<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?><!-- generator=Zoho Sites --><rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"><channel><atom:link href="https://www.homeofmisfits.com/messy-middle-blog/tag/life/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><title>Home of Misfits - Messy Middle Notes #life</title><description>Home of Misfits - Messy Middle Notes #life</description><link>https://www.homeofmisfits.com/messy-middle-blog/tag/life</link><lastBuildDate>Sun, 19 Jul 2026 14:25:00 -0700</lastBuildDate><generator>http://zoho.com/sites/</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Well... It's Complicated.]]></title><link>https://www.homeofmisfits.com/messy-middle-blog/post/well...-it-s-complicated.</link><description><![CDATA[<img align="left" hspace="5" src="https://www.homeofmisfits.com/Happy BD.png"/>America turns 250, Colorado faces wildfires, and I'm reminded that perspective doesn't ask us to choose between gratitude and concern. Sometimes the healthiest thing we can do is make room for both.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="zpcontent-container blogpost-container "><div data-element-id="elm_921PkVqsQoyWD8N4zVKN-g" data-element-type="section" class="zpsection "><style type="text/css"></style><div class="zpcontainer-fluid zpcontainer"><div data-element-id="elm_k14TF3MXR46OI3Cfh0t9qQ" data-element-type="row" class="zprow zprow-container zpalign-items- zpjustify-content- " data-equal-column=""><style type="text/css"></style><div data-element-id="elm_okiu0qOYRZecrmlVlG-n2A" data-element-type="column" class="zpelem-col zpcol-12 zpcol-md-12 zpcol-sm-12 zpalign-self- "><style type="text/css"></style><div data-element-id="elm_r1nAeloRS5-2R3TVBFcCFQ" data-element-type="heading" class="zpelement zpelem-heading "><style></style><h2
 class="zpheading zpheading-align-center zpheading-align-mobile-center zpheading-align-tablet-center " data-editor="true"><span></span><span style="font-size:45px;"></span><span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span><span>Turns out, that's not a problem.</span><br/>​<span style="font-size:24px;">​</span><span style="font-size:24px;"><i><span><span><span><span>Some of life's most meaningful moments don't ask us to choose between joy and concern. They simply invite us to make room for both.</span></span></span></span></i></span><span style="font-size:24px;font-style:italic;"></span><span style="font-size:24px;font-style:italic;"></span><span style="font-size:28px;"></span></h2></div>
<div data-element-id="elm_-ZWZovDKSCqT4e1CQ6Svtg" data-element-type="text" class="zpelement zpelem-text "><style></style><div class="zptext zptext-align-left zptext-align-mobile-center zptext-align-tablet-center " data-editor="true"><p></p><div><p style="text-align:left;"></p><div><p style="text-align:left;"></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p></p></div><div><div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p></p></div><div><div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><div><div><div><div><span></span></div></div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p>Happy 250th birthday, America.</p><p><br/></p><p>I woke up this morning with mixed emotions, and for a split second I caught myself thinking that maybe I <em>shouldn't</em>. Maybe today was supposed to be simple. Hang out the flag. Eat too much potato salad. Watch the fireworks. Celebrate.</p><p><br/></p><p>Except here in Colorado, there won't be any fireworks.</p><p><br/></p><p>Not because we forgot what day it is, but because the wildfire danger is simply too high. Instead of looking forward to fireworks lighting up the night sky, we're watching fire maps and hoping the brave firefighters battling these massive fires get a little help from Mother Nature. Last night, the smoke hanging over Colorado turned the moon into the most incredible shade of deep red. It was absolutely beautiful... and completely heartbreaking at the same time.</p><p><br/></p><p>As I sat there with my coffee this morning, staring out into the haze, I realized something.</p><p><br/></p><p>This is perspective.</p><p><br/></p><p>Not the smoke.</p><p>Not the holiday.</p><p><br/></p><p>The fact that two completely different emotions were sitting at my table, sharing the same cup of coffee.</p><p><br/></p><p>I was born in Germany, but in October of 2007, I became an American citizen. I still remember standing there, raising my right hand and taking the oath. I remember the excitement, the gratitude, and the overwhelming sense that I had chosen this country to become my home.</p><p>That feeling was real.</p><p><br/></p><p>It still is.</p><p><br/></p><p>So are the mixed emotions I have today.</p><p><br/></p><p>For some reason, we've convinced ourselves that both things can't exist together. Somewhere along the way, we started believing that if you love your country, you have to pretend everything is wonderful. Or if you're disappointed by something you see, then somehow you've forfeited the right to celebrate any of the good.</p><p><br/></p><p>Who came up with that nonsense?</p><p><br/></p><p>Life has never been that black and white.</p><p>Neither are people.</p><p>Neither are relationships.</p><p><br/></p><p>The longer I do this work, the more convinced I become that one of the greatest traps we fall into is believing there are only two choices. Right or wrong. Good or bad. Success or failure. With us or against us.</p><p><br/></p><p>Perspective whispers something entirely different.</p><p><br/></p><p>What if both things are true?</p><p><br/></p><p>What if I can be deeply grateful to live in this country and still wish we treated one another with more kindness?</p><p>What if I can celebrate 250 years of extraordinary achievements while acknowledging we've also stumbled, sometimes spectacularly?</p><p>What if I can look at a smoky Colorado sky and feel sad about the fires, while at the very same time feeling incredibly grateful for the firefighters putting themselves in harm's way to protect complete strangers?</p><p><br/></p><p>None of those thoughts cancel each other out.</p><p>They complete the picture.</p><p><br/></p><p>I've noticed something over the years. Most of us don't actually struggle because life is complicated. We struggle because we keep trying to simplify it into two neat little boxes. We want everything to fit into &quot;good&quot; or &quot;bad,&quot; &quot;right&quot; or &quot;wrong,&quot; &quot;us&quot; or &quot;them.&quot;</p><p><br/></p><p>Life just smiles and says, &quot;Cute idea.&quot;</p><p>Then it hands us a reality where joy and grief sit on the same park bench.</p><p><br/></p><p>Where hope and uncertainty share the same zip code.</p><p>Where gratitude and concern ride home together.</p><p><br/></p><p>Maybe that's why I love perspective so much.</p><p><br/></p><p>It doesn't ask me to pick a side.</p><p>It simply asks me to see a little more.</p><p><br/></p><p>Today, I don't have to ignore the things that concern me in order to celebrate becoming an American citizen nearly nineteen years ago. I don't have to pretend everything is perfect to feel grateful for the opportunities this country has given me. And I certainly don't have to choose between celebrating America's birthday and praying for rain over Colorado.</p><p><br/></p><p>I can do both.</p><p><br/></p><p>Maybe growing up isn't about becoming more certain.</p><p>Maybe it's about becoming more spacious.</p><p><br/></p><p>Making room for more truth.</p><p>Making room for more compassion.</p><p>Making room for the possibility that someone else's perspective might contain a piece of the picture I haven't seen yet.</p><p>If there's one thing America has taught me over the past nineteen years, it's that we're still becoming.</p><p><br/></p><p>After 250 years, we're still learning.</p><p>Still growing.</p><p>Still arguing.</p><p>Still dreaming.</p><p>Still trying.</p><p><br/></p><p>And honestly...</p><p>So am I.</p><p><br/></p><p>Maybe that's why this country feels like home.</p><p><br/></p><p>Not because it's perfect.</p><p><br/></p><p>Because it's a work in progress.</p><p><br/></p><p>Then again, aren't we all?</p><p><br/></p><p>So today, I'm raising my <span style="font-style:italic;">Happiness Matters</span> mug to a country that is still writing its story, to the people who keep showing up even when they disagree, and to the quiet hope that tomorrow we'll all see just a little more of the picture than we did yesterday.</p><p><br/></p><p>Because if perspective has taught me anything, it's this:</p><p><br/></p><p>You can love something...</p><p>...and still want it to do better.</p><p><br/></p><p>I think that's one of the healthiest kinds of love there is.</p><p><br/></p><h2><span style="font-size:24px;"><strong>One More Reason I'm Celebrating Today...</strong></span></h2><div><span style="font-size:24px;"><strong><br/></strong></span></div><div><h2></h2><p>As America celebrates 250 years of becoming, I'm celebrating a beginning of my own.</p><p><br/></p><p>This month, the <strong>Happiness Matters Foundation</strong> is inviting <strong>60 Founding Members</strong> to become the very first members of the <strong style="font-style:italic;"><a href="https://www.happinessmattersfoundation.org/hope" title="Hope Collective" target="_blank" rel="">Hope Collective</a></strong>.</p><p>Why sixty?</p><p><br/></p><p>Because later this month, I'll celebrate my 60th birthday.</p><p><br/></p><p>After spending a lifetime learning, stumbling, growing, questioning, and helping people find a different perspective, it felt like the perfect way to celebrate this next chapter — not by receiving gifts, but by inviting others to help create something that will outlive all of us.</p><p><br/></p><p>The <span style="font-style:italic;">Hope Collective</span> isn't about me.</p><p><br/></p><p>It's about us.</p><p>It's about proving that hope isn't just a nice idea. It's something we can put into motion together.</p><p><br/></p><p>If you've ever wished the world had a little more kindness...</p><p>A little more curiosity...</p><p>A little more compassion...</p><p>A little more perspective...</p><p><br/></p><p>Then maybe this is your invitation.</p><p><br/></p><p>Because just like this country, we're building something that won't be perfect on day one.</p><p><br/></p><p>We're simply committed to making it a little better than it was yesterday.</p><p><br/></p><p>And I can't think of a more fitting way to celebrate a birthday — America's or mine.</p><p><br/></p><p>If you'd like to become one of the <strong>60 Founding Members of the <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="https://www.happinessmattersfoundation.org/hope" title="Hope Collective" target="_blank" rel="">Hope Collective</a></span></strong>, we'd be honored to have you join us.</p><p>Together, let's put a little more hope into motion.</p></div><p><br/></p></div><br/><p></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></div><p></p><p></p></div></div><p></p><p style="text-align:left;"></p></div><p style="text-align:left;"></p></div><p></p></div>
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</div></div></div></div></div></div> ]]></content:encoded><pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2026 14:37:56 -0600</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The First Conscious Breadcrumb]]></title><link>https://www.homeofmisfits.com/messy-middle-blog/post/the-first-conscious-breadcrumb</link><description><![CDATA[<img align="left" hspace="5" src="https://www.homeofmisfits.com/turst.png"/>A forgotten name. One innocent question. An unexpected rabbit hole. Sometimes the biggest perspective shifts don't come from finding answers... they come from recognizing the trail you've already walked.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="zpcontent-container blogpost-container "><div data-element-id="elm_921PkVqsQoyWD8N4zVKN-g" data-element-type="section" class="zpsection "><style type="text/css"></style><div class="zpcontainer-fluid zpcontainer"><div data-element-id="elm_k14TF3MXR46OI3Cfh0t9qQ" data-element-type="row" class="zprow zprow-container zpalign-items- zpjustify-content- " data-equal-column=""><style type="text/css"></style><div data-element-id="elm_okiu0qOYRZecrmlVlG-n2A" data-element-type="column" class="zpelem-col zpcol-12 zpcol-md-12 zpcol-sm-12 zpalign-self- "><style type="text/css"></style><div data-element-id="elm_r1nAeloRS5-2R3TVBFcCFQ" data-element-type="heading" class="zpelement zpelem-heading "><style></style><h2
 class="zpheading zpheading-align-center zpheading-align-mobile-center zpheading-align-tablet-center " data-editor="true"><span></span><span style="font-size:45px;"></span><span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span><span>It all started with one innocent question.</span><br/>​<span style="font-size:24px;">​</span><span style="font-size:24px;"><i><span><span><span>Looking back, I probably should have known better. Questions that seem harmless have an annoying habit of changing my life.</span></span></span></i></span><span style="font-size:24px;font-style:italic;"></span><span style="font-size:24px;font-style:italic;"></span><span style="font-size:28px;"></span></h2></div>
<div data-element-id="elm_-ZWZovDKSCqT4e1CQ6Svtg" data-element-type="text" class="zpelement zpelem-text "><style></style><div class="zptext zptext-align-left zptext-align-mobile-center zptext-align-tablet-center " data-editor="true"><p></p><div><p style="text-align:left;"></p><div><p style="text-align:left;"></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p></p></div><div><div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p></p></div><div><div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><div><div><div><div><span></span></div></div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p>For years, one little word has followed me around like a persistent mosquito.</p><p><br/></p><p>Trust.</p><p><br/></p><p>Actually, that is not entirely fair to mosquitoes. At least they eventually go away.</p><p><br/></p><p>Trust did not.</p><p><br/></p><p>It kept showing up everywhere I turned. During my own QHHT sessions. Through those quiet little intuitive nudges that somehow always seemed to know more than I did. Just last month, during a QHHT session with a friend, Archangel Michael apparently decided it was time to bring it up yet again.</p><p><br/></p><p>Trust.</p><p><br/></p><p>Now, if you have been reading my Messy Middle adventures for a while, you already know this is not the first time we have had this conversation. In fact, I wrote an entire post about trying to figure out what on earth “just trust” was even supposed to mean.</p><p><br/></p><p>Because, quite honestly, I did not get it.</p><p><br/></p><p>When you have spent part of your life learning that trust is not always safe, people telling you to “just trust” feels a bit like handing someone a violin and saying, “Just play Beethoven.”</p><p><br/></p><p>Wonderful idea.</p><p><br/></p><p>Tiny problem.</p><p><br/></p><p>I have absolutely no idea how.</p><p><br/></p><p>So every time that word came up, I found myself asking the same question.</p><p><br/></p><p>What does trust actually look like?</p><p><br/></p><p>Not philosophically.</p><p>Not spiritually.</p><p><br/></p><p>In real life.</p><p><br/></p><p>What does it actually look like when the dishes are in the sink, the website needs updating, the coffee is getting cold, and your brain has opened twelve tabs without permission?</p><p><br/></p><p>Apparently, the Universe heard my question and decided to answer it in the most Sabine way imaginable.</p><p><br/></p><p>It started because I could not remember the name of an organization.</p><p><br/></p><p>I know... I was hoping for something a little more dramatic too.</p><p><br/></p><p>Back in 2023, during my own little breast cancer adventure, I received one of those information packets they hand you before you leave. Buried somewhere inside was a flyer about an organization that offered free energy healing sessions to people going through cancer treatment. I remember thinking it was a beautiful idea, tucked the flyer away, and moved on with life.</p><p><br/></p><p>Until lunch the other day.</p><p><br/></p><p>The organization came up in conversation, and as we talked about how it worked, my brain wandered off into familiar territory. Not because I thought their model needed changing. Quite the opposite. I loved what they were doing.</p><p><br/></p><p>My brain simply did what it always seems to do.</p><p><br/></p><p>It asked another question...</p><p>What would a win-win look like?</p><p><br/></p><p>Now, experience has taught me that I should probably pay attention when one of those questions shows up.</p><p><br/></p><p>Not because I know where it is going.</p><p>Because I never do.</p><p><br/></p><p>That question tugged at me long after the conversation was over. I started thinking about the <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="https://www.happinessmattersfoundation.org/" title="Happiness Matters Foundation" target="_blank" rel="">Happiness Matters Foundation</a></span> and what it might look like to offer something similar, but in a way where the person receiving support was honored and the practitioner offering support was honored too. The details are not the point of this story, which is a miracle all by itself because my brain loves details the way cats love knocking things off counters. The point is that one question opened a door.</p><p><br/></p><p>Then another door opened.</p><p>Then another.</p><p><br/></p><p>Before I knew it, the idea of the <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="https://www.happinessmattersfoundation.org/hope" title="Hope Collective " target="_blank" rel="">Hope Collective</a></span> began taking shape. The phrase <span style="font-style:italic;">Hope in Motion</span>, which had been floating around in my heart for quite some time, suddenly found a real home. The Foundation became clearer. The website no longer quite fit. My sixtieth birthday fundraiser shifted into something more meaningful. Everything seemed to connect to the next thing, and instead of trying to force it, explain it, or pin it down like a butterfly under glass, I simply followed.</p><p><br/></p><p>That is the part that surprised me.</p><p><br/></p><p>I simply followed.</p><p><br/></p><p>One breadcrumb led to another, and for once, I was not demanding the entire loaf of bread before agreeing to take the next step. I was not trying to see the whole map. I was not waiting until every possible question had been answered and every possible outcome had been guaranteed. I was just moving with what made sense in front of me.</p><p><br/></p><p>Somewhere in the middle of all that, I pushed my chair back, stared at the screen, and laughed.</p><p><br/></p><p>Not because anything was funny.</p><p>Because something felt familiar.</p><p><br/></p><p>The process.</p><p>The unfolding.</p><p>The strange way one tiny question had turned into clarity I did not even know I was looking for.</p><p><br/></p><p>And then it hit me.</p><p><br/></p><p>This was not new.</p><p>This was the pattern.</p><p><br/></p><p>The first time I consciously remember following one of those breadcrumbs was in April 2018, when I felt this strong, ridiculous, unmistakable nudge to write a book. I had never written a book before. I did not have a publishing plan. I did not know what I was doing. I just knew I was supposed to write it.</p><p><br/></p><p>So I did.</p><p><br/></p><p>Three and a half months later, I held my first published book in my hands and launched it on my birthday.</p><p><br/></p><p>At the time, I did not call that trust.</p><p>I just called it writing a book.</p><p><br/></p><p>Looking back now, I think that book gave me something much bigger than becoming an author. It gave me my first piece of evidence. It showed me that when I followed a nudge all the way through, something real could come from it. Not perfect. Not polished. Not guaranteed. Real.</p><p><br/></p><p>That matters.</p><p><br/></p><p>Especially when you are someone who was not handed trust as a birthright. When trust has been fractured, you do not always rebuild it by deciding to believe harder. Sometimes you rebuild it by collecting evidence. One small lived experience at a time.</p><p><br/></p><p>That first book was evidence.</p><p><br/></p><p>Then, this year, something shifted again. <a href="https://mattersofperspective.com/" title="Matters of Perspective" target="_blank" rel="" style="font-style:italic;">Matters of Perspective</a> finally found its voice. Not because I sat down and forced it into a perfect business box, but because I kept following what felt true. One page led to another. One phrase revealed the next. <a href="https://mattersofperspective.com/counseling/" title="Wayfinding" target="_blank" rel="" style="font-style:italic;">Wayfinding</a> became clearer. <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="https://mattersofperspective.com/qar7is-method/" title="QAR7IS" target="_blank" rel="">QAR7IS</a></span> found its language. The work I had been doing for years finally started introducing itself properly, which was very considerate of it because honestly, I was getting tired of trying to explain it at parties.</p><p><br/></p><p>The same thing happened with <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="https://www.homeofmisfits.com/" title="Home of Misfits" target="_blank" rel="">Home of Misfits</a></span>. It did not feel like I invented it from scratch. It felt like I finally made space for something that had been waiting for me to recognize it. And now HMF was doing the same thing. Not becoming something different, exactly, but becoming more itself.</p><p><br/></p><p>That is when the trust piece finally started making sense.</p><p><br/></p><p>I had spent years thinking trust was something I needed to feel before I moved.</p><p><br/></p><p>Maybe I had it backwards.</p><p>Maybe, for me, trust was never going to arrive first with a permission slip and a marching band. Maybe trust was built after I moved, after I followed the breadcrumb, after I watched one nudge turn into something real, then another, then another.</p><p>Maybe trust was not the starting point.</p><p>Maybe trust was the evidence I collected along the way.</p><p><br/></p><p>That thought stopped me.</p><p><br/></p><p>Because for years I kept asking how to trust, as if trust were some mysterious spiritual achievement I had not unlocked yet. I expected it to feel peaceful. I expected certainty. I expected calm confidence and maybe a little gentle background music.</p><p><br/></p><p>Instead, trust kept showing up dressed as curiosity.</p><p><br/></p><p>It looked like asking one more question.</p><p>It looked like writing one more page.</p><p>It looked like following one more idea that refused to leave me alone.</p><p>It looked like changing the website because the old words no longer fit.</p><p>It looked like letting Hope in Motion finally become more than a phrase.</p><p>It looked like turning sixty and deciding that meaning mattered more than stuff.</p><p>It looked like taking the next step even when my nervous system had not received the full itinerary.</p><p><br/></p><p>Hot damn.</p><p><br/></p><p>No wonder I did not recognize it.</p><p><br/></p><p>I thought trust would feel like certainty.</p><p><br/></p><p>For me, it felt like following through.</p><p><br/></p><p>That may be the real shift.</p><p><br/></p><p>The first conscious breadcrumb in 2018 was not just the beginning of my life as an author. It was the beginning of learning that I could follow something without fully understanding where it would lead. Every breadcrumb since then has added another piece of evidence. Not evidence that everything will always be easy or that every idea will work perfectly, because please, let’s not get carried away. This is still Earth, and humans are still involved.</p><p><br/></p><p>But evidence that the nudge is worth listening to.</p><p>Evidence that clarity often comes after movement.</p><p>Evidence that maybe I have been trusting all along, just not in the way I thought trust was supposed to look.</p><p><br/></p><p>That is the part that makes me laugh.</p><p><br/></p><p>I kept saying I did not know how to trust.</p><p><br/></p><p>Meanwhile, trust had been quietly walking beside me, handing me one breadcrumb at a time, probably rolling its eyes lovingly while I asked for another sign.</p><p><br/></p><p>Apparently, trust has sass.</p><p><br/></p><p>Respect.</p><p><br/></p><p>So maybe the question is not always, “Do I trust?”</p><p><br/></p><p>Maybe the better question is, “Where have I already followed through?”</p><p><br/></p><p>Where have I listened to the quiet nudge? Where have I taken the next step without knowing the whole path? Where have I allowed something to unfold instead of forcing it into a shape it was never meant to hold?</p><p><br/></p><p>Because sometimes we do not recognize trust while we are living it.</p><p>Sometimes we only see it when we turn around and notice the trail.</p><p><br/></p><p>One breadcrumb.</p><p>Then another.</p><p>Then another.</p><p><br/></p><p>Until one day we realize we were not lost.</p><p>We were being led.</p><p><br/></p><p>So now I have a question for you.</p><p><br/></p><p>What question has been quietly tapping you on the shoulder?</p><p><br/></p><p>The one you keep dismissing because it seems too small, too random, too inconvenient, or too likely to make a mess of your carefully arranged plans?</p><p><br/></p><p>What if it is not random at all?</p><p>What if it is the first breadcrumb?</p><p><br/></p><p>That is exactly how this next chapter of the <span style="font-style:italic;">Happiness</span><span style="font-style:italic;">Matters Foundation </span>began. If you are curious where those breadcrumbs eventually led, I would love for you to wander over to the <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="https://www.happinessmattersfoundation.org/" title="Happiness Matters Foundation" target="_blank" rel="">Happiness</a></span><span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="https://www.happinessmattersfoundation.org/" title="Happiness Matters Foundation" target="_blank" rel="">Matters Foundation</a></span>. You will meet the <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="https://www.happinessmattersfoundation.org/classes" title="Hope Collective" target="_blank" rel="">Hope Collective</a></span>, discover why <span style="font-style:italic;">Hope in Motion</span> has become the heartbeat of the Foundation, and see the next chapter that is beginning to unfold.</p><p><br/></p><p>Maybe you will simply explore.</p><p>Maybe you will find a spark of hope.</p><p>Maybe you will discover a way to become part of the story.</p><p><br/></p><p>Whatever brings you there, I hope you leave believing something that took me years to recognize.</p><p><br/></p><p>Sometimes the biggest changes do not begin with a master plan.</p><p><br/></p><p>They begin with one honest question... and the courage to follow where it leads.</p><p><br/></p><p>Shift happens...<br/>And sometimes it starts with the first conscious breadcrumb.</p></div><br/><p></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></div><p></p><p></p></div></div><p></p><p style="text-align:left;"></p></div><p style="text-align:left;"></p></div><p></p></div>
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</div></div></div></div></div></div> ]]></content:encoded><pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2026 17:14:52 -0600</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[I Asked About a Book...]]></title><link>https://www.homeofmisfits.com/messy-middle-blog/post/i-asked-about-a-book...</link><description><![CDATA[<img align="left" hspace="5" src="https://www.homeofmisfits.com/book question.png"/>I asked about a book. I wasn't expecting to find the words I'd been searching for before finishing my second cup of coffee. Funny where curiosity can lead.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="zpcontent-container blogpost-container "><div data-element-id="elm_921PkVqsQoyWD8N4zVKN-g" data-element-type="section" class="zpsection "><style type="text/css"></style><div class="zpcontainer-fluid zpcontainer"><div data-element-id="elm_k14TF3MXR46OI3Cfh0t9qQ" data-element-type="row" class="zprow zprow-container zpalign-items- zpjustify-content- " data-equal-column=""><style type="text/css"></style><div data-element-id="elm_okiu0qOYRZecrmlVlG-n2A" data-element-type="column" class="zpelem-col zpcol-12 zpcol-md-12 zpcol-sm-12 zpalign-self- "><style type="text/css"></style><div data-element-id="elm_r1nAeloRS5-2R3TVBFcCFQ" data-element-type="heading" class="zpelement zpelem-heading "><style></style><h2
 class="zpheading zpheading-align-center zpheading-align-mobile-center zpheading-align-tablet-center " data-editor="true"><span></span><span style="font-size:45px;"></span><span></span><span></span><span></span><span></span><span>Funny where curiosity can lead.</span><br/>​<span style="font-size:24px;">​</span><span style="font-size:24px;"><i><span><span>I was looking for information about a book. Instead, I discovered I'd been carrying a question I didn't even know I needed to ask.</span></span></i></span><span style="font-size:24px;font-style:italic;"></span><span style="font-size:24px;font-style:italic;"></span><span style="font-size:28px;"></span></h2></div>
<div data-element-id="elm_-ZWZovDKSCqT4e1CQ6Svtg" data-element-type="text" class="zpelement zpelem-text "><style></style><div class="zptext zptext-align-left zptext-align-mobile-center zptext-align-tablet-center " data-editor="true"><p></p><div><p style="text-align:left;"></p><div><p style="text-align:left;"></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p></p></div><div><div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p></p></div><div><div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><div><div><div><div><span></span></div></div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p></p></div><div><p>Some mornings you wake up with a plan. Other mornings, you ask ChatGPT a simple question about a book and accidentally rebrand your life's work before your second cup of coffee.</p><p><br/></p><p>Guess which kind of morning this was.</p><p><br/></p><p>It started innocently enough. I had heard of <em>The Celestine Prophecy</em> years ago but had never read it. For whatever reason, it popped into my mind, so I asked what it was about. We chatted about the nine insights, consciousness, intuition, meaningful encounters, and all the things that tend to make my little neurospicy brain light up like a Christmas tree.</p><p><br/></p><p>Then something unexpected happened.</p><p><br/></p><p>Somewhere in the conversation, the words <strong>Perspective Educator</strong> appeared.</p><p><br/></p><p>I stopped.</p><p><br/></p><p>Not because it was a clever title. Because it felt like someone had finally handed me a puzzle piece I'd been searching for without realizing it.</p><p><br/></p><p>For years, I've wrestled with labels. Counselor never quite fit. Coach didn't feel right either. Those words describe professions, but they never captured what I've actually spent my life doing.</p><p><br/></p><p>Perspective Educator.</p><p><br/></p><p>There it was.</p><p><br/></p><p>One tiny shift in language, and suddenly decades of work made sense.</p><p><br/></p><p>Naturally, one little realization couldn't possibly stay contained. If you've ever reorganized one drawer only to find yourself repainting the entire room by dinner, you'll understand exactly what happened next.</p><p><br/></p><p>&quot;If that's who I am,&quot; I thought, &quot;then my LinkedIn headline needs updating.&quot;</p><p><br/></p><p>Which, of course, meant my About section suddenly felt outdated.</p><p><br/></p><p>Then my LinkedIn banner looked wrong.</p><p><br/></p><p>Then the company page needed rewriting.</p><p><br/></p><p>Then Facebook started giving me side-eye.</p><p><br/></p><p>By this point, I was deep into what can only be described as an accidental identity renovation.</p><p><br/></p><p>Somewhere between rewriting my bio and arguing with Facebook over the order of credentials, another sentence slipped out of my mouth.</p><p><br/></p><p>&quot;I essentially help people remember.&quot;</p><p><br/></p><p>Again, I stopped.</p><p><br/></p><p>Not because I had never said those words before. I have. Many times. But for the first time, I really heard them.</p><p><br/></p><p>I don't spend my days fixing people.</p><p>I don't hand out answers.</p><p>I don't tell people what they should believe.</p><p><br/></p><p>I help people remember.</p><p><br/></p><p>Remember their wisdom.</p><p>Remember their resilience.</p><p>Remember they have choices.</p><p>Remember who they were before fear, expectations, limiting beliefs, or life itself convinced them they had become someone else.</p><p><br/></p><p>And then another realization quietly tapped me on the shoulder.</p><p><br/></p><p>Remembering changes perspective.</p><p>Perspective changes lives.</p><p><br/></p><p>I actually laughed out loud.</p><p><br/></p><p>Here I was, asking about a book whose central message is that meaningful insights often arrive exactly when we're ready for them. Whether you call that synchronicity, divine timing, subconscious processing, curiosity, or simply paying attention doesn't really matter to me. What mattered was that one innocent question had quietly led me to the words I'd been searching for my entire career.</p><p><br/></p><p>The funny thing is, I thought I was looking for information.</p><p><br/></p><p>Instead, I discovered I'd been carrying a question I didn't even know I needed to ask.</p><p><br/></p><p>By the time I looked at the clock, it wasn't even ten in the morning. My second cup of coffee was almost gone, my LinkedIn profile had been rewritten, Matters of Perspective® had a clearer identity than ever before, and I suddenly understood my own work in a way I never had.</p><p><br/></p><p>Now that my second cup is empty, it's time to update my website so it reflects the new-ish branding too.</p><p><br/></p><p>Funny where curiosity can lead.</p><p><br/></p><p>If today's story sparked your curiosity, I'd love to invite you to explore the newly evolving Matters of Perspective®. Funny where curiosity can lead... you might just discover an answer to a question you didn't even realize you were carrying.</p><p><br/></p><p>👉 <a href="https://mattersofperspective.com/" target="_blank" rel="">https://mattersofperspective.com</a></p><p><br/></p><p>Now I'm curious... what's one simple question you've asked that unexpectedly changed your perspective? I'd love to hear your story in the comments.</p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>Shift happens...</strong></p></div><br/><p></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></div><p></p><p></p></div></div><p></p><p style="text-align:left;"></p></div><p style="text-align:left;"></p></div><p></p></div>
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</div></div></div></div></div></div> ]]></content:encoded><pubDate>Mon, 29 Jun 2026 11:06:02 -0600</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Whisper I Couldn't Afford to Hear...]]></title><link>https://www.homeofmisfits.com/messy-middle-blog/post/the-whisper-i-couldn-t-afford-to-hear...</link><description><![CDATA[<img align="left" hspace="5" src="https://www.homeofmisfits.com/whisper.png"/>What if the loudest thing in your life isn't the problem? Discover how one quiet whisper became a story of healing, perspective, and putting down unnecessary burdens.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="zpcontent-container blogpost-container "><div data-element-id="elm_921PkVqsQoyWD8N4zVKN-g" data-element-type="section" class="zpsection "><style type="text/css"></style><div class="zpcontainer-fluid zpcontainer"><div data-element-id="elm_k14TF3MXR46OI3Cfh0t9qQ" data-element-type="row" class="zprow zprow-container zpalign-items- zpjustify-content- " data-equal-column=""><style type="text/css"></style><div data-element-id="elm_okiu0qOYRZecrmlVlG-n2A" data-element-type="column" class="zpelem-col zpcol-12 zpcol-md-12 zpcol-sm-12 zpalign-self- "><style type="text/css"></style><div data-element-id="elm_r1nAeloRS5-2R3TVBFcCFQ" data-element-type="heading" class="zpelement zpelem-heading "><style></style><h2
 class="zpheading zpheading-align-center zpheading-align-mobile-center zpheading-align-tablet-center " data-editor="true"><span></span><span style="font-size:45px;"></span><span></span><span></span><span></span><span>...because life was louder.</span><span style="font-size:24px;"><i>&nbsp;</i></span><br/><span style="font-size:24px;">​</span><span style="font-size:24px;"><i><span>Sometimes the loudest thing in our lives isn't the problem. It's what keeps us from hearing the whisper.</span></i></span><span style="font-size:24px;font-style:italic;"></span><span style="font-size:24px;font-style:italic;"></span><span style="font-size:28px;"></span></h2></div>
<div data-element-id="elm_-ZWZovDKSCqT4e1CQ6Svtg" data-element-type="text" class="zpelement zpelem-text "><style></style><div class="zptext zptext-align-left zptext-align-mobile-center zptext-align-tablet-center " data-editor="true"><p></p><div><p style="text-align:left;"></p><div><p style="text-align:left;"></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p></p></div><div><div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p></p></div><div><div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><div><div><div><div><span></span></div></div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p>I've been thinking a lot about whispers lately.</p><p><br/></p><p>Not the spooky kind. Not the &quot;the universe told me...&quot; kind that makes some people slowly inch toward the nearest exit. I'm talking about those quiet little nudges that seem to show up over and over again. They don't demand our attention. They don't stomp their feet. They simply wait... patiently... until we're finally quiet enough to notice them.</p><p><br/></p><p>Looking back, I don't think my body started whispering to me about ten years ago.</p><p><br/></p><p>I think it had been whispering my entire life.</p><p><br/></p><p>About ten years ago was simply the first time I actually heard it.</p><p><br/></p><p>It wasn't trying to tell me anything profound.</p><p>It wasn't predicting the future.</p><p><br/></p><p>It simply whispered, <em>&quot;Your mouth needs attention.&quot;</em></p><p><br/></p><p>The interesting part is that I agreed.</p><p>I knew it did.</p><p><br/></p><p>The problem wasn't hearing the whisper.</p><p><br/></p><p>The problem was that I couldn't afford to listen.</p><p><br/></p><p>Yes, money absolutely played a role. I don't think anyone has ever described major dental work as &quot;a bargain.&quot; But if money had been the only obstacle, I probably would have figured something out sooner. Fear had a vote. Distrust had a vote. Timing had a vote. And life... well, life has this annoying habit of grabbing the microphone and convincing us that whatever is screaming the loudest deserves our attention first.</p><p><br/></p><p>The whisper never stood a chance.</p><p><br/></p><p>So I adapted.</p><p><br/></p><p>Isn't that what we do?</p><p><br/></p><p>Humans are incredibly resourceful when it comes to adapting. I learned which side to chew on. I quietly retired a handful of foods from my menu. I smiled a little differently. I became remarkably good at pretending everything was just fine.</p><p><br/></p><p>I also became embarrassingly good at rescuing pizza and steak from places food was never intended to visit. If you've never had to excuse yourself after dinner to embark on an archaeological excavation expedition inside your own mouth, I sincerely hope you never develop that particular skill.</p><p><br/></p><p>Here's the funny thing.</p><p><br/></p><p>After a while, none of it felt strange anymore.</p><p><br/></p><p>It was just... Tuesday.</p><p><br/></p><p>The more I thought about that, the more I realized how incredibly good we are at normalizing things that were never meant to become normal. We normalize stress. We normalize exhaustion. We normalize pain. We normalize putting ourselves last. We normalize relationships that slowly chip away at us. We normalize dreams that get pushed into a drawer because today is just too busy.</p><p><br/></p><p>We normalize carrying things that were never ours to carry forever.</p><p><br/></p><p>Maybe that's one of our greatest strengths.</p><p>Maybe it's also one of our greatest blind spots.</p><p><br/></p><p>I don't think that's just true for teeth.</p><p><br/></p><p>I think that's true for almost every area of our lives.</p><p><br/></p><p>Maybe that's why I keep coming back to the image of a backpack. We all have one.&nbsp;</p><p><br/></p><p>Some are stuffed with grief.&nbsp;</p><p>Some with fear.&nbsp;</p><p>Some with responsibilities.&nbsp;</p><p>Some with stories we've been telling ourselves for decades.&nbsp;</p><p><br/></p><p>Mine happens to have a few very heavy bricks in it. Over time, I became so used to carrying the weight that I forgot to ask whether every single brick still belonged there.</p><p><br/></p><p>My body has been navigating challenges for a very long time. Some began early in my life. Others arrived years later. There have been diagnoses, surgeries, scars, setbacks, and enough titanium that airport security and I have developed a rather comfortable relationship.</p><p><br/></p><p>The whisper about my mouth wasn't the beginning of my body's story.</p><p><br/></p><p>It was simply another whisper asking for my attention.</p><p><br/></p><p>For a long time, I did what I think most of us do without even realizing it.</p><p><br/></p><p>I took ownership of every diagnosis I was given.</p><p><br/></p><p>Not because anyone told me I had to.</p><p><br/></p><p>Because the diagnosis came from someone I trusted. Someone with years of education, experience, and authority. When an expert looks you in the eye, gives your symptoms a name, and explains what they believe is happening, it's only natural to believe them.</p><p><br/></p><p>The interesting part isn't that we believe them.</p><p><br/></p><p>It's what often happens next.</p><p><br/></p><p>Somewhere along the way, the diagnosis quietly shifts from describing what our body is experiencing to describing who we believe we are.</p><p><br/></p><p>&quot;I have...&quot;</p><p><br/></p><p>Two tiny words.</p><p><br/></p><p>Two incredibly powerful words.</p><p><br/></p><p>Looking back, I don't think I ever questioned them.</p><p><br/></p><p>Until one day I did.</p><p><br/></p><p>Nothing about my body changed that day.</p><p>Nothing about the diagnoses changed.</p><p><br/></p><p>Only my perspective did.</p><p><br/></p><p>It suddenly occurred to me that a diagnosis has a very important job. It helps guide treatment. It gives healthcare providers a common language. It helps explain what they believe my body is experiencing.</p><p><br/></p><p>But it was never meant to become my identity.</p><p><br/></p><p>A diagnosis is a map.</p><p>It is not the traveler.</p><p><br/></p><p>That one perspective didn't change my diagnoses.</p><p>It changed my relationship with them.</p><p><br/></p><p>Instead of saying, <em>&quot;I have multiple sclerosis,&quot;</em> I started saying, <em>&quot;I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.&quot;</em></p><p>Instead of saying, <em>&quot;I have lipedema,&quot;</em> I started saying, <em>&quot;My body is dealing with lipedema.&quot;</em></p><p><span>Instead of saying, <em>&quot;I am in pain,&quot;</em> I started saying, <em>&quot;My body is experiencing pain.&quot;</em></span><br/></p><p><br/></p><p>At first it felt awkward.</p><p><br/></p><p>Then it felt freeing.</p><p><br/></p><p>Because my body is carrying the physical experience.</p><p>I am carrying the choice of how I respond to it.</p><p><br/></p><p>Those are two very different jobs.</p><p><br/></p><p>I can't change what has already happened.</p><p>I can't erase surgeries.</p><p>I can't wish away scars.</p><p>I can't rewrite yesterday.</p><p><br/></p><p>But I have complete control over the relationship I choose to have with my body today.</p><p><br/></p><p>That one shift quietly changed everything.</p><p><br/></p><p>Without even noticing it, I stopped asking my body why it wasn't healing faster.</p><p><br/></p><p>Instead, I found myself asking a completely different question.</p><p><em><br/></em></p><p><em>&quot;How can I make your job a little easier?&quot;</em></p><p><br/></p><p>That question still makes me emotional.</p><p><br/></p><p>Because somewhere along the way, my body stopped being the problem I was trying to fix.</p><p><br/></p><p>It became my teammate.</p><p><br/></p><p>The more I've thought about finally getting my mouth taken care of, the more I've realized this isn't really about my teeth.</p><p><br/></p><p>It's about helping my body.</p><p><br/></p><p>For years it has been dealing with an abscess, chronic gum disease, inflammation, and all the work that comes with fighting those battles every single day while also navigating everything else that has become part of its journey. Has that ongoing burden been one piece of the much bigger puzzle my body has been dealing with all these years... and continues to deal with today?</p><p><br/></p><p>Maybe.</p><p>Maybe not.</p><p><br/></p><p>The truth is, nobody really knows.</p><p><br/></p><p>Our bodies are beautifully complicated. One thing affects another, which nudges something else, which starts another chain reaction. Pull one thread and half the sweater moves.</p><p><br/></p><p>That's exactly why I've stopped looking for <em>the</em> answer.</p><p><br/></p><p>These days I'm much more interested in asking better questions.</p><p><br/></p><p>What happens when my body no longer has to fight one unnecessary battle every single day?</p><p><br/></p><p>I honestly don't know.</p><p><br/></p><p>And strangely...</p><p>I'm okay not knowing.</p><p><br/></p><p>Hope doesn't require certainty.</p><p><br/></p><p>It simply requires possibility.</p><p><br/></p><p>Do I hope removing that chronic infection creates ripple effects throughout my body?</p><p><br/></p><p>Absolutely.</p><p><br/></p><p>Do I secretly hope my body throws a little celebration party and starts redirecting all those resources toward healing in ways none of us could predict?</p><p><br/></p><p>Without question.</p><p><br/></p><p>Would I also be thrilled if pizza and I could finally enjoy a meal together without scheduling a follow-up archaeological excavation expedition?</p><p><br/></p><p>Let's just say pizza is equally invested in this journey.</p><p><br/></p><p>The older I get, the less interested I become in finding one magical answer and the more interested I become in removing unnecessary burdens.</p><p><br/></p><p>Maybe healing isn't always about adding one more supplement, one more treatment, one more strategy, or one more miracle.</p><p>Maybe sometimes healing begins by finally removing something that has been asking far too much of us for far too long.</p><p><br/></p><p>I don't know what my body will do once that backpack full of heavy bricks becomes just a little lighter.</p><p><br/></p><p>I just know it's been carrying that weight for a very long time.</p><p><br/></p><p>I think it deserves a little relief... We've both earned it.</p><p><br/></p><div></div><p><strong><span style="font-size:24px;">What whisper has life been patiently waiting for you to hear?</span></strong></p><p><br/></p><p>Maybe it has nothing to do with your health.</p><p>Maybe it's a relationship, a dream, a boundary, a conversation, or simply a quiet part of yourself that has been whispering, <em>&quot;It's time.&quot;</em></p><p><br/></p><p>You don't have to solve your whole life today.</p><p><br/></p><p>Maybe today is simply about becoming quiet enough to hear the whisper.</p><p><br/></p><p>And if you're ready to explore what that whisper might be trying to tell you, I'd be honored to walk alongside you. That's exactly why I created <a href="https://mattersofperspective.com/" title="Matters of Perspective®" target="_blank" rel="">Matters of Perspective</a><a href="https://mattersofperspective.com/" title="Matters of Perspective®" target="_blank" rel="">®</a>.&nbsp;</p><p><br/></p><p>Sometimes we don't need another answer.</p><p>Sometimes one fresh perspective is enough to finally hear what has been patiently waiting for us all along.</p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>Shift happens...</strong></p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><strong>One perspective at a time.</strong></p></div><br/><p></p></div><p></p><p></p></div></div><p></p><p></p></div></div><p></p><p style="text-align:left;"></p></div><p style="text-align:left;"></p></div><p></p></div>
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</div></div></div></div></div></div> ]]></content:encoded><pubDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2026 19:56:19 -0600</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Security Blanket]]></title><link>https://www.homeofmisfits.com/messy-middle-blog/post/the-security-blanket</link><description><![CDATA[<img align="left" hspace="5" src="https://www.homeofmisfits.com/security blanket.png"/>I thought I was being practical. The truth hiding behind the books, craft supplies, and mystery cables was far more interesting.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="zpcontent-container blogpost-container "><div data-element-id="elm_921PkVqsQoyWD8N4zVKN-g" data-element-type="section" class="zpsection "><style type="text/css"></style><div class="zpcontainer-fluid zpcontainer"><div data-element-id="elm_k14TF3MXR46OI3Cfh0t9qQ" data-element-type="row" class="zprow zprow-container zpalign-items- zpjustify-content- " data-equal-column=""><style type="text/css"></style><div data-element-id="elm_okiu0qOYRZecrmlVlG-n2A" data-element-type="column" class="zpelem-col zpcol-12 zpcol-md-12 zpcol-sm-12 zpalign-self- "><style type="text/css"></style><div data-element-id="elm_r1nAeloRS5-2R3TVBFcCFQ" data-element-type="heading" class="zpelement zpelem-heading "><style></style><h2
 class="zpheading zpheading-align-center zpheading-align-mobile-center zpheading-align-tablet-center " data-editor="true"><span></span><span style="font-size:45px;"></span><span></span><span></span><span>Well, this is awkward...</span><br/><span style="font-size:24px;"><i>&nbsp;I thought I was being prepared. The truth was far more interesting.</i></span><span style="font-size:24px;font-style:italic;"></span><span style="font-size:24px;font-style:italic;"></span><span style="font-size:28px;"></span></h2></div>
<div data-element-id="elm_-ZWZovDKSCqT4e1CQ6Svtg" data-element-type="text" class="zpelement zpelem-text "><style></style><div class="zptext zptext-align-left zptext-align-mobile-center zptext-align-tablet-center " data-editor="true"><p></p><div><p style="text-align:left;"></p><div><p style="text-align:left;"></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p></p></div><div><div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p></p></div><div><div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><div><div><div><div><span></span></div></div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p>For most of my life, I thought hoarding was something other people did. You know, the people everyone shakes their heads at. The people whose houses become cautionary tales. The ones whose garages haven't seen an actual vehicle since the late nineties because every available square inch has been claimed by things they might need someday.</p><p><br/></p><p>I never considered that I might have something in common with them.</p><p><br/></p><p>Not once.</p><p><br/></p><p>Now before anybody starts imagining towers of newspapers, forty-seven cats, and a narrow trail leading through my living room like some sort of archaeological expedition, let's calm down. My version was much tidier than that. My version fit neatly into closets, drawers, cabinets, and shelves.</p><p><br/></p><p>Lots and lots of shelves.</p><p><br/></p><p>Looking back, I can see exactly how it happened. It wasn't a conscious decision. I never woke up one morning and thought, &quot;You know what would really improve my life? Keeping random things for decades.&quot; It happened slowly, one item at a time. Craft supplies. Office supplies. Books. Cables and cords whose original purpose had long since disappeared into the mists of time. Trinkets, gadgets, and perfectly good things that might come in handy one day. Things that had once served a purpose and no longer did but somehow continued earning their place in my home.</p><p><br/></p><p>The funny thing was that every single item came with a perfectly reasonable explanation.</p><p><br/></p><p>I might need it.</p><p>It could be useful.</p><p>What if I can't replace it?</p><p><br/></p><p>What if?</p><p><br/></p><p>At the time, those thoughts felt practical. Responsible, even. I wasn't hoarding. I was preparing. I was being resourceful. I was thinking ahead. Look at me being a capable adult and planning for the future.</p><p><br/></p><p>Meanwhile, my closets were quietly preparing for the apocalypse.</p><p><br/></p><p>Not the exciting kind with zombies and dramatic movie soundtracks. The organized kind. The kind where I could confidently survive because I apparently owned enough office supplies to supply a small company, enough craft supplies to open a hobby store, and enough mystery cables to reconnect technology from three different decades.</p><p><br/></p><p>The longer I sit with this now, the more I realize the stuff was never really the point.</p><p><br/></p><p>The feeling was.</p><p><br/></p><p>Because every object represented something bigger than itself. It represented security. It represented preparedness. It represented the comforting illusion that if something went wrong tomorrow, I would somehow be okay because I had saved the thing.</p><p><br/></p><p>What thing?</p><p><br/></p><p>Didn't matter.</p><p><br/></p><p>The thing.</p><p><br/></p><p>That realization hit me harder than I expected.</p><p><br/></p><p>One day I found myself looking at something I hadn't touched in years. I don't even remember what it was now, which is probably part of the lesson. I just remember standing there asking myself a question I had somehow avoided for decades.</p><p><br/></p><p>Why am I keeping this?</p><p><br/></p><p>The answer wasn't because it was useful.</p><p>The answer wasn't because it was valuable.</p><p>The answer wasn't even because I particularly liked it.</p><p>The answer was because it made me feel safer.</p><p><br/></p><p>And suddenly this wasn't a conversation about clutter anymore.</p><p><br/></p><p>It was a conversation about scarcity.</p><p><br/></p><p>Growing up, scarcity wasn't an occasional visitor. It wasn't a passing thought that showed up every now and then. It was more like an unwanted roommate that never left. It colored how I viewed money, opportunities, possessions, and sometimes even life itself. There was always this underlying sense that there might not be enough. Not enough resources. Not enough security. Not enough certainty. Not enough guarantees.</p><p><br/></p><p>When you spend enough years living with that belief, you start preparing for shortages that may never come.</p><p><br/></p><p>You start collecting safety.</p><p><br/></p><p>Once I saw that pattern in myself, I started noticing it everywhere. Suddenly the idea of hoarding became much bigger than overflowing closets and storage units. Some people collect possessions. Some people collect money. Some people collect accomplishments, titles, influence, status, followers, or power. The pile changes, but the promise underneath often sounds remarkably familiar.</p><p><br/></p><p>&quot;If I get enough of this, I'll finally feel safe.&quot;</p><p><br/></p><p>That's where things started getting uncomfortable.</p><p><br/></p><p>Because society has a fascinating habit of judging some forms of hoarding while celebrating others. Fill your house with newspapers and people become concerned. Fill your bank account with billions and people become impressed. One gets labeled a problem. The other gets labeled success. Yet underneath both can be driven by the exact same question.</p><p><br/></p><p>What if there isn't enough?</p><p><br/></p><p>Now before anyone sharpens their pitchfork and starts drafting an angry email, I'm not saying money is bad. Success isn't bad. Influence isn't bad. Ambition isn't bad. Not even a little. Money is a tool. Power is a tool. Influence is a tool.</p><p><br/></p><p>The real question is why we're collecting.</p><p><br/></p><p>Are we building something meaningful?</p><p>Or are we trying to soothe a fear that can never be satisfied?</p><p><br/></p><p>Because fear is greedy. It never reaches a point where it says, &quot;Perfect. We have enough now.&quot; Fear always wants one more. One more dollar. One more achievement. One more backup plan. One more reason to believe everything will be okay.</p><p>Just one more.</p><p><br/></p><p>The biggest surprise wasn't how much lighter my house became when I finally started letting things go. The biggest surprise was how much lighter I became. Every item that left seemed to take a little bit of fear with it. Every shelf I cleared created room somewhere inside me too. It wasn't really about decluttering. It was about dismantling a belief system I had been carrying around for years.</p><p><br/></p><p>Turns out, I wasn't hoarding stuff.</p><p><br/></p><p>I was hoarding security.</p><p><br/></p><p>And the irony is that the security I was looking for was never sitting in those closets in the first place. It wasn't hiding in a drawer. It wasn't tucked away on a shelf. It wasn't waiting inside a storage container to rescue me from some future disaster.</p><p><br/></p><p>It was hiding in trust.</p><p><br/></p><p>Trust that I could handle whatever came next.</p><p>Trust that there would be enough.</p><p>Trust that I would figure it out.</p><p>Trust that I was already far more capable than fear wanted me to believe.</p><p><br/></p><p>That lesson didn't arrive overnight, and if I'm being honest, it's probably still teaching itself to me in small ways. Every now and then I still find something I'm reluctant to release. Every now and then that old voice still whispers, &quot;What if you need it someday?&quot;</p><p><br/></p><p>These days, I simply smile and ask a different question.</p><p><br/></p><p>What if I don't?</p><p><br/></p><p>Funny enough, that question has created far more freedom than all the shelves ever did.</p><p><br/></p><p>Turns out freedom wasn't waiting on the other side of more.</p><p><br/></p><p>It was waiting on the other side of enough.</p><p><br/></p><p>The sneaky little bastard.</p><h2><span style="font-size:24px;"><strong>What About You?</strong></span></h2><p>As I dug into my own relationship with scarcity, I discovered that the things we hold onto aren't always sitting on shelves or tucked away in closets. Sometimes they're old beliefs. Old fears. Old stories we've carried for so long that we mistake them for truth.</p><p><br/></p><p>What are you holding onto?</p><p><br/></p><p>What belief, fear, expectation, or &quot;just in case&quot; story might be taking up space in your life?</p><p><br/></p><p>You don't have to figure it out alone.</p><p><br/></p><p>If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or caught in patterns that no longer serve you, a <a href="https://mattersofperspective.com/counseling/" title="Wayfinding Session" target="_blank" rel="">Wayfinding Session</a> can help uncover the perspective shifts hiding beneath the surface. Sometimes the biggest breakthroughs don't come from working harder. Sometimes they come from seeing the story differently.</p><p><br/></p><p>Learn more about Wayfinding and explore what's possible at <a href="https://mattersofperspective.com/">MattersOfPerspective.com</a>.</p><p><br/></p><p>Because shift happens ...</p><p>And sometimes freedom begins the moment we realize we already have enough.</p></div><div><br/></div><p></p><p></p></div></div><p></p><p></p></div></div><p></p><p style="text-align:left;"></p></div><p style="text-align:left;"></p></div><p></p></div>
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</div></div></div></div></div></div> ]]></content:encoded><pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2026 08:07:47 -0600</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Someday Box]]></title><link>https://www.homeofmisfits.com/messy-middle-blog/post/the-someday-box</link><description><![CDATA[<img align="left" hspace="5" src="https://www.homeofmisfits.com/Someday Box.png"/>Turns out, someday is a little sneaky. It promises plenty of time while quietly collecting dreams, adventures, really good ideas, and enough dust to make you sneeze.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="zpcontent-container blogpost-container "><div data-element-id="elm_921PkVqsQoyWD8N4zVKN-g" data-element-type="section" class="zpsection "><style type="text/css"></style><div class="zpcontainer-fluid zpcontainer"><div data-element-id="elm_k14TF3MXR46OI3Cfh0t9qQ" data-element-type="row" class="zprow zprow-container zpalign-items- zpjustify-content- " data-equal-column=""><style type="text/css"></style><div data-element-id="elm_okiu0qOYRZecrmlVlG-n2A" data-element-type="column" class="zpelem-col zpcol-12 zpcol-md-12 zpcol-sm-12 zpalign-self- "><style type="text/css"></style><div data-element-id="elm_r1nAeloRS5-2R3TVBFcCFQ" data-element-type="heading" class="zpelement zpelem-heading "><style></style><h2
 class="zpheading zpheading-align-center zpheading-align-mobile-center zpheading-align-tablet-center " data-editor="true"><span></span><span style="font-size:45px;"></span><span></span><span>Where good intentions go to collect dust.</span><span></span><br/>​<span style="font-size:24px;font-style:italic;"><span>I didn't realize how much of my life I'd packed into the Someday Box until I started unpacking it.</span></span><span style="font-size:24px;font-style:italic;"></span><span style="font-size:24px;font-style:italic;"></span><span style="font-size:28px;"></span></h2></div>
<div data-element-id="elm_-ZWZovDKSCqT4e1CQ6Svtg" data-element-type="text" class="zpelement zpelem-text "><style></style><div class="zptext zptext-align-left zptext-align-mobile-center zptext-align-tablet-center " data-editor="true"><p></p><div><p style="text-align:left;"></p><div><p style="text-align:left;"></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p></p></div><div><div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p><div><p></p></div><div><div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div></div><div><div style="line-height:1.2;"><p></p></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><div><div><div><div><span></span></div></div></div></div></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p></p></div><div><p>Next month I'll turn sixty.</p><p><br/></p><p>Now before some of you start getting all emotional about that number, don't worry. I'm still mentally somewhere between twelve and forty-two, depending on the day, the amount of coffee involved, and whether Jeff has suggested a trip to Costco.</p><p><br/></p><p></p><div><p>What turning sixty has done, however, is make me pause and take inventory.</p><p><br/></p><p>Not in a sad way. Not in a &quot;where did my life go&quot; kind of way. More in a &quot;holy crap, how did that happen so fast?&quot; sort of way.</p><p><br/></p><p>Because the truth is, when we're younger, we think we have all the time in the world.</p><p><br/></p><p>I know I did.</p><p><br/></p><p>When I was still living in Germany, there were so many places I wanted to visit. Germany itself has incredible history and beautiful places, but I also dreamed of exploring other parts of Europe. Castles, museums, little villages, big cities, adventures waiting around every corner. At the time, I didn't have the money or the means to do many of those things, so I did what most people do.</p><p><br/></p><p>I put them into the Someday Box.</p><p><br/></p><p>You know the one.</p><p><br/></p><p>The place where dreams, hobbies, adventures, projects, and brilliant ideas go to collect dust while we wait for life to cooperate.</p><p><br/></p><p>I'll do it later.</p><p>I'll do it when I have more money.</p><p>I'll do it when things calm down.</p><p>I'll do it when life gets easier.</p><p>I'll do it someday.</p><p><br/></p><p>Then life happened.</p><p><br/></p><p>I met Jeff. Moved halfway across the world. Built a life. Raised children. Navigated challenges. Celebrated victories. Collected stories. Collected wisdom. Collected enough titanium in my body to set off security systems for the foreseeable future.</p><p><br/></p><p>And somewhere in the middle of all that, decades quietly slipped by.</p><p><br/></p><p>Today I have no desire to move back to Germany. My life is here. My people are here. My adventures are here. But there are still things sitting in that old Someday Box that never happened. Not because they weren't important. Not because they weren't possible. Simply because someday kept getting pushed a little further down the road.</p><p><br/></p><p>Funny how that works.</p><p><br/></p><p>The thing is, it wasn't just travel.</p><p><br/></p><p>It was books I wanted to read.&nbsp;</p><p>Hobbies I wanted to learn.&nbsp;</p><p>Projects I wanted to start.&nbsp;</p><p>Experiences I wanted to have.&nbsp;</p><p>Conversations I wanted to have.&nbsp;</p><p>Risks I wanted to take.</p><p><br/></p><p>Someday.</p><p><br/></p><p>Such an innocent little word.</p><p><br/></p><p>And yet it can be one of the biggest dream killers we ever invite into our lives.</p><p><br/></p><p>Now, before anyone starts feeling sorry for me because there are things I can no longer do physically, please don't. This isn't a pity party. I don't even like those. The snacks are usually disappointing.</p><p><br/></p><p>The reality is that my body has taught me some valuable lessons over the years. There are absolutely things I could have done thirty years ago that I cannot do today. That's simply true. But I've also learned that happiness has very little to do with perfect circumstances and a whole lot to do with perspective.</p><p><br/></p><p>I've adapted.</p><p>I've modified.</p><p>I've learned new ways.</p><p><br/></p><p>And honestly, some of my favorite adventures have happened after life stopped following my original plans.</p><p><br/></p><p><a href="https://www.happinessmattersfoundation.org/blogs/post/date-night-at-costco" title="Date night at Costco" target="_blank" rel="" style="font-style:italic;">Date night at Costco</a>, anyone?</p><p><br/></p><p>The biggest shift didn't happen because my circumstances changed. The biggest shift happened because I changed.</p><p><br/></p><p>In 2018, I got the nudge to write a book.</p><p><br/></p><p>Not a gentle little whisper.</p><p><br/></p><p>More like the Universe grabbing me by the shoulders and saying, &quot;Pay attention, woman.&quot;</p><p><br/></p><p>The idea for <em><a href="https://amzn.to/4fUkjfV" title="Happiness Matters: Unleash Your Superpower in 7 Easy Steps " target="_blank" rel="">Happiness Matters: Unleash Your Superpower in 7 Easy Steps</a></em> showed up and refused to leave. Now, at the time, I had plenty of reasons not to write a book. I wasn't a writer. I had never written a book before. I didn't know anything about publishing. I had no idea whether anyone would even read it.</p><p><br/></p><p>In other words, I had the same list of excuses most humans carry around.</p><p><br/></p><p>But for whatever reason, I didn't put that dream into the Someday Box.</p><p><br/></p><p>I sat down.</p><p>I wrote.</p><p><br/></p><p>Three and a half months later, the book was published.</p><p><br/></p><p>That one decision changed far more than I realized at the time.</p><p><br/></p><p>Because something interesting happens when you stop waiting for permission. Something shifts when you stop asking whether you're qualified and start asking whether you're willing. Once I finished that first book, I realized I didn't need better circumstances. I didn't need more confidence. I didn't need somebody else to tell me I could do it.</p><p><br/></p><p>I simply needed to begin.</p><p><br/></p><p>Now, when a book feels like it wants to be born, I sit down and write.</p><p><br/></p><p>The blog is another perfect example.</p><p><br/></p><p>For years I talked about starting one. I even started one a couple of times. Then the voices showed up. You know the ones. The helpful little gremlins who live rent-free in our heads and spend their days offering terrible advice.</p><p><br/></p><p>Nobody cares.</p><p>You're not a real writer.</p><p>Someone else already said it better.</p><p>Why bother?</p><p><br/></p><p>And because I listened to those voices, I stopped.</p><p><br/></p><p>Twice.</p><p><br/></p><p>This year the nudge showed up again.</p><p><br/></p><p>Only this time felt different.</p><p><br/></p><p>I can't fully explain it.</p><p><br/></p><p>Maybe it's all the inner work.</p><p>Maybe it's all the perspective shifts.</p><p>Maybe it's age.</p><p>Maybe it's wisdom.</p><p><br/></p><p>Or maybe I'm simply running out of patience for my own nonsense.</p><p><br/></p><p>Whatever it is, this time I listened.</p><p>This time I kept going.</p><p><br/></p><p>And the beautiful thing is that someday didn't disappear.</p><p><br/></p><p>It became today.</p><p><br/></p><p>Now, almost every day feels like someday.</p><p><br/></p><p>Not because life is perfect.</p><p>Not because everything magically fell into place.</p><p>Not because I suddenly became fearless.</p><p><br/></p><p>Lord knows that's not true.</p><p><br/></p><p>It's because I choose differently.</p><p><br/></p><p>I follow the nudge.</p><p>I answer the call.</p><p>I start the project.</p><p>I write the book.</p><p>I make the phone call.</p><p>I say yes to the adventure.</p><p>I stop waiting for permission.</p><p><br/></p><p>Do I still get scared?</p><p>Absolutely.</p><p><br/></p><p>Do I still doubt myself sometimes?</p><p>Of course.</p><p><br/></p><p>Usually before coffee.</p><p>Sometimes after coffee.</p><p><br/></p><p>The difference is that fear no longer gets the final vote.</p><p><br/></p><p>Because one of the greatest lessons I've learned through all the work I've done is that every moment contains a choice. Not necessarily a choice about what happens to us, but always a choice about what happens next. Most of us spend years running on autopilot. We surrender our power without even realizing it. We allow circumstances to determine how we think, how we feel, how we respond.</p><p><br/></p><p>Been there.</p><p>Done that.</p><p><br/></p><p>Bought the shirt.</p><p><br/></p><p>Probably lost it.</p><p><br/></p><p>But awareness changes things.</p><p><br/></p><p>Once you see it, you can't unsee it.</p><p><br/></p><p>You begin catching yourself faster. You notice the stories. You notice the excuses. You notice the fear. And suddenly there is space to make a different choice.</p><p><br/></p><p>That choice changed my life.</p><p><br/></p><p>And maybe that's why turning sixty doesn't bother me.</p><p><br/></p><p>What bothers me is the thought of reaching the end of my life and realizing I spent too much of it waiting.</p><p><br/></p><p>Waiting for better timing.</p><p>Waiting for certainty.</p><p>Waiting for permission.</p><p>Waiting for someday.</p><p><br/></p><p>Life is too precious for that.</p><p><br/></p><p>So if your heart has been nudging you toward something, maybe this is your reminder.</p><p><br/></p><p>Take the class.</p><p>Write the book.</p><p>Plan the adventure.</p><p>Read the book gathering dust on your nightstand.</p><p>Reach out to the person you've been thinking about.</p><p>Say the thing.</p><p>Do the thing.</p><p>Try the thing.</p><p><br/></p><p>Because someday isn't actually a day on the calendar.</p><p><br/></p><p>It's a choice.</p><p><br/></p><p>And today is available right now.</p></div><br/><p></p><p></p><div><h4>What about you?</h4><p>What have you been saving for someday?</p><p><br/></p><p>A trip?</p><p>A conversation?</p><p>A dream you've quietly tucked away because life got busy?</p><p><br/></p><p>I'd love to hear about it in the comments.</p><p><br/></p><p>One of the things I've learned over the years is that most of us don't need more information. We need more awareness. We need someone to help us notice the stories we're telling ourselves, the fears running in the background, and the places where we've accidentally handed our power away.</p><p><br/></p><p>That's the work I do every day.</p><p><br/></p><p>I help people become more present, more aware, and more intentional so they can stop living on autopilot and start making conscious choices that move them toward the life they actually want.</p><p><br/></p><p>If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or like you've been living in the Someday Box for far too long, I invite you to explore the different ways we can work together.</p><p><br/></p><p>You can find them at&nbsp;<strong><span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="https://mattersofperspective.com/ways-to-begin/" title="Ways to Begin" target="_blank" rel="">Ways to Begin</a>.</span></strong></p><br/><p>Because someday isn't a destination.</p><p><br/></p><p>It's a decision.</p><p><br/></p><p>And today is still available.</p><p><br/></p><p>Shift happens...</p></div><br/><p></p></div><div><br/></div><p></p><p></p></div></div><p></p><p></p></div></div><p></p><p style="text-align:left;"></p></div><p style="text-align:left;"></p></div><p></p></div>
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</div></div></div></div></div></div> ]]></content:encoded><pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2026 07:49:49 -0600</pubDate></item></channel></rss>