Stories are the lifeline of our humanity.
I am reminded how important words are each time I have the honor of teaching and speaking to the thousands of students, educators, parents, clients, and various audiences that have crossed my path over the last two decades of my life. There’s something sweet, enticing, and magical about reading words on a page or listening to someone’s words when they share their heart and mind with us.
One of my favorite quotes by Maya Angelou sums this up with striking poignancy, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.”
Words are the breath that give life to our story.
My story in conceiving and writing my first book, Today’s Gonna Be Awesomesauce: Daily Meditations for Youth, Parents, and Families began over two years ago when my life, as I then knew it, completely changed from the inside out. I had to dig deep inside for something beyond myself that gave me vision and purpose.
My former spouse and father to my son unexpectedly died in a tragic accident in May 2015. My son was 9 years old at the time (he is now 11). There are seemingly no words that can describe the tailspin of unfathomable pain that this event ignited in my life. But, paradoxically, it was through words – both written and spoken – that healed a deeply seeded wound in my body, mind, and spirit.
I suppose that the words you will find in Today’s Gonna Be Awesomesauce infused my life with the breath of new meaning.
On a run one day (what I often refer to as my other yoga/meditation), I had a calling to write this book. I actually had an outline and other ideas for my first book (I even started writing the introduction to what I thought was going to be my first book!), but that voice deep within was persistent. It was clear that my first book was going to be Today’s Gonna Be Awesomeauce.
So, over 2 years ago I committed to the writing project. This was no easy endeavor. Though I’ve been a writer most of my life and enjoy writing a lot, including my 3 Health and Wellness Blogs, taking on a writing commitment of this magnitude as a single working mother was not only risky, but pushed my comfort zone more than I could have ever imagined.
Yet, I had a story to tell.
I knew that once I committed to the project, nothing would stop me from completing the book. The calling was that strong. I often jokingly comment that I really didn’t have a say in the matter.
The book is not only a daily meditation book for youth, parents, and families, but it’s a book about turning grief (including our daily roadblocks) into rainbows. Let me clarify.
When I say “turning grief into rainbows”, I don’t mean running away from grief. I mean embracing it whole-heartedly and with a love-warrior spirit. But, that doesn’t happen easily. It’s hard to embrace the roadblocks in our life whole-heartedly and, when they are compounded with grief, parental and career duties, and general living, it sometimes seems near impossible.
It was in the darkest hours of my life that I found some of the brightest light. This is what I call Awesomesauce. Here’s an excerpt from my book where I explain this in further detail,
“Who doesn’t want to be awesome?! When we embody awesomeness, we feel spectacular. We feel good. We feel ultimate and authentic joy.
I decided to expand on this magnificence a bit. The right sauce can take something from being just ok to being outstanding and leaving us desiring more and more. That’s how I like to think about awesomesauce. Though the sprinklings happen on the inside that help us spread immense love on the outside.
Awesomesauce is a state of being. This meditation book is filled with tools, quirkiness and laughs, and bits of wisdom that I trust you will use as a guiding light in your life and your family’s life to connect to your own and your family’s awesomesauce state of being. The book gives us the tools to create our own epic love story.”
Like I said, I had to dig deep and my life changed from the inside out. What I found is this state of being called awesomesauce. Sometimes, if we are really lucky, we can get there with ease, but most of the time it takes work. It takes a lot of hard work and faith in the process.
Today’s Gonna Be Awesomesauce is a daily mindfulness meditation book for youth, parents, and families (and educators, too!) filled with practical wisdom, quirky wit, and edgy savviness created with an educator’s lens, a yogi mom’s heart, and a superhero love for humanity.
Also included in the book are 365 mindful breathing mantras. If you are short on time and can’t read the day’s entry, take note of the mindful breathing mantra. The book isn’t meant to be analyzed; it’s meant to be felt and practiced and, to be read with a contemplative lens. Let the words clear your mind and dance in your heart space.
Today’s Gonna Be Awesomesauce: Daily Meditations for Youth, Parents, and Families will be released (in traditional book format and e-book format) and available for purchase, including on Amazon, in September 2017!
Be sure to sign up for the book release updates so you can tune into and spread the awesomeauce! Here’s a link to the website, www.solsenseyoga.com.
Sharing our stories and our words is the love that keeps our hearts pumping with awesomesauce flare. I trust that when you read Today’s Gonna Be Awesomesauce, it will infuse your life with the breath of new meaning as well.
Live the light. Live the love. Live the Awesomesauce.
Om Shanti Om ~ Athea
