I wasn’t going to share what I wrote about someone dear to me because I already posted it to my yoga studios blog (Buddha Belly Yoga and Wellness) and in our newsletter but not everyone follows it. I have spoken to many people in the last 2 days who seem to be struggling with something similar and maybe my outlook can help a person or two.
Kat is moving back to India in July.
It was only a matter of time before our Kitty Kat would get the travel bug again… There is just no holding down this travelling soul. Her heart was calling her back.
Writing this is particularly hard for me… I will admit I’ve cried a lot. It’s been a mixture of tears knowing I am losing her physical presence but also tears of joy for her new beginning as well as my own (I’ve had many of those this year). I am so sad to see her go as she has really been such an important part to our Buddha Belly Team. Kat has been teaching, doing workshops, assisting with managing the studio and holding up the front desk. Most importantly she has been like a sister to me. She is unconditionally loving, strong, loyal, smart, silly, conscious, self-aware, grounded, caring, trustworthy, understanding, reliable, creative and talented. I have so much gratitude for all she has done for me and I have so much love in my heart for her. I don’t know what I would have done without her this past year. It was truly an honor to have her be part of my life and our studio, if only for a while.
Let me tell you that Kat came right at a time that I needed her the most. Yes, owning a studio is fulfilling, beautiful and humbling but it is also one of the hardest roads I have had ever had to walk in my life. There is so much that goes on inside of it all that no one sees. Throughout this time, Kat always had my back. She has held space for me, stepped into places where there was need, and picked me up so many times when I was down. <3 Kat has also befriended many of you around the studio and I know that her presence and yoga classes will be very missed. So please soak her up while you can and please be sure to give her lots of hugs and encouragement as this change is also very hard for her because her of love for the studio and all of us staff and students who are part of it.
I truly honor her for listening to the strong calling that she has had to get back to India…We all have a “soul home” and India is hers. Kat says she plans to come back to us … so lets cross our fingers and hope that she does. If she doesn’t however, we will need to trust that this is what’s best for Kat’s life and bless her journey. I know its not goodbye, just farewell!
Having the studio has taught me to honor and accept departures with total ease and grace. I trust in the choices and journey of those who are leaving, and I trust in Divine that the new space that’s been created in the intricate web of life will always be filled with exactly what we need in the right divine timing.
Shauna Behiel taught me a long time ago that people come into your life for: 1) a reason 2) a season 3) a lifetime. When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person. This viewpoint has been incredibly helpful for me over the last few years.
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty; to provide you with guidance and support; to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.
Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant. — Unknown
To the students and staff: It’s times like this that I realized how blessed I am to know so many beautiful souls, no matter for how long. Students and staff always come and go but they stay in my heart forever. There was a time in my life when I felt like an alien lost from my planet. What I didn’t know, was that my soul was needing my tribe. The studio has been the missing piece to my puzzle. There is no longer something missing from my heart because my heart is all of you who are part of our community. Its the little things… the smiles, the caring, the hugs, the laughs, the love, the support, the wisdom, the rawness, the realness, the conscious conversations. From my heart to yours, you mean so much to me and I LOVE YOU ALL. This studio would not be possible without the customers who so graciously keep us running and the staff who make it what it is <3 I would be so lost without you.
XOXO MEL // Buddha Belly Yoga and Wellness Inc.