29 Oct I AM “MY STORY”
With the recent closing of Le Chateau, the Montreal based Fashion icon of 60 years, and my 28 years of employment there, it has brought up a lot of deep soul searching of Who I AM.
The Divine Creator definitely knows what he is doing. We are all Spiritual Beings having a Human Experience here on Earth. Every experience gives us the opportunity to grow through challenges and BE-come who we are meant to be and to DO what we are meant to do – to shine our light and be our magnificent selves. It may not always feel that way, so here is “My Story”.
Coming from a dysfunctional family and being an empath – propelled me on a journey of Healing mySELF. Alone in my room as a teenager, I read every self-help, spiritual and esoteric book. I was then fortunate to meet my first soul tribe when I was in my 20’s where we met regularly for meditations and invited teachers from all over the world to come to Montreal. I learned Spiritual Physcotherapy, Shamanic studies, Chinese Medicine, EnergyWork including Reiki, chakras, crystals, herbs, sound, aromatherapy and so much more. I went back to school to be certified in many healing modalities all the time making my self-healing the priority.
I began my corporate chapter in 1970 at Peoples Department Stores as a secretary to a Buyer. Being a Leo and very ambitious I knew one day I wanted to be a Buyer. I climbed the ladder even though Mr. Saul Shapiro told me Ladies cannot be Buyers. I thought “I’ll show him” and enrolled into Lasalle College for Fashion Merchandising. Eventually with Marks and Spencer buying out Peoples Stores, I was promoted to Buyer and became the inspiration for my other friends that showed them they could do the same. Of course every job has its challenges and opportunities for growth on a personal level. I left after 18 years thinking the “grass would be greener on the other side” only to go to a company that was not for me so I quit. This found me “unemployed” for one year in 1988 for the first time in 18 years. After one year I was able to find a few jobs until I was hired by Le Chateau in 1992.
I heard many times “you are so lucky to be in the fashion industry, it must be so glorious and fun”. No… the fashion industry is not all that. It is a very stressful industry with deadlines, hard work and politics. I was constantly challenged, cried many tears as my self-esteem, self-worth and confidence were regularly addressed. I knew I was good at my job but never felt appreciated. I am a leader in nature but had to put this on a back burner and allowed myself to be a puppet, to dutifully do a job for the sake of a paycheque. So I cast my ego and pride aside and consciously accepted this, making the most of the situation. I put all my energy in doing a job with all my heart and experience and created many wonderful friendships along the way.
Fortunately for me, the same time I was working in this corporate job, my Holistic Business was growing and flourishing. I was doing what I truly loved. Teaching my many Energy workshops, using my creativity and intuition, as well as conducting private healing sessions for my clients. This is where my balance and sense of purpose came in. My “spare” time consisted of working on my Website, Marketing and planning & creating all my workshops.
All this to say, a long CHAPTER has now ended – the Corporate chapter. Yes I am feeling nostalgic and sad. It started with the Covid pandemic in March 2020 when I was told that I could not go back to the office but would work remotely from home. This was a stepping stone to my dream of retirement – no more structure, no alarm clock, no traffic and working 2 hours a day.
The closure of Le Chateau is not a big shock with all that is happening in the world. I am sad that this has come about as well as all the other changes the world has to go through in 2020, but it is a chance and a choice how we navigate through this change and the “new normal”.
I choose to navigate with Faith, Trust and Surrender that our lives are truly our unique spiritual journey of Becoming who we are meant to be – to shine our light – to share our gifts and to trust that we are exactly where we are supposed to be on our Path.
Blessings to all on your unique journey ~ Karen
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