Echoes of a Dream
Reflections from a well lived life
My journey through six decades has been a rich and colourful tapestry woven with soft and sometimes very harsh threads. Whilst I lost myself in survival mode for most of it, I can now look back and see the jewels or sparkling threads in many moments over the years. Jewels in the childhood that stifled my being and personality. Jewels in the years after leaving home and losing myself in the newfound freedom. Very many jewels from my time living in Japan in the mid 80s.
Back to England, marriage and a breakdown after the birth of my first child and the many jewels when I lost myself to mothering and homemaking. The sparkling thread running through all of these life experiences was, I now realise, an indomitable spirit and a soul, though lost and at moments wanted to leave, never gave up and always strove to do it's best.
Echoes of a Dream is an expression of Me, my journey and the things I have gleaned, tried out and enjoyed over the years. There are tips for living a balanced life, projects that spark or ignite your creativity. Ideas that soothe the soul and honest reflections on a life well-lived. A beautiful and eclectic potpourri that reflects my inner being – a woman who is brave, adventurous, curious and inquisitive. The woman who has liberated herself from an unsuccessful union of thirty-five years, retrained and is now a successful coach and podcaster and blogger! So come join me as I share nuggets that I know will intrigue and inspire you.
Collage inspired by trip to Japan in 2015
A little about me
I grew up in a large, very traditional Indian family in the Midlands and life until I left home at 18 was fraught with many challenges, not least, little freedom to explore and express who I was.
We weren't well off and my parents both worked manual jobs so it was left to me, aged 11, to look after my three younger siblings. That's when I learned that I didn't have any needs and my purpose in life was to look after others - something that I carried with me like a programme until very recently.
After college I lived in Japan for a few years and met the father of my children upon my return to England. We were married in '91 and started a family a few years after. Sadly, I suffered from horrendous postnatal depression and had a breakdown at that time. I somehow managed to lift myself out of it and went on to have two more children. Thereafter, I threw myself into mothering and homemaking with gusto trying to be the mother that I never had. There was much fun and joy during those years but I lost myself in my roles and self-care went compltely out of the window. Once my children had left home I knew it was time to do some therapeutic work on myself to release my past and baggage- and the anger and unhappiness accrued over the years, so that the next few decades of my life could be lived responding to life rather than reacting to it.
Today I stand before you in my 60s having liberating myself from an unsuccessful union. I have retrained and I am a successful coach, podcast and blogger. A young south Asian man who came to buy a car from my son a few years ago asked me with his eyes wide open "auntie how did you get from the Midlands to Japan to here!" And he's right - not many first generation Indians, especially women, have achieved what I've achieved and that's something that I should honour and be proud of.
It hasn't all been easy – I've been depressed, suicidal, four stone overweight and I was oppressed by myself and others but I am back now and I'm determined to live my best life. I start the next chapter with the heading "this is my time now" and it's about bloody time!
Do get in touch ........
Whether you have a question or a thought to share or if you simply want to share your own journey,
I would love to hear from you. Let's create a community of inspiration and growth.