Bill Hamilton, Sava and me- photo Susan Honnell

From Sarah ~  The Jazz the Glass Retreat in Kauai Hawaii that I created with Susan Honnell and Tami McCall turned out to be an absolutely amazing experience for me!  We set out to take visionary Women-   Mavericks, the Bad Asses and Honey Badgers on this trip to connect to Nature, Spirit and (of course)  to bend the rules,  and play outsde of the fences of our ordinary lives.   Boy did it deliver, for me.

To be in Hanalei on Kauai is to be in a Bohemian Wonderland where the most clothes that people seem to be sporting are a bathing suit and maybe a shirt or sundress.  We even spotted a guy pumping gas on the highway in his Speedo.   Shoes are optional, tattoos are def. recommended.    Breakfast consisted of green smoothies at the local co-op and we packed up lunch in the cooler and headed for the beach.

We had planned to do Stand up Paddle boarding-  which we did up the Hanalei River and it was fabulous.  One of the unexpected (those are the best, right?) peaks, for me,  was learning to surf.

That very first day, it seemed daunting to paddle out on these large long boards to the place where the waves were breaking.  One of my co-hosts, Susan Honnell,  was an awesome guide and assured me that I could handle it.  Once we got out there were these small waves breaking perfect for a novice.  So I got into position as Susan had taught me and waited for the waves.  The first one I decided to go for I threw myself on the board and then (as instructed) paddled like a bat out of hell-  but missed it.  Then Susan pushed me onto the next one.  It felt different.   Instead of  feeling the wave sink and crumble beneath me….all of a sudden it was like this huge surge of power right under me and I stopped paddling and was hurtling along with no effort at all.  The, I leaped up,  into my karate stance,  (again- thanks Susan!) and I was up – flying along the water and I cannot even really explain how fun it was.  When it petered out-  I flopped into the water and could not wait to get back in the line up to catch another.

I surfed and tried to surf so many waves in the ensuing  6 days.    My leg and hip got so badly bruised (from slamming myself onto the board to get ready) that I looked a bit of a wreck.   I could not have cared less.  I even had a heck of a hematoma going on my right hand.  It was so much fun,  I was not going to let it stop me.  My body (at night) was like-  oh wow-  all over body workout and exhaustion-  yet as soon as I had stretched and had a cup of coffee I was like-  gotta get out and Jazz some glass!

What I noticed was the second day its started getting more difficult to catch a wave. It think beginners luck has something to do with “non-attachment’  because I didn’t really know if I would ever be able to catch a wave on that first day.  By the second day (knowing what it felt like to “catch” a wave) I was greedy for waves.   I wanted to CATCH them all.  When I tried to do that what I found out is my “paddling arms” got so exhausted and I didn’t catch as many.

By the third day, I had an awesome chance to hang out and surf with Sava (see her vid below) , queen of the waves who’s owner Bill Hamilton (Yes-  Laird is his son, lol!) taught me a few things.  I told him my dilemma— it seems like I am not getting up on as many.  He said-  “you gotta cherry pick”.  Bill explained that you have to be patient and wait for the cherry to grow on the tree  and then only pick the ones that are ripe and sweet.  I was laughing out loud at the sexual and surfing metaphor in all of this.

Sure enough, as I began to really wait for the waves that looked ideal….I sort of thought they looked “crispy fried” and seemed to have a bit of a CRACKLE to them….if I got into position and paddled like a mad woman into it-  I caught them and oh man what a feeling it was.  There is nothing quite like catching a wave, we all agreed and now, I know I am not the only one who is addicted.

What a great metaphor for my business, my life (sexual and otherwise, lol) and  in general….to wait for the best wave- the one that is ripe for my picking .  That way, I conserve energy and if I do succeed-  WOW what a treat I am in for.    You don’t catch every opportunity you paddle out to but, looking for the crispy delicious ones sure increases your chances.  What does your ideal wave look like in your life?

**We plan to Jazz the Glass Again in 2012-  so send me an email if you would like to hear more when we launch!  ~Sarah

 Hey-  its Sarah here.  Many of you may already  know that I was coached for several years and then myself got trained and certified as a Life Coach.   Being coached MYSELF helped me to transform my own life and look at myself in a whole new light.   I began to feel a huge new world of possibility.    The transformation began to take place WITHIN me-  I began to think in new ways about what  was possible.    Then I took inspired action.  Here is a part of my story.  Now-  the story I am about to tell is definitely not the ONLY way (or even the sane way ) to do things-  but its how it “went down”  for me. 

           I was feeling stuck-  I wanted more time desperately to do some creative work-  yet we had 4 kids, and some pretty hefty mortgage payments-  I felt STUCK-  in more ways than one.   For years,  we had felt that our cabin on a lake never felt like a vacation-  we were working too much to even get packed to get there  (unpacking-  well,  that usually lasted a week).   So,  my husband Mark and I made the decision to sell it.  This was painful, especially for my Mom who really wanted the arrangement (we had neighboring cabins) to work out.   When we sold it a few months later-  it felt good- REALLY good.   SO good, in fact,  that at the closing I asked our Relator to let us know if a house in town came up for sale that would be smaller and a fabulous price.   He knew of one-  we could look today-  we did and we made an offer a few weeks later. 

            We put our swanky 6000 square foot house,  with a dream  kitchen  designed by a fancy company in Chicago,  (the kitchen that I thought would make me happy – HA!   Subzero’s fancy warranty  does NOT guarantee personal happiness-  nope I checked the fine print!) on the market and sold it 7 months later.   Trust me, 7 months felt like a very LONG time,  it was right after the big downturn in US Economy,  but I worked hard at believing it was all going to work out.   We were fortunate to find wonderful buyers.  I remember standing at our “estate sale” where we divested of roughly  3000 square feet of “STUFF”  and a friend came up to me as we stood surrounded by lovely antiques, countless perfectly lovely chairs, lamps, tables, etc…..and said  ”wow isn’t it hard to get rid of all this-  aren’t you SAD at all?”  I am sure to her it seemed totally incomprehensible…but I felt at totally at peace-  it felt fabulous to be “lightening up”  metaphorically and physically. 

            We moved our family of 6 to a house that was ½ the size and  a lot more convenient for our current life-  laundry right near bedrooms etc.    The kids complained a bit initially because some had to share a room  (which I found ironic as they would all sneak into sleep with each other every  night- nobody ever liked to sleep alone in the big house).  I painted the walls, added some silk curtains and created a space that sort of “felt “ like the old house…..it felt good! 

            Once the downsizing was complete-  I downsized my Medical career (I have fabulous colleagues) and reduced my FTE to 40% which enabled me to begin dabbling in the creative world…and eventually dreaming up JOY JUNKET with Suzi.   I also now am coaching and getting to do things I never dreamed of – LIFE IS FUN AGAIN!  I feel very free.   I am able to  take a 6 month sabbatical this summer from my medical job to focus on my coaching practice  (and just to goof off) and that feels great.

            These days (only a year after the move!)  I find myself beginning to hankering for a different home-  one that is modern, spare, filled with light and connected to the natural world through large expanses of glass without any window coverings-  I think its my soul yearning for the next level of change in my life-  literally simplifying, becoming more transparent and connected.   I tell Suzi and my husband Mark-  not to worry-  I won’t be putting our house on the market anytime soon…I am ready for some rest.   I did strip all of the accessories and most of the art and “stuff” out of our main living area…I am contemplating how to create the feeling of this new dream using what I already have.   What I know now- is that  this feeling of freedom-  that is an inside job……and for me, the big physical downsizing was just what I needed. 

            I am doing an intensive training currently with Oprah’s Martha Beck-  a fabulous and amazing writer, coach and contributer to O Magazine.   She introduced  to the concept of house as a metaphor (she credits Thomas Moore, a monk for the concept).    To use this yourself…..  try writing about the most least satisfying part of your home on a piece of paper-  describe it in detail as if you are trying to show somebody who cannot see it-  then do it for the spot in you home that you feel most pleased with.   Then reflect on what you have written-  there is a gold mine there for you to examine.  Let me know what you discover….I am curious.  

Our downsizing was featured in Apartment Therapy’s blog-  so if you would like to see more-  click here.   Below is the “OLD” kitchen (: