really bring to life exactly what Live Unprocessed is meant to be!!

And this thought, that shot me wide awake in the middle of the night, has literally slapped me in the face among all the personal challenges I'm currently facing.

It's not meant to be complete or polished. It's meant to teach within the messy. It's meant to connect, to move through, to grow together. 

I am not meant to be the leader that stands in front of you with all the answers. I actually am the biggest skeptic of that kind of leader. I'm a human who lives to grow and who desires transparency and authentic human connection. 

There is no authenticity in waiting until the end of the storm and then editing out all of the lightning and thunder so storm seems more tolerable. I cannot simply wait until I "get through it."

I'm realizing through this experience that re-telling our stories, especially as more time passes, subconsciously edits out details that no longer seem as vital. But it's in all those small details that you have survived the challenge. Those tiny things, the insignificant moments, are what offer you the resilience and the strength to find the answers. It's the little parts that matter. 

It's how you calmed yourself in the middle of the night when you wake up in panic. It's what you ate when you didn't have the motivation to cook or even the appetite to nourish yourself. It's how you nurtured your nervous system when you had to show up in the moments that you didn't know if you had anything left to give. It's all the parts that literally have nothing to do with "the story." 

It's not which exercises you did to rehab your back injury. It's not which diet you followed to in order to dramatically alter your health crisis. It's not what steps you took to build the business that saved you from your own rock bottom. Those are all plans that are black and white, and some work for you and some don't. And you'll continue searching for the next plan for the next fix. 

I've worked hard over the years to develop step-by-step plans in food, movement, and mindfulness. I love directions and seeing my finished product. But for each of plan, there's a beginning and an end. 

And life ~ the pivotal moments ~ the challenging phases the create exponential growth ~ these cannot follow a blueprint. 

Ultimately, in every challenge, and in each day of your life, what matters is how you live. You can follow every single one of those plans, but it's only when you have the tools you need to navigate the unexpected and survive all of the challenges that arise, will you thrive within every phase, especially those that are the most challenging.

I value the rawness of humanity. I value being able to walk with you through life and learn from your experiences. And when I'm introduced to a similar circumstance, I know I can lean on your experience to help pave my way. This is where I can find shelter where there wasn't for one before. And from that, I can create an improved pathway forward, we can lock arms, and support the next friend through. 

I value community. And even when you join a community because you are inspired by the leader, you quickly find that you learn equally from those standing in that community with you. To belong means that you have just as much value in this community as the person next to you and the one in front of you. And a true leader values you and what you bring to the community. Sharing experiences and sharing life. And within that, you build a trust where the leader doesn't tell you exactly how to solve your problem, but instead, walks with you, sits with you, picks you up when needed, and you find your way together.

And THIS is what I've learned from this community. It's what I've learned from YOU. 

So it's time for me to apply this lesson and support you from the eye of my own personal storm. 

I'll be honest: I have no idea what this will look like. My hope is that the tapestry that weaves together my pain and my wins, will build this community from the ground up and lead each of us to exactly what we need in order to truly Live Unprocessed. 

Sending Love, 

Shannon