Me in a Nutshell

Here's me, in a nutshell:

Crack me open and here's what you'll find...

My name is:

Backwards, my name looks like this:
 
I'm forty something-or-another, which means I'm in the decade of my life where I'm supposed to be the "martyr"--you know...self-sacrificing myself to be a good wife, a good mother, and a good employee. I'm not a wife, I'm not a mother, and I'm not an employee. At this point in my life, the word "self-sacrificing" is not in my dictionary.

For the last fifteen or so years, I've lived my life in reverse. I started out with a husband, a house, a career, and a plethora of responsibilities. Over the years, I've simplified my life -- shedding those things that bog me down from living to my fullest. Metaphorically speaking, I'm now the college-aged kid who is on her post-graduation backpacking trip through Europe. Unlike the college kid, my wanderlust comes from a place of stability and experience.

For so long, I compartmentalized different parts of myself for different audiences. As I've acquired additional candles on my birthday cupcakes and crow's feet around my eyes, I've come to realize that being true to myself means always being me. To everyone. In all that I do. Everywhere. All the time.

My passions include bike touring, voluntary simplicity, financial independence, happiness maximization, and sucking the marrow out of life. A friend of mine described me as "down-to-earth/grounded airy-fairy." I can't imagine a more apt description.

I believe that we are all born with an inner compass. Most of us choose to ignore this personal compass and to navigate through our lives via society's nudgings. Through lots of introspection, I've become attuned with my inner compass, and I've decided to honor that compass as I navigate through my life.

Here's to a life lived by following my true north!