A quick note: I recently changed my email address, to nancy@nancywaringwellness.com and I discovered my last newsletter (wishing you a happy 4th of July) may have landed in spam or your Promotions folder. If you enjoy these weekly reflections, would you take a moment to move this email to your inbox or add me to your contacts? It helps make sure we stay connected. ❤️

Freedom Begins Within

Two hundred and fifty years ago, our nation's founders dreamed of a country where people could live in freedom.

This past Fourth of July, I spent the day at a bar.

Now before you picture me enjoying margaritas all afternoon...I was serving them.

As president of the GFWC Woman's Club of Deerfield Beach, I spent the day volunteering at the Bar on the Beach in Deerfield Beach. Hundreds of people came by. Smiles filled the air. Red, white, and blue were everywhere. Families gathered. Friends laughed. Fireworks would soon light the sky as we celebrated our country's freedom.

At one point, I asked a young man, probably in his late twenties, "How are you today?"

He smiled and replied, "Living the dream."

Without really thinking, I answered, "That's wonderful...as long as you're living your dream."

He paused, looked at me, and said, "That's the best response I've heard all day."

Maybe it was my sage wisdom. Or maybe it's simply something I've come to believe.

Too often we spend our lives living someone else's dream.

Sometimes it's our parents' expectations.

Sometimes it's society's.

Sometimes it's simply the roles we faithfully step into—wife, mother, caregiver, employee, volunteer. Beautiful roles. Important roles. Yet somewhere along the way, many of us stop asking ourselves one simple question:

What is my dream?

If you're like many of the women I meet, there comes a point when you quietly wonder...

What happened to that younger version of me?

The one who believed anything was possible.

The one who laughed more.

The one who had dreams before life became filled with responsibilities.

I know that feeling because I've asked myself the same question.

Today

would have been my mother's 100th birthday.

She passed away in 1989 at just 62 years old. Every year around this time, I'm reminded how precious life truly is. None of us knows how much time we've been given.

For me, that's not a reason to feel anxious.

It's a reason to wake up.

To stop waiting for "someday."

To start asking what really matters.

Living our dream isn't always easy. Sometimes discovering it is the hardest part. But once we begin listening to that quiet voice within, something changes. We begin living more authentically, with greater purpose, energy, and joy.

Today in yoga, I witnessed a beautiful reminder that dreams don't have to be grand to be meaningful.

At the end of class, one of my students, Donna, shared that she had accomplished a dream just last week. During a golf tournament, she made her very first par.

To someone else, that might seem like a small achievement.

But imagine the hours she practiced. The missed shots. The frustration. The decision to keep going anyway.

Then imagine the joy she felt when it finally happened.

Our dreams aren't measured by how impressive they appear to others.

They're measured by how deeply they matter to us.

As we celebrate the freedom our country was built upon, perhaps it's also worth celebrating another kind of freedom.

The freedom to become who we were created to be.

The freedom to let go of expectations that no longer fit.

The freedom to choose health.

To choose kindness.

To choose adventure.

To choose purpose.

To choose joy.

When we live from that place, our lives naturally touch the people around us. Like ripples spreading across a quiet lake, one authentic life has the power to inspire another.

So today, I invite you to pause for just a moment.

What is your dream?

Not the one someone else chose for you.

Not the one you think you should have.

The one that quietly lives in your heart.

Because perhaps the greatest freedom isn't simply living in a free country.

Perhaps it's having the courage to truly live your own life.

May you have the courage to dream...and even more importantly, to begin living it.

With gratitude,

Nancy

P.S. If this reflection stirred something within you—a dream, a longing, or simply the desire to pause and reconnect—I still have a few spaces available for our Vibrant Sage Private Island Retreat in Belize this November. Sometimes stepping away from the noise is exactly what we need to hear our own inner voice again. If you'd like to learn more, simply reply to this email. I'd love to share the details.