Hi, I’m Judith
Ashley, author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic women’s fiction
that honors pagan spiritual practices that nourish the soul. My stories show
you what life could be like if you had a place like The Circle where you are
unconditionally accepted, supported and loved. And where you do overcome obstacles
and find your happily-ever-after.
A funny thing happened on
the way to writing this blog post among other things. You may be able to relate
to a habit of mine to discount small tasks as being easier to put aside to “do
later.” And if you are like me, there comes a time when the list of small tasks,
those that take 5 – 10 maybe 15 minutes, is a mile long.
 |
| Coming Soon |
But back to the funny stuff
at least to me when I stopped stressing out over it…my new bio for my new
website.
Having a new website
created, rebranding myself? No, still not funny. And actually the writing of
the new bio wasn’t so much fun either. However along the way I wrote out the
following:
Over 40 years with The William
Glasser Institute: 27 years as Senior Teaching Faculty
39+ years in Domestic and
International Adoption
Over 34 years in a women’s
circle
 |
| Now Available |
Almost 20 years working for
child welfare
2+ years working in Public
Welfare
1 year working with unwed
mothers
2 years as a public school
teacher (middle school and high school)
9 months working at county
jail’s women’s section
Add it all up and you come
to about 152 years! Now I find that funny.
Amazing isn’t it that over the course of my working
lifetime, I’ve put in 152 years! Obviously these jobs were not consecutive…I
may have a few years on me but not 152!
One of the assessments I did in terms of my life that was
the most freeing was when I looked for the thread in all of the above.
I found it!
And it made a big difference in how I saw/see
myself. That 152 years of experiences means the stories I tell are filled
with what I’ve seen, heard and felt.
Sometimes our journey gives us the wisdom
to continue along life’s path with a smile on our face, a skip in our step and
a great deal of gratitude. Most days that's true for me!
© 2019 Judith Ashley
6 comments:
Nice post, Judith. You've served others and made the world a better place. That's something to celebrate!
Thanks Lynn. It was such a surprise to add it all up...One of those laugh out loud surprises.
187...LOL! That is my cat's comment. He just walked across the keyboard. Remarkably appropriate to commenting on your post, Judith! He usually types something like "kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz".
Back to your post! As your friend, I was not surprised to learn you have worked 152 years in service to others in various capacities. The fact that you were surprised made me smile. You accomplish so much but but remain humble - one of your most endearing traits!
You have led an amazing life, Judith! Your breadth of experience lends authenticity to your stories.
Thanks for your kind words, Sarah. Love that your cat has an opinion om my post and it is such a clearly stated one-lol.
Judith, yours is a very creative way of documenting a life of service in a CV - by the time you served/helped specific types of clients, rather than by the job title or organization you worked for, and then adding up THOSE years. It's a better lens on the accomplishment and range of experience. Food for thought, not to mention deep respect for all you accomplished!
I appreciate your kind words, Madelle. Sometimes looking at our lives from a different perspective gives us a gift. Earlier when I didn't look at time but looked at what was the thread running through these diverse jobs I found "teaching." No matter who I met or worked with I always wanted them to come away from our encounter having learned something that would be useful for them in the present and hopefully in the future. That was a lesson I learned from an Oregon State Patrol officer when I was in my early 20's. I'd been going a "little" fast and after he wrote out my ticket, I found myself saying "Thank You."
Post a Comment