I Am Enough

I am constantly asked what else I do besides teach Nia. What an interesting question. I am asked by my students, friends, other Nia teachers~what else do I do? Do I have a day job?  I don't know that people would ask a lawyer what else they do. My chosen life path does not seem to be enough for other people. I think it might be the money or my lack of stress, but it is something that people don't quite understand.

This question has followed my around most of my working life. I live in a college town and there is a certain expectation that if you are a server in a restaurant, for example, you are also a student. It isn't enough for people that you are just a server. This expectation used to make me feel like I wasn't enough. I was working a creative job in retail and was embarrassed to say that was all I did. Or when I was creating my own jewelry line, I felt like I needed to be doing more and my answers would always dance around the question. I would always have some back-up answers like I am thinking about going back to school or I am also working on a website or.......they were honest answers, but only because I felt like I wasn't enough.

My negative reaction to this question came from my own self doubt. Even though I was working a job that satisfied me in many ways, I also felt like there was more. So when people would ask what else I did, I internalized it and made it personal. I was missing something and people were constantly calling me out, even though I don't think that was their intention. I didn't understand that my worth is more than my job. I do so much more than the thing that earns money. Then I stepped on my Nia path and things began to shift. My work and my life began to blend together into one beautiful work of art~my life! I was on the path to creating a sacred livelihood. (read this post to learn about my sacred livelihood) I have discovered my gifts and abundance and I no longer feel the sense of lack, I am enough.

I do not work a traditional job that earns buckets of money, and so people still ask me what else I do, the shift is in my answer and my body's reaction. I no longer feel a gut reaction to come up with more. I answer honestly what I do and don't need to fill the answer with "well....I'm working on this, maybe doing that" .  Now ,when people ask what else I do besides teaching life changing, healing Nia movement classes, my answer is living my life, being creative every day, continuing my journey through life, studying the body, building a community, playing, caring for our home, being a loving partner, and deepening my relationship with Nia.
Living a life I love is enough. I am enough.