We all have birthdays. Some are celebrated quietly as if by doing so the milestone will not be passed and time will have stood still, others are celebrated with unabashed abandon loudly trumpeting that this is OUR DAY!  But what is a birthday and does it only mark the passing of our years as a chronological point in our existence? I believe not!

I believe that birthdays come at and during many points and stages or phases of our lives. That we literally have “lives” within lives. Think about it for a moment. You had your life as someone’s child, then as a student planning to conquer the world knowing that you would make a difference. Later you became someone’s partner, perhaps a spouse then a parent. I remember my Mother telling me that no matter what I did in life I would always be her baby till the day she died, I never really understood that until I too became a Mommy. You see that’s where the duality of our lives comes in, for we have lives within lives within lives. I am a Daughter, a Wife, a Mother and a Business Woman. No wonder I’m so tired and my head hurts sometimes, it’s not easy to wear so many hats and keep it all straight!

But isn’t that what we all try to do in this modern age? We juggle it all. We get it done, because it needs doing. Do you ever feel sometimes that you are constantly running from one thing to another commitment, to the next event, to fulfil the commitments of work, family and relationships? All the while feeling that you are only just putting out fires because it’s always the squeaky wheel that gets the most grease isn’t it? Then at the end of the day you look at your list of 10 Most Important Things to Do and realise that the things that keep getting bumped off the list till tomorrow are the very things that were for you and your ability to regenerate you.

There is a commercial on TV with the actor who played in the 70’s hit Starsky & Hutch, he says “life is a treadmill; it’s time to get off”. Even though he is referring to your credit and personal finances he is right where it applies to life in general! At what point do we change gears, slow the pace and take a breather for us? Jack Canfield said it well in The Secret, “life doesn’t have to be hard”. I have adapted that to, if it is hard work, then you are doing it wrong. Life, work and relationships should be carefree and a joy to wake up to each day.

I remember going to my job in the Federal Government; I would see these people filing out each day looking so old, tiered and dead inside. They were working for a retirement that there would be no passion left in them to enjoy.  That’s when I decided along with my husband and partner to get off the treadmill and take what others saw as a gamble. I left my Government job with all its “security” and decided to study and work at doing what I knew in my heart would help me by its ability to help others. That was in May 2008, by May 2009 we had outgrown our home based wellness business and begun looking for, designing and planning our first storefront location. We opened September 1^st 2009! The funny thing is that not one person who has known me before or met me since has asked if I regret that decision. I suppose the answer in my passion for what I am able to do here every day. I like to think of The House of Wellness as a sandbox. Really think about it, when you were a kid you would go to the park and who ever showed up jumped into the sandbox and played. The faces of the kids would change; the daily game or conversation would change but you always knew that if you wanted to find someone to play with you could always find someone in the sandbox.  There was no judgment or preconceived notions just jumping in and going with the flow with openness and acceptance. That’s our sandbox; everyday “kids” come to The House of Wellness to not only detoxify and beautify their bodies but to feed their spirits.  Many things can and do happen here, but only some are planned by appointment, as in a Detox Body Wrap, an Infrared Sauna session, a Reiki or Indian Head Massage or a manicure or pedicure however many are as unexpected and spontaneous as life itself.  I often can be heard saying, “You never know what can happen in the sandbox”.  All we ever really know is that those that enter are here to share, grow, relax and enjoy. And remember relaxation should NEVER stress you out!

So I suppose I have come full circle an joined an earlier life or stage with the here and now to create this wonderful life that I now enjoy.

Wanna come play in our sandbox!

The House of Wellness also hosts workshops, special events and private parties.

For more information please contact Kathy directly at The House of Wellness

www.thehouseofwellness.ca

613-823-9051