Waking Up to Life: From Wondering to ReClaiming

I still remember those mornings in my 50s when I would wake up with a quiet ache inside and a single question looping in my mind: What is life all about?  Is this it?  Surely not.  All the angst, the ‘growing pains’ for what!  It wasn’t just a fleeting thought, it was an ache that wouldn’t leave me. I felt unsure of who I was or where I was going or why it even mattered.

Back then, I didn’t have answers. I only knew something had shifted. I couldn’t keep waking up with that question, feeling disconnected from my life and myself.

The Quiet Ache

For decades, my life had been consumed by roles: as a caregiver, I wasn’t a mother, I took on the role of a caregiver through my work in the services and various voluntary roles. And alongside these roles was another constant, my focus on my body. I’d spent nearly 40 years trying to manipulate her into what I thought she should be, into who I thought I needed to be. My first diet started when I was just 10 years old, setting the stage for a lifetime of feeling like my worth was tied to how I looked.

But then something happened. Around the same time I began asking myself What is life all about?, I realized I no longer cared what people thought about my body. For reasons I couldn’t quite explain at the time, that obsession just… fell away.  Well mostly, there were still challenges at times.  I still had to work through, heal an eating disorder that was entangled with trauma. 

It was such a paradox. After decades of battling shame, guilt, and endless cycles of dieting, I was finally free from that grip. And yet, losing the thing that had occupied so much of my focus and energy left me with a void. What was I supposed to do with all this mental space? Who was I now that I wasn’t consumed by the pursuit of the "perfect" body?

The Turning Point

That ache, that void, wasn’t just an ending. It was a beginning. Losing my old focus made room for something new. And so I started exploring.

One of the books that helped me during this time was The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck. It taught me that life’s challenges and questions are opportunities to grow. They’re not meant to be easy, but they’re where we find the deeper truths about who we are. Peck’s words helped me see that the emptiness I felt wasn’t a loss, it was an invitation to rediscover myself.

ReClaiming Myself

This journey led me to reclaim parts of myself I had long forgotten. I realized that my obsession with my body had, in a strange way, given me a sense of purpose, albeit a painful one. Without it, I was left to confront the bigger question: Who am I beyond my appearance?

And so, I began to reclaim who I was at my core.

• I reclaimed my identity, reconnecting with the woman I had always been beneath the surface.
• I reclaimed my purpose, discovering what truly lights me up.
• I reclaimed my confidence, finally feeling at home in my body and at peace with myself.
• I reclaimed my vitality, finding joy and energy in ways I never thought possible.

This process of reclaiming was life changing. It’s what inspired The ReClaim Project, a program I created to help other women navigate their own crossroads.

The ReClaim Vitality Project

Through The ReClaim Project, I guide women to:

• Reclaim their identity: Let go of who they think they should be and reconnect with who they truly are.
• Reclaim their purpose: Shift from feeling lost to discovering their unique passions and what makes life meaningful.
• Reclaim their confidence: Step into their body with love and acceptance, free from shame.
• Reclaim their vitality: Bring energy, joy, and a sense of aliveness back into their lives.

Finding Meaning in the Paradox

Looking back now, it all makes sense. Losing that obsession with my body, while painful at first, freed me to focus on what truly matters. The space it created allowed me to wake up to life in a new way. I am not going to lie, there was discomfort.

It’s a paradox I still marvel at: the very thing that consumed so much of my energy, trying to fix my body, had to fall away for me to see the truth. My worth was never tied to how I looked. My body wasn’t something to manipulate; she was my home all along.

An Invitation to You

If you’re waking up with that same ache, wondering What’s next? or feeling like something’s missing, know this: you’re not alone. That ache isn’t a sign that something is wrong, it’s an invitation to explore, to grow, and to reclaim yourself.

Take the first step, however small. Reflect on what lights you up. Give yourself permission to feel curious about who you are and what you want. And most of all, know that it’s never too late to reclaim the life you love, a life full of purpose, confidence, and vitality.  

The road less traveled may not be the easiest, but it’s where you’ll find the truest version of yourself. And that’s a journey worth taking.

Here when you are ready, actually here when you do not feel ready and you are feeling the nudge, the calling, the urge.  Let me walk alongside you with The ReClaim Vitality Project.  Its a project because you know all the answers we are just going to make them more visible and use that to navigate your life of vitality.