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where the road has taken me

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the_grand_labyrinth

ICF certified professional coach ⁣
🌍For globally-minded people & teams
💥Widen your world w/creative workshops & retreats
🇺🇸home 🇪🇸soul 🇹🇷spouse

Who is one person you can pause and be grateful fo

Who is one person you can pause and be grateful for today?⁣
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For me, it’s Mrs. Lanka, the babysitter who looked after me when I was about 5 or 6.⁣
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🧩 Actually, the word babysitter doesn’t really do Mrs. Lanka justice. Because from her I learned all sorts of things — especially, the joy of simple pleasures, like puzzles, reading and baking.⁣
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🌲 But what I remember most about my days with Mrs. Lanka are our trips to the Bayard Cutting Arboretum on Long Island. I think it was there — seeing the expanse of the Great Lawn or climbing the knotted branches of the giant European Weeping Beech tree — that I fell in love with wandering and wondering. ⁣
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🌳 Our absolute favorite thing to do was follow the River Walk along the Connectquot River. We’d meander down the labyrinthine paths past all manner of plants — stopping now and then to search out the metal tags that identified the plants and trees. ⁣
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🦆 Eventually, we would end up on Breezy Island. There we’d unpack whatever treat Mrs. Lanka had packed - maybe a PBJ sandwich or some juicy oranges — and bask in the sun while ducks and geese floated by.⁣
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🍊I can still taste those oranges. ⁣
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🙏 And whenever I see cat o nine tails and beach grass, I say a little prayer of thanks to Mrs. Lanka. ⁣
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💞 Who do you need to thank today?

#shopsmallct #internationalcoach #lifeabundantly #galsonthego #travelingcoach #creativeprofessionals #globalentrepreneur #businesswomenlinkup #professionalgrowth #litchfieldct #yourpurpose #shehustles #wherewomencreate #internationalspeaker #humancapital #teambuildingevent #coworkingspaces #hartfordhasit #executivecoaching #abundantlife #leadershipcoach #smallbiztips #entrepreneurwoman #worksmarter #createdtocreate #wanderluster #growyourbusiness #mindsetmatters #hersuccess #purposedriven

This week I'm challenging myself to post about peo

This week I'm challenging myself to post about people who've made my life so full and helped me become who I am today.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Today I'm honoring my father who passed away 10 years ago. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how to represent him with a photo. Then I remembered an experience I had at the festival celebrating the opening of the new Reach extension at the @KennedyCenter.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Peering over a balustrade I saw this group of teachers making art, right there for all to see. How brave, I thought. So I snapped this shot and then had a lovely conversation with one of the education staff. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Why is this a big deal? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Because I used to be mortified when my father would strike up conversations with anyone and everyone - the clerk at the deli at our local grocery store, the postman, a stranger in an elevator. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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“Justine, just talk to people!” he’d say. “You never know what you’ll learn.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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And there I was doing just that! Talking to and CONNECTING with a total stranger. I never could have envisioned being able to do this all those years ago when I’d stand along side my father and listen to him engage with people. His example gave me the confidence to do that...to reach out, to be curious, to listen, to learn, to connect. And for that I am eternally grateful. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Who are you thankful for today? I'd love to hear!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#employeedevelopment #connecticutevents #smallbusinessct #teamretreat #successstrategies #artsintegration #multipassionate #litchfieldct #creativecoaching #smallbusinessconsulting #successinbusiness #ctsmallbusiness #humancapital #createthelifeyoulove #startupstories #traininganddevelopment #scaleup #getunstuck #buildanempire #mindsetiskey #widenyourworld #businessmentor #stamfordct #coachingbusiness #leadershipdevelopment #womaninbusiness #growthmindset #risingtidesociety #solopreneur #mindsetiseverything

Wondering what’s next for you? Looking for signs

Wondering what’s next for you? Looking for signs to show you the way? I’ve got a story for you!⁣
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🎂 Several years ago I hit one of those big life milestones…you know, the kind where you add a zero to your chronological age. ⁣
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🚶‍♀️To mark this new phase of my life, I resolved to walk the Camino de Santiago, the centuries-old pilgrimage route that extends across Europe and ends in the city of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain.⁣
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🥾 One day I was chatting by phone with a friend back home when she asked if I’d done any pre-dawn walks. “It must be so spiritual, walking out under the stars in nature,” she said.⁣
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🌙 Venturing forth before daybreak intrigued me. What would that be like? Might I discover something else on the Camino that was invisible in the daylight?⁣
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🌝 That night I rose before dawn and left the city and my cozy cot behind. The world was eerily silent; even the birds had not yet awoken. I gazed up at the sky, ready to marvel at the constellations, but the clouds obscured all.⁣
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🌌 I entered a tiny village and made my way to small plaza with several paths and streets radiating in several directions. Peering around in the dim light I searched for a scallop shell or an arrow, the iconic way markers that guide Camino pilgrims. ⁣
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⁉️ Then the voices in my head started panicking. “What kind of a dumb idea was this? How stupid to be out walking alone?! I mean, what did I really expect to find out here, anway?”⁣
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👉 Then, another voice whispered in my subconscious, “Remember. The way is always there. Just pay attention.”⁣
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✨ That was when I turned and saw it – a mere three feet away, stood an enormous statue of Saint James. Staff in one hand and a scallop shell danging from his waist, the statue’s free hand was raised and pointing.⁣
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🤩 I was so surprised, I burst out laughing.⁣
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👍 So often we are so busy orchestrating our lives that we miss the very magic of the moment.⁣
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🌈 Want to tap into your own intuition? Join me December 13 in my virtual retreat. Register at link in bio. ⁣
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Jet off with me and other culturally-curious peopl

Jet off with me and other culturally-curious people for a virtual exploration of #Istanbul, intuition and inspiration. Link in bio for your boarding pass!

Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space. Invite

Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space. Invite one to stay. ~ Maya Angelou

🪁 So which one are you inviting today?

I have been offline for a bit, caught in the whirl of life, and trying to re-set, re-charge and re-commit.

As autumn arrives here in #litchfieldct my thoughts and energies are turning to new projects and #emergingdreams. Stay tuned for announcements of my new #creativesalon workshops.

#smallbusinessownerct
#whitingmills
#whitingmillsct
#sparkyourcreativity
#whitingmillsstudio418

Virtual reality #alteredart #selfcare #shareyour

Virtual reality

#alteredart
#selfcare
#shareyourart
#contemplativepractice
#thegrandlabyrinth
#wanderandwonder
#healingarts
#ctcoach
#creativecoaching
#collageart
#metime😊
#mindfulnesspractice
#mindfulnessheals
#creativityheals
#burnoutrecovery
#creativitymatters
#worklifeintegration
#timeoffwork
#taketimeforyourself
#creativeentrepreneur
#coachinnature
#coachinginnature
#blockislandsummer
#whitingmillsct
#studiodelgranlaberinto
#grandlabyrinthstudio
#grandlabyrinthgatherings
#thegrandlabyrinthe

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