#WholeWomanChallenge Week 14: Stop Waiting

This Final Week’s Whole Woman Challenge: Stop Waiting

This is our final week of the Whole Woman Challenge. Let’s finish strong!

As women we have a pattern of thinking that some time in the future – when we’re thinner, more rested, richer, partnered, or, a big one, less scared – doing the things we really want to do will be easy. Guess what? It won’t. It’s never going to be easy to create the life you truly want, sorry to break it to you, so you might as well do it now. 

My life I am creating today – hosting retreats and workshops on Hawthorn Farm – would never have happened if I waited. 

It was 2012 when I first saw my dream home. I was sitting in a room of 5,000 people being led in a guided meditation by the larger-than-life Tony Robbins. I could clearly see the double-sided fireplace that separated the living room from the dining room. I was sitting in the living room drinking hot cocoa while watching the fire blaze and the snow falling outside. In my meditation, the doorbell rang and a flurry of three rosy-cheeked kids rushed into the room demanding hot chocolate after sledding. I took note of the white walls, exposed beams, and floor-to-ceiling windows. I thought it seemed a little modern for my taste, but it felt good, so I folded it away in my memory bank.  

Fast-forward to November 2016 – I had just started my Empowerment work with Katina Mercadante, and one of my projects was to write out my 5-year plan in extreme detail.

I decided that in 5 years we would be moving from our “starter home” in Massachusetts to our dream home. Through my work with Katina, I uncovered that I am called to do sacred work with women in person. I dreamed of owning a property where I could cultivate a sacred landing place for women to transform in many areas of their life – body, career, family, love, creativity… 

I wrote down details for my dream home like: 

• A long, tree-lined driveway
• Sheep
• Open fields to gather in circle
• Woods where we can have solitude or dance naked in privacy
• A stream
• Old trees
• A house with an open floor plan, plenty of bedrooms, a front porch, and lots of light
• A barn
• Enough space to build a yurt (a round, usually canvas building) where I could gather women in circle

Two weeks after I wrote this, Jonathan and I were lying in bed, our bellies full from our Thanksgiving Dinner, and we pulled up the Trulia app for the 100th time to see if anything new appeared in the towns we were considering. Whether it was the wine or fate, we didn’t plug in our “price filter” like we normally do, and up popped a picture of a house on a lake. I was intrigued by the water and clicked.

When I saw the price, I didn’t even want to look at the pictures, for fear of falling in love and being disappointed, but again wine/God took over.

I clicked on the cover picture of the house perched on a lake, and up popped a winding tree-lined driveway, then sheep, then THE LIVING ROOM I SAW IN MY VISION AT TONY ROBBINS (!!!!), then open fields, a barn, and a picture of a trail running through the woods… I’m now looking at Jonathan in shock, and he is looking at me in fear because he sees what’s happening… and then, you’re not going to believe this… there’s a freaking YURT on the property. Yurts are not a “thing” in Massachusetts, and it’s not even a yurt, it’s a huge octagonal building with a kitchen, an office, and 1 ½ baths. At this point, my whole body is shaking and I have to get out of bed and do some deep breathing. The house was way over our budget, but this was, clear as day, our house.

I barely slept that night and the next morning I pulled out my travel altar, asked about the house in meditation and heard, “Google it.”  

So I Googled the address, and a website came up about the various programs that were offered at the yurt-on-steroids. Yoga, reiki, singing workshops, dance, herbalism… this place obviously already had a lot of magic happening in it. I got hooked by the articles written by the owner and was taken by how similar our philosophy is. When I got down to the end of one of the articles, I saw that the owner of the house was MY HIGH SCHOOL THERAPIST!!!!! Are you kidding me!?

This was the first woman ever to talk to me about my body and was the very first step on my healing journey. The symbolism rocked my world.

A week later, I was already planning on being in Massachusetts for my Godson’s baptism, and I emailed the owner to set up an appointment to come see the house. 

As soon as I stepped onto the property, it was clear that this land was sacred, and it felt like I was meant to be there. After meeting with the agents, I went on a long walk through the woods with my old therapist. We talked about what has happened in our lives since our work together many years ago. She told me about the history of the land, the farm, the house, and the yurt. We talked about the Goddess, Earth Magic, Native American Spirituality, and seasonal living. So much in common, so much to share, the hours just rolled on and on. She revealed that they had done a shamanic ceremony just a few days before I emailed her to call in the new owner of the land. I felt like I was in a dream.

At this point, I could have stopped and tried to be sensible. I could have waited on the plan or the finances to be just right, or for this big leap to feel totally stress-free (going for what you really want never feels this way). But the whole thing was so trippy that I couldn’t help but trust it was meant to be. And when Jonathan fell in love with it too, and we got creative about our finances, we made it happen.

If I had waited – on weight, on the 5 years I thought we needed to make this plan come true, or on it to be easy – I wouldn’t be here today, living on my dream property, and decorating that living room I saw in a meditation years ago with flowers I pressed from my garden. 

Photo Credit: Katie Lenhart

Your final challenge is in two parts:

1. Share your transformation from Week 1 to now. We’ve come a long way since the beginning of the summer. How do you feel different? What has changed about your mood, relationships, outlook, or relationship with your body? Have you noticed any more wildness or magic in your life? And how do you intend to live going forward?
2. Post a photo on Instagram and let us know how you are going to stop waiting on what you most want. What are you are you going to take the first step toward today? (Remember to tag me @sarahjenks and use #WholeWomanChallenge so we can witness you.)

It has been such a pleasure guiding you through this 14-week summer challenge. Nothing brings me more joy than inspiring women to take care of themselves, to add more wildness and wonder to their lives, and showing them how simple it can be. 

If you are curious about where you go from here, I invite you to learn more about my Live More Weigh Less program, where I teach you how to stop waiting and create the life you want right now. When you join by tomorrow, Tuesday, September 4th at 12pm Eastern, you can get Live More Weigh Less for 50% off, just $497 $247. Click here to join today. 

Live with intention, listen to your heart, and don’t hold back in following your dreams. I love you.

Love,
Sarah

P.S. Don’t forget I want to see your final photo. Be sure to post your picture with @sarahjenks, #WholeWomanChallenge. 

P.P.S. Since this is the last week of the challenge, I’ll be picking winners for 3 free months of my signature membership program, Whole Woman, this Friday. Don’t forget to tag your posts and look out for my announcement!