Friday, April 5, 2019

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To ...


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
Having reached that point the end of December and having been derailed in writing the 9th book in The Sacred Women’s Circle series Visions of Ireland as well as finishing my 2nd non-fiction Yes! You Can Create A Life You Love because of a major hack of my web mail and website, I stopped writing and began to focus on that mile long task list as well as the “not at all funny” bigger task of dealing with internet security.

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
30+ years working with elderly and vulnerable adults including being one of the 1st 90 people accredited by the National Guardianship Association as a Professional Guardian; 19+ years working in emergency response program for vulnerable adults

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!

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2019 Judith Ashley



6 comments:

Lynn Lovegreen said...

Nice post, Judith. You've served others and made the world a better place. That's something to celebrate!

Judith Ashley said...

Thanks Lynn. It was such a surprise to add it all up...One of those laugh out loud surprises.

Sarah Raplee said...

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.

Judith Ashley said...

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.

Madelle Morgan said...

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!

Judith Ashley said...

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."