Week 18 – 2016 The Abyss

Our week has been spent studying the Hero’s Journey. Basically going from where you are to accepting the call of your dream…. your vision… and taking conscious steps towards it.

And yet this journey is not always a hop skip and jump in a day because you decided to say “yes” to your vision.

Knowing that the journey may be longer than I expect… or shorter.

Understanding that there will be challenges and temptations along the path and mentors and helpers along the way to guide and teach.

And just before that time of transformation is when the lowest point happens. “it is most dark just before the light” moment. The “it gets worse before it gets better” moment.

This is called The Abyss…. a time of death of the old, and rebirth into the new.

That was my Saturday Jan 21, 2016.

Now, I am learning that life and the universe sometimes works in strange ways. Like… it’s easier to connect the dots of understanding situations when looking back on them then in the moment.

My vision is really to be a successful business owner… and really helping others to achieve their level of success in business. My business of choice is a direct network company in travel. I LOVE to travel! I want to help others have fun and earn money while on vacation too! Soooooooo…….

Here I am in San Francisco that weekend attending a photography class taught by a mentor of mine. I’ve been in the photography business for 36 years with my husband and it really isn’t my passion… I mean it is, but isn’t. I like to create beautiful images of people, but I LOVE to travel.

So it only made sense 2 years ago when I happen to come across a lady based in San Francisco who traveles the world spending weeks and months in Europe, Italy, Mexico photographing her clients for their business branding. OOOOOOOO!!!! OK….. maybe this is for me! I can combine my photography and my direct network company. I went out to study with her….

This past Jan she had an advanced class, so of course I went back. Part of the class was to have a client that we did a photo session with.

My client and I were in Yerba Beuna Park in downtown San Fran. We were walking from one location to the next… we were about 1/2 way done with her session. I had already captured many amazing and beautiful images of this beautiful woman that she was planning to use in her career as the director of human resources at the company she worked for.

It was mid afternoon as we walked and chatted to the next spot in the park. Out of nowhere I was body slammed by a tall young man. He grabbed my camera out of my hands. But to HIS surprise the camera was attached to my body by a cross body harness I always wear while in sessions.

My instinct was to grab my camera and wrestle it back. Of course this person was so much larger than me it was a no brainer as who was going to win the camera.

We wrestled for a bit and in the process the camera hit me in the face, splitting open my eyebrow and scratching my glasses.

My senses finally kicked in and I let go of the camera and in the process was pulled to the ground… face planting onto the cement.

He got away. Camera, lens, and all the images I had done of my client.

Here is my surprise.

In the past in a situation such as this, I would have freaked out…. start crying, and become helpless.

That didn’t happen.

I kept my cool. I consoled my client. I gave a very objective and unemotional statement to the police and emergency medical people.Later, I found out that a witness saw that he had a gun. And no, I was not in shock. I actually had my wits about me and was thinking very clearly.

It was nearly eight hours later after an ambulance ride and an emergency room visit to glue my eyebrow shut that I got back to my hotel.

I was all alone. I traveled to San Fran without my husband. My room was very lonely. I was tired and sore. My eyebrow and head were throbbing. Thank God the nurse gave me two Tylenol before I left because I didn’t pack any.

The next morning I was up and feeling good. My body was sore, and my eye almost swollen shut… but I was happy and excited for day 3 of our class. As I walked the half mile down Market Street to the Flood Building where the class was held…. my mind kept reciting…. “I greet this day with love in my heart”.

I got to class and my classmates were amazed that I was there. They thought surely I would be too mentally disraught to come.

I wasn’t. Matter of fact if I didn’t have the sore eyebrow…. I would have been hard pressed to have felt that anything like a mugging even happened to me.

Now…. clearly this wasn’t a transformation to my “dream life” or my “vision”. Nothing on the Sunday following was much different about my life. And yet there was.

I realized I stepped through the need to have drama. I realized I took charge instead of falling apart helplessly.

In something that could have been so tragic… it was just another experience. And I learned that drama is a waste of energy. I actually learned alot about myself and proved to myself unintentionally that I can take care of myself and be ok. I can take responsibility and make something happen… even in the midst of violence and theft.

I did have a transformation as I see it now… 3 weeks later. I gained a real sense of independence and taking responsibility for myself which I really need in my new endeavor of network marketing.

 

 

4 thoughts on “Week 18 – 2016 The Abyss

  1. Wendy,
    Tears streamed down as I read of your recent experience. What an incredible transformation! Thankfully you weren’t too badly hurt. Your confidence, grace, and resolve scream through your writing!!! I’m so happy that you were able to recognize the good that came out of a difficult, scary situation.

    1. awesome to actually experience the changes we have been working on achieving, isn’t it?!

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