Vera Lester
Ever feel like the truest part of you is asleep? Adrift in a sea of “I should’ve..” and “if onlys…” haunted by notifications and to-do lists … bogged down in the routine but paralyzed by the thought of changing it?
It feels ungrateful to complain when you’ve got all the basics covered. Work. Home. Life. Family.
But still… something feels off. You end the day thinking, “Wait, what did I miss?”
I know all about this.
Back in 2012, I had the perfect job. I was raising money for a badass non-profit and I was nailing it. I had a 401k and a mortgage and a new car and a gym membership. I had a “career trajectory.”
I was miserable.
Every morning started with a pep talk: “You can do this. Just one foot in front of the other.” It felt like I was trying to run a marathon with a parachute.
Outwardly, I was successful, but inside every moment felt like trying to contort myself to fit into a dress that was cut for someone else. My shoulders hunched because the armholes were cramped. A hem so low it made it hard to walk. My breathing shallow so the seams didn’t pop.
It was torture.
So I quit. Just like that. No safety net, no partner to pick up the slack, no big savings.
I walked into my boss’s office at 8am on a Tuesday and I quit.
I couldn’t let obligations or other people’s expectations douse my inner fire. Not anymore.
Everyone has a calling.
You were born with a superpower. It’s something only you can do. And you must do it.
The further you get from your inner fire there’s an ache. A yearning you try to fill with good rosé, nachos and Netflix. Things look normal on the outside, but inside is frosty.
The closer you get to it, something hums louder near your heart. Life gets toasty.
When someone pays you to use your superpowers, it feels like you’re getting away with something. You wake up in the morning and pinch yourself.
Yes, it can be like this every day.
That’s where I come in.
If we lived in an ancient village, and we needed guidance, we walked to the town healer. Shaman. Priest. Medicine Woman. Whatever.
She governed rites of passage, solved squabbles over roosters, and consoled us in our most agonizing grief.
She healed more than the common cold. She healed our existential angst.
But we don’t live in an ancient village. We’re overscheduled and underslept — we have 1,000 friends on Facebook, but who do we call when the neighbor steals our rooster?
We crave something bigger than us, a real vulnerable connection to each other – and we’re not gonna find it swiping right or bingeing on How to Get Away With Murder.
I am the Modern Medicine Woman. I am here to escort you to your inner fire. To grant you permission to say ‘No’ when the committee thinks its reckless. And help you scream ‘YES!’ when your heart starts to hum. And I can’t wait for you to meet your tribe of sisters.
Don’t worry. I won’t ask you to drink the Kool-aid – there is no Kool-aid.