Megan is an ER nurse, Dog Mom to two handsome pups, and photographer from beautiful Texas! If you’ve been following our social media and retreats, she has been instrumental in catching so many beautiful memories for all the women in our space and the quality and beauty of our stones as well. Megan places a high value on family and enjoys spending time with them whenever possible. She has a fresh a fun personality that makes everyone around her feel fresh and alive, much like the effect of her favorite color, green. We sat down and had an amazing chat about her self love journey and what insights she’s been gaining over an incredible year of personal growth.
“I actually just did a journal entry about this” says Megan when asked what self love means to her. “It means being in tune with yourself, a deeper version of yourself that is really mindful and really aware of our emotions and how we are reacting to things. And it is using tools to get to that space.” Elaborating on tools, Megan adds “That is such a broad form, because it can be physical aspects such as Yoga or a bath, but also a mental aspect of challenging ourselves to do or learn one thing today, drawing for 15 minutes, something you wouldn’t normally do that adds a bit of a challenge, and putting yourself out there. Through that we can find things that we really enjoy and feel that self love, because you really know yourself people can see that fun and want to be part of it.”
I mentioned that she seemed like a goal oriented person and Megan agreed, with a caveat. “Yeah I am, not so structured, but I will set broad goals, like learning something new or getting better at a specific task. I try not to be too structured because then I am less able to go with the flow.”
Megan believes that the reasons self love is such an important topic right now are “endless”. “I’ve learned a lot from Abraham Hicks and how when you feel good about yourself and are doing things that feel good to you people respond to you differently and it opens up possibilities for you that were never available before.” Megan does go on to say that sometimes, the rush of new opportunity can be overwhelming. “It can open up a can of worms because people see that you care and respond differently”, citing the multiple opportunities she has been presented with in her personal and professional life, such as a promotion into a training position at work, shoots and courses for her photography, and personal relationships. Overall, she is grateful for so much opportunity, even if it takes some deliberation to decide which to pursue.
Megan does, however, see the potential effect of the work all of us are doing in this space on worldwide issues. “On a larger, grander scale, doing this work and changing our responses to the world means the world starts to shift, because more people getting together and getting in tune with themselves and the world around them leads to innovative things coming out and ideas that change the world to be a better place.” This collective nature expands to lifeforms beyond just our human ones, as Megan points out with a mini biology lesson. “Look at the body system and the cells. Each cell creates its own ATP, its own energy, and WE are creating that good energy when we practice self love for ourselves.” Further reflecting on this idea and our innate connection to the universe, Megan reflects on how our body structures mimic the structures found around us in the natural world. “See, things like river systems and veins and arteries” she gives as an example, noting that they look similar and can in fact perform similar tasks by transporting nutrients. I pointed out that leaves have the same type of structure and you can even compare individual functions within a cell to the way we as a species have been organizing cities for millenia. ”We are partially a product of our environment, but there are so many mirrors.” agrees Megan.
Megan’s self love journey has been “mind-blowing”. “A year ago I was in such a tough place, in a super toxic relationship, going to counseling once a week, tried the traditional route of church ad counseling and working out, but where I have seen the growth is letting some of that stuff go and focusing on what makes me feel good, and following that impulse as much as possible.” The letting go and relaxing of her adherence to that more traditional route has allowed her to reap a really beautiful harvest. ”I’m in the most calm and understanding open-communication relationship I have ever been in and it feels healthy. I have stronger family bonds. My work life has changed because I have friends at work and a teaching position, and I am getting looked at for raises and promotions. It’s a complete 180 and I have to catch my breath sometimes and say that I am worthy of this.” Megan touches on a common phenomenon with that last statement, known as Impostor Syndrome, where people will often feel like they don’t have the skills or worth to be given a position they have and don’t deserve to be there. “I think a lot of people get stuck on feeling bad because they feel good,” elaborating that people feel like it means they don’t care about the plight of others around them, but she thinks this perception is flawed. “It’s not about not caring, it’s about being healthy inside, and that’s when you can help change things.”
Megan’s growth journey right now is about maintaining her self love practices. “The biggest thing right now is continuing the daily practice of these things. The more I slack, the growth isn’t as rapid, I am not as joyful. I am also sending out an olive branch for people to enjoy and do this stuff with me if they’re open to it.” In a previous conversation, Megan referred to her daily self love practice as “brushing my Soul’s teeth”. “The brushing your Soul’s teeth thing, making it a daily practice to tend to yourself. It’s a great way to visualize it because a lot of times people can’t see it, so it helps them to see it physically. People forget all the time to take care of themselves, so it is nice to visualize something that makes it tangible.”