Flourishing in the Forest.
Today, I thought it be important to share a personal part of my journey that I believe will also be relatable to others—after all, true purpose is about how throughout our lives we can positively impact others. (More on this later in a paid subscriber post).
Given the state of the economy with many wall street companies doing rounds and rounds of layoffs it seems every week—especially, in my hypersphere of the entertainment industry, this reminded me of the term “wilderness.” Often times, motivational speakers and theological leaders use the term wilderness in relation to life thrusting someone into a period of the unknown. For many, the unknown can be scary. Let’s face it, it IS scary. When I left my corporate job doing PR at Netflix in January 2023, the Sagittarius in me was so focused on the optimistic side of what opportunities lie ahead, that I was completely ignoring the fact that more than one thing can be and is often true at once. Change is never easy, but sometimes still required.
To make the decision of betting on myself (also more on this later) and putting 90% of my focus into being a screenwriter, I told myself that I know good things lie ahead. However, after a few months the anxiety crept up because I hadn’t acknowledged the fact that although I wasn’t fearfully frozen or stuck in this new chapter, it’s okay to also acknowledge that it can be scary. To bet on yourself takes immense courage. Now, after a little more than a year of not being tied to a corporate entity and surviving through two of the most historic WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in history while using my past decade of PR experience as a now freelance consultant for income, I have a different relationship with the “wilderness” as a term, as an experience and as an application to life.
For me, the operative component of “wilderness” is the smaller word, “wild.” This inherently infers that the unknown should be perceived as something wild or foreign. When in fact, many times when reflecting on your life’s journey, you’ll actually discover that there’s nothing wild or foreign about where you’re currently at. You’ve been here before in some form or fashion. And once you’re able to shift your perception of the unknown in acknowledgement of this familiarity, you can next adjust your relationship dynamic with both the term and understanding of it.
Once I was able to do this, I realized what some call the wilderness, I’m choosing to call the forest—because LIFE FLOURISHES IN THE FOREST.
The forest is not always a dark, foggy and ominous terrain with a shadowy mystique. The forest has trees that have stood the through the test of time and thrived through all weathering and storms. The forest has sunlight and moisture that are the essential building blocks for diverse flora and fauna. The combination of moisture and sunlight is the PERFECT environment for plant growth. Take this time to plant some seeds while in the forest where the environment is already setup for you to do so. You have the propensity to bloom in the forest.
Whether we traverse through life’s paths by a simple choice, through taking a courageous leap or by an unforeseen circumstance, I encourage you to also remember that all of life’s previous learnings in your journey thus far are there to serve YOU. They BELONG to YOU. Fear and faith are two sides of the same coin, but the choice on which you give energy to is yours; and no matter which you choose, it’ll get you to the same destination that was needed for this part of your journey. Go forth <3
