The Way of the Dandelion

Dandelions spread their magic quietly, using just the wind if nothing else. Yet they create fields of blooms and magical puffs. They are a preferred resource for bees, helping them create the miraculous wonder that is honey. This bright yellow flower is often the first flower a child notices and chooses to give to someone they love. Everyone has blown the fluffy white puffs, sending wishes to dance out into the world. My favorite thing about dandelions though is that when they blow their tops, they still stand tall and proud - even bereft of their striking headdresses. They are more than their outer persona.

For most of my life, I chose what I thought of as The Way of the Dandelion. I moved quietly through my life, focused only on providing for others, barely keeping my head above water. And always, always, doing it myself – never asking for help, even when I needed it. Then around the new year of 2014, I witnessed the implosion of my life – and none of it was quiet or unnoticed. I didn’t realize it then, but that moment kicked off the adventure of my lifetime.

I discovered an amazing support system I didn’t even know was there – until I chose to accept it. I had to place myself and my kids at the mercy of others. I had to trust others to have my best interest at heart. I had to live in gratitude to others, knowing I could never repay my debt. I also had to learn how to accept these as gifts instead of debts.

Over my career, I have found that I naturally bring order to chaos, so I focused a career’s worth of project management skills on my personal predicament. I took all the scary knowns and unknowns and mapped out every task I would need to build a new life. Then I listed every risk I could imagine and put a mitigation plan together. Then I focused on doing those tasks.

I put my family into Al Anon – the friends and family sister group to Alcoholics Anonymous. I began learning how to manage my internal self and let go of the rest. Meetings, books, and lots of practice helped me slowly regain my ability to function in a healthy manner. I took on the responsibility to heal my heart, my head, and my life.

I discovered my first deck of cards through a recovery book. I spent a few years studying tarot, learning from experts in the field, and using the cards as a daily reader – much like my recovery daily reader book. After several years of study, I began to give readings and got positive feedback.

My interest in astrology was planted by my mother, who studied clinical psychology in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, but more recently I was drawn to it through tarot connections. Growing up, there were small astrological references in our home, and when I was a young teen in the 1980’s, Mom gave me an astrology relationship book. She didn’t speak about it much though. We, like our very large extended family, attended fundamentalist, evangelical Christian churches and this was NOT an accepted part of that culture. The more I learned about astrology, the more I realized my mother actually lived astrology, and this brought her back to me even though she died when I was a young adult. Again, after several years of study, I began giving astrology readings to more positive feedback.

Nearly a decade after my life turned upside down, I’ve decided to combine my career skills, my recovery experience, and my mysticism passions to meet a need I see in our world today. Our collective reality has been turned upside down and new tools and mindsets are needed to help us succeed. Where chaos reigns, there is opportunity, I want to help others master their own chaos, build structure, and live a fulfilling life.

While I still live The Way of the Dandelion, I see it differently. A single dandelion plant can survive for decades. Every part is packed with nutritious and healing properties. It thrives in disturbed soil, has extraordinarily deep taproots, and improves every environment it lands in. And it does it all through silently roars as it dances on the wind into the unknown.