An open note to all who made my Omega "Living a Fearless Life" conference experience so incredible:

I almost didn’t make it to the conference. On Thursday, April 1st, I was seriously considering backing out and skipping the volunteer orientation. At one point during the day on Thursday, coming to the orientation after a long day at work really started to feel like one of those “Why did I ever commit myself to doing this?” things. Well, I am so glad that I fought through that, because I had the best few days that surpassed my expectations big time!

Had I backed out, or rather, “chickened out”, if you will, I would have missed out on some truly incredible people and wonderful experiences. I don’t know what I expected when I pushed myself to “show up”, but this certainly wasn’t it! If I had to use one word to describe what I’ve found here, it would be awesome!

Had I not pushed past that feeling of not wanting to push past that feeling and show up, I would never have heard Christopher Reeve speak so eloquently on pushing past your mood and doing it anyway. I would not have followed my own North Star, which led me right into Martha Beck’s workshop. I would not have had the experience of meeting the woman who was at least partially responsible for my being here in the first place, and finding her to be every bit as wonderful as her book, and then some!

I am so glad that I did the “fearless thing” and plunged myself head-first into an experience so incredibly powerful, that I will remember April 1st, 2004 as the day I found home. This is where I belong, and where I was meant to be. They say that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. Well, I must be really ready, because I had teachers popping out of the woodwork! If ever there was a sign that I am “on the right track” in my life, then this conference was it. I have found my niche. I discovered why some of the various healing methods I’ve attempted to learn never really took off. They just weren’t ‘it”. I’ve come to understand that my healing gift is the gift of words, both spoken and written, humor, and the sharing of my stories.

While not everything has worked out the way I might have liked it to, others have not turned out nearly as disastrously as I had feared. I went out on a big limb, and instead of being rejected as I had feared, I made a very special new friend. I have been given the opportunity to shine, and apparently, I’ve shone brightly (and no, it wasn’t just my flaming red hair). I have allowed myself to be fully myself and, to paraphrase Sally Fields “they like me. They REALLY like me!” I am now able to finally see myself the way others see me, without doubt and fear. And that, as Marha Stewart would say, is a good thing.

Thank you all for being part of what was, for me, a wonderful experience, and for making it happen.