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Let Me Share My Story
Creativity has comforted me for as long as I can remember. Before I could hold a pencil, music created bonds, bringing family and community together. What I’ve come to learn through life’s struggles is that creativity has always connected me with my core, my spirituality…my strength.
In my 30’s, I earned an MSc. in Community Health and Epidemiology and a BA (Hon) in Psychology at the University of Saskatchewan. Along with sharing a blended family with Chris and spoiling our grandchildren, I have gathered decades of experience through grassroots community initiatives, research, education, policy and programming, small business, and the arts in local, national, and international settings. I went from owning my own salons and caring for young offenders, adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and neighborhood children to facilitating research among family medicine residents, grass-roots participatory research, and federal policy and program development, implementation and evaluation addressing population health issues in a multi-cultural Canada. Volunteer work includes Neighbourhood Watch, Sexual Assault Crisis Volunteer, establishing and running several self-help groups addressing addictions and survivors. I also taught self-care for teens and adults and basic drawing and colour theory to children.
My first publication was a poem at 8 years of age in the Our Family magazine in the 60’s. My next publication was another poem that I wrote in the early morning along Meewasin Trail of the Saskatchewan River, published in the University of Saskatchewan’s Sheaf creative writing edition in the mid 90’s. My Master thesis would be my first book in 2003 preceded and followed by several collaborative academic research projects and publications. Over my career, I have presented at several conferences including keynote speaker in both national and international settings. I’ve written curricula and taught research skills among family medicine residents and international nursing students.
I’ve always had a flair for the arts, particularly drawing and painting portraits and still life as well as writing poetry and short stories. My love for music connected me with my first husband and the father of my children who are also very creative. I met my second husband, Chris, in choir and now enjoys a blended family of 5 children, 5 in-laws and 5 grandchildren (to date) along with the friends that we’ve adopted as family along the way. We savour being both parents and grandparents who love to cook for family and friends that are always met at the door by our empathic Bichon Frise named Joy.
I believe that the power of healing rests in building authentic relationships with our Creator and with one another. Spirituality underscores my identity and grounds me in this physical world we live in. Adopted and growing up on a farm, I understand the need to build healthier communities with a strong sense of belonging that perpetuates an attitude of love and healing. I grew up in a Catholic community, where my cousins and aunties included the priests and nuns that frequented our home. I saw real people behind the collars and veils and would contemplate that life choice in my teens, mostly to feel safe. Unable to live up to religious ideals of perfectionism that did not always reflect an attitude of love, I often hid inside myself covered in shame instead of opening up to those that might have been able to protect me and others who lived through their own imperfections. My struggles included depression, eating disorders, chronic pain and complex PTSD. Through my own relationship with Spirit, I found a way that led to physical healing and enriched my relationships. Today I am free from night terrors and the shame that was tied to it. Chronic pain is lessened along with depression and disordered eating. Adversities are always unknown in our lives, but I believe that the exploring nature of creativity will continue to keep strong ties with our Creator, and that the strength in our stories has the potential to continue to heal with love.
So How Can We Make A Difference?
The Creator’s Way teaches us how our stories provide the solutions to addressing life’s adversities and frees us to live a healing life.
The tools provided will help you reframe your life’s experiences so you can REFLECT on your successes, lessons learned and influences. You will learn where your strengths lie so you can ENGAGE in relationship with others. Whether you are at a boardroom table or coffee shop sofa, your conversations can change lives for the better beginning with your own.
Whether scientist, program planner, academic, policy-maker, homemaker or taxi driver, creativity doesn’t discriminate. We are all born with an innate ability to create. You will learn how your survival depends on your creative DNA.
When you can bypass the myths that stem from perfectionism, you can free yourself of a lifetime of false shaming that blocks healing. The Creator’s Way will guide you back to your origin, where it all began. Engage Your Voice along the way so we can continue a journey of creative growth!
