Healing Our Kindred Spirits
Healing Our Kindred Spirits, a transformative journey of connection, healing, and personal growth. Together, we explore the depths and complexities of the human experience, while embracing the power of vulnerability as a catalyst for change. From navigating grief to celebrating the beauty of being human, we unravel the intricacies of our hearts and souls. Through authentic conversations and heartfelt reflections, we find empowerment, inspiration, and enlightenment in every exchange. Join our compassionate community, where every voice is heard, every journey is honored, and every step toward healing is celebrated. Let’s embark on this voyage of growth, healing, and profound connection. Together, we can Heal our Kindred Spirits.
Email: healingourkindredspirits@gmail.com
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Healing Our Kindred Spirits
Embracing Vulnerability: A Journey of Transformation and Connection
What if you could transform pain into a source of strength and connection? Join me, Donna Gaudette, on a deeply personal journey as I recount just two of the many pivotal moments that have shaped my life and led to the creation of "Healing Our Kindred Spirits."
From the heart-wrenching experiences of an apartment fire and pregnancy loss in 1983 to the bittersweet memory of my mother's passing on my 40th birthday, I open up about the duality of joy and sorrow. Launching this podcast on my 61st birthday marks a courageous step toward healing, and I invite you to explore the power of embracing vulnerability and authenticity with me.
Discover the profound significance behind kindred spirits as we engage in empowering conversations centered on overcoming life's challenges. I delve into the importance of authenticity, highlighting how facing our struggles can lead to personal growth and resilience. With a focus on self-rescue and the rejection of toxic positivity, I encourage you to envision yourself as a fellow kindred spirit and start or continue your own healing journey and where together, we can support each other through life's teachable moments. This episode offers a heartfelt exploration of how perspective and faith can guide us through adversity.
Embark on a journey of transformation as I share my decision to become a licensed massage therapist at 42, and the life challenges that came along with it.
The lessons learned during this chapter of my life continue to inspire my mission to uplift and connect with others. Through our community on Facebook, I invite you to join the conversation, share your experiences, and perhaps find the support you need. Whether through live segments or reflective discussions, this podcast offers a space for genuine connection and healing, leaving you with a resonating call to reflect on your own needs for support, a hug, or simply to be heard.
Facebook group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/201596883015602/?ref=share_group_link
Email: healingourkindredspirits@gmail.com
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We all have a story. Many of us are dealing with losses, life situations, medical problems and more. We are going through things in life that we oftentimes find hard to talk about, we find it difficult to share for fear we will be judged or not heard. We have earned that safe space to feel validated, without judgment. I would like to be that facilitator, that mentor, the guide to help change the dynamics. My name is Donna Gaudet, and thank you for choosing Healing Our Kindred Spirits. Together, let's take that empowering journey of healing, growth and profound connection. Together, we will explore the depths and complexities of our human experiences, while embracing the power of vulnerability and authenticity. Welcome, I'm so glad that you're able to join us for our first episode. I'm so excited. Just a little backstory about myself. I don't like talking about myself, but because we're going to be spending a lot of time together with these episodes and I'm asking you to trust me with your vulnerability to tell me about yourself, it's only fair that I tell you about me.
Speaker 1:Today is December 5th, 2024, and it is my 61st birthday. I don't know about you, but I know. When I was a kid I thought 60 was ancient, and here I am going to be 61. Well, I am 61 today and I feel like I haven't even accomplished a quarter of what I set out to do in my lifetime. I once read a quote that said that not everyone has the chance to grow old, so appreciate that chance, and I get that. I have had a few near-death experiences in my life, and the last one, in 2017, taught me not to take anything for granted, and every day I live as if it were my last.
Speaker 1:I have been waiting and wanting to do a podcast for a few years now, but it just seemed like it did not come together because I just didn't feel like all the parts fit in the way that I needed it to do at that time. This past year, I have diligently been working on it and, even though I had set goals to launch it on a particular date, I kept moving that date and moving it and moving it. It just wasn't ready. I am, admittedly, a self-proclaimed perfectionist. I don't expect it from other people, but I do expect it for myself, and my husband often tells me that I am my own worst enemy, and he's right. He's right. How many of you overthink things? I'm raising my hand. I overthink everything. I overanalyze everything. I often say that I have analysis paralysis, but a few weeks ago I had a dream and in this dream I saw myself working on the podcast and launching it on December 5th. I could see the calendar of my dreams and the date was circled in red With it being my birthday today. I knew, because that date was so significant, that the reason why I didn't really meet those launch goals this year was because I needed it to be on this day. I have spent many birthdays feeling sad, abandoned, lost and even devastated. I wanted this year to be different for many reasons. Just to give you a few examples in December 1983, I had been married for just seven months. My first husband and we knew we wanted to start a family early on in our marriage. I did marry young, but that was by choice. I always knew I wanted to get married and have a family.
Speaker 1:On the morning of December 5th in 1983, I went for a pregnancy test. That morning I headed to work like I normally did and later that morning I had gotten a phone call that there was a fire in our apartment. We rushed home and found our apartment engulfed in flames. We lost everything and, being newlyweds, we didn't know about renter's insurance or much else for that, for that at all, and we were devastated. I lost my cat, tiger Bell. Amongst the total devastation, I lost a few items I had from my grandmother and everything was a total loss. We had to start all over again and that afternoon, while sitting in a neighbor's apartment, I was reminded I needed to call the doctor to get the results of the pregnancy test. I called the doctor's office to find out and I was told I was pregnant. That day held such a duality for sadness and joy. At the same time, my husband at the time and I were suddenly homeless and I was going to be a mom in about seven months. Thank God for family. We lived with family for a few months until we could start all over again and, unfortunately, a few months later I miscarried and lost the baby, and that's a loss that I relive every year.
Speaker 1:On December 5, 2003, on my 40th birthday, my mom passed away. She had been ill for some time, but losing her on my birthday was so devastating. I can't tell you the conversations I have had in my head about feeling as if I were being punished for something. I know that I could have been a better daughter. I could have been a better listener. I could have been better at this, this, this and that. How many times have we've done that? We bargain, we negotiate. We wish we had five more minutes. I know that her passing was a blessing cloaked in sadness because she suffered for so long, but it doesn't make the loss any less.
Speaker 1:There are many things that have happened in my birthday throughout the years that have made me sad, and from the time I was a little girl, I'd always been sad on my birthday, and I never knew why. As I got older and events happened, I kind of just thought that it was something I just needed to accept. But this year I wanted my birthday to have a different meaning. It's not going to erase anything that has happened in the past, but when I remember my birthday, I want to remember it as a day. I did something so out of the ordinary, something that took so much courage, something that made me feel vulnerable and alive, but also something that was brave and empowering and enlightening and inspiring to do, and that is why launching my podcast on my birthday was just so important to me.
Speaker 1:One of the questions I get asked a lot is what is my purpose and why am I here? Most of us have asked this question over a lifetime many times. You know I have life changes, family dynamics change, life challenges and more all have an impact on our life purpose. You would think that a 61 year old woman would have figured out her purpose in life by now, but here we are. I know my purpose at this point in my life. It is to launch this podcast and to grow it to be the best that it can be. I'm sure many of you can relate to wondering what your purpose is. Plans change, dreams change and, of course, life happens.
Speaker 1:I have spent most of my childhood, young adult and adult love trying to find out where I fit in in this lifetime. Do you ever feel, or have you ever felt, that you were just dropped here with no instruction manual, no roadmap as to what you're supposed to do? That was me most of my life. I did not know what I wanted to be until I grew up. As a teenager I struggled with intense anxiety and panic attacks, to the point where I couldn't attend school at times.
Speaker 1:I was always a very shy, quiet, bow my head and walk through the halls type of girl. I wasn't stuck up or snobbish. I was very painfully shy. In my mind I thought no one liked me because I was just so different. I was the girl who always had her nose in the book and would rather read and write poetry instead of hanging out with friends. I was a bookworm. I was geeky because I loved English and literature, and anything that was different, anything that caused my mind to wonder and explore, was something that I felt so connected to. I do have to admit that not much has changed since being a young adult, because I still love books and I still appreciate literature and I do love to learn about anything and everything. We never stop learning, never, never stop learning, and I am still painfully shy in many ways.
Speaker 1:And now here I am doing a podcast. Isn't that ironic? Talk about embracing vulnerability. Right, and for the record, I still have bouts of anxiety and panic attacks and I still suffer from social anxiety. But the difference is now I am learning over the many, many years of therapy how to handle the situations that bring on the anxiety or trigger a panic attack, and I have better tools at my disposal to be able to navigate what comes my way, and we'll dive deeper into those tools and techniques in a future episode, because most of us are dealing with something, and if it can help you, then that's more tools you have to work with.
Speaker 1:I would like to take a minute to preface this by saying that if you struggle with any kind of physical or mental health condition, I urge you to seek help immediately. This podcast is in no way meant to replace conventional medical or therapeutic help or intervention. I am the biggest advocate for mental health therapy and if you are struggling, I urge you to get help. There is no shame in taking care of your mental health. It is just as equally important as taking care of your physical health. I don't mean to get preachy, but I just wanted you to know that it's okay to not be okay. We have all been there and sometimes we visit that place more than once in our lifetime. I'm not a mental health therapist or psychologist, but who I am and what I am is someone who is very empathic, empathetic, sensitive and very intuitive. In a future episode, we are going to discuss how empathy, being sensitive and being intuitive affects your life and how to navigate the ups and downs of being a highly sensitive person. There will be plenty of time for me to share more insights into my life, but for now, I just wanted to let you know that we are all on this journey together. You may look different, I may look different, we may come from different backgrounds, but we are all struggling and I'm hoping that we can learn from each other and that you will find little nuggets of wisdom and inspiration, as well as helpful information that you can use and apply in your own life or maybe help someone else.
Speaker 1:Someone asked me the other day how I came up with the name Healing Our Kindred Spirits. Well, I've always felt connected to the word healing, based on the work that I've done in my life, and a kindred spirit refers to someone whom you share a deep natural connection, often based with similar values, interests, beliefs or ways of thinking. They don't have to be like you, but they're on that same wavelength. It could be a person that intuitively understands you and resonates with your thinking, which makes the interactions effortless and meaningful. Which makes the interactions effortless and meaningful? Kindred spirits often feel like they've known each other for a long time, even if they just met. I just resonated with that so deeply and I just felt like I needed to stick with that name. I just needed to stay with something that I felt so connected to.
Speaker 1:One of the reasons I started this podcast was because I felt that I still had so much to offer in my life. It is my hope and intention to be a guide for you to learn more and gain insights into your own life by the experiences I have had in mind and from the amazing guests we will have on our podcast. I want to be honest with you and let you know that this podcast is not scripted in any way and that I plan to do very little editing way and that I plan to do very little editing. I truly believe that, in order to be authentic and show vulnerability and just be myself, if I choose to make it perfect by over editing every little hiss, noise or pause out, it would be a disservice. It would be the exact opposite of vulnerability and authenticity. So, even though I may not be to the level of a podcast you may listen to or a podcast you hear on a national level, I am not here to compete with anyone. I'm just here to offer guidance, support, wisdom, empathy and understanding.
Speaker 1:I have always believed that life is full of teachable moments and when we can grasp onto something that someone else has been through. We can learn and then we in turn can be better. When we know better, we do better. Write that down. When we know better, we do better. I know many of us are running on empty and many of us are depleted, we're worried and we're scared. We don't know what's going to happen with our jobs, our living situations or even relationships. Many of us are just one paycheck or electronic deposit from being homeless.
Speaker 1:If you are out there listening to this and you are struggling, I just want you to know you're not alone. We all have a story and until you're ready to share that story, sadly we often suffer in silence. We are all going through a human experience. You may be sitting there listening to this and thinking what experience do I have with being worried about a paycheck or the price of groceries or health of loved ones? I assure you, we all struggle in different ways, but we all struggle the same way as well. What you worry about, I worry about what your struggles are, I have them as well.
Speaker 1:I have a question that I'd like you to think about for a moment. With everything going on in your life, if you're not happy with it or you're struggling. What would you do or what could you do if you knew you could not fail? I know that's a loaded question and the answer is for you to decide, because, whatever you choose it to be, there is no right or wrong, wrong answer. But I want you to answer it in your heart, truthfully what would you do if you could not fail? It's never too late to examine your life or to make different choices. If something isn't working for you, change it. We have free will. We are not planted where we are. We're not trees. We have the ability to make different choices.
Speaker 1:The great late Wayne Dyer said when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Let me repeat that again when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Change is not always easy, but at times it's often necessary. If you want change bad enough, you can and you will make it happen. How many people go back to school as an adult?
Speaker 1:I did, and it was hard, and I want you to know that, just because something may be hard or maybe feel impossible to do, it is always possible. I don't know if you've seen this before, but the word impossible. I-m-p-o-s-s-i-b-l-e has the word I'm possible in it. Write it down, you'll see what I mean. If you're struggling, I get it. I have been where you are. I have lived on the path of uncertainty, of losing everything, of losing loved ones and even losing myself many times. I have been on that brink more times than I can remember in my lifetime. The reason I am here today, still standing and still able to function on some level, is because I had faith in my ability to overcome whatever life threw in my way. I may have done it kicking and screaming, but at the end of the day and sometimes it's hard, but it was worth it I was responsible for my life, not anyone else. And, sadly, if you're waiting for someone or something to rescue you, you may be waiting a long time. You need to rescue yourself. You can do it. Like many of you, I am a survivor. I am not a victim. I will never be a victim. I will never look at myself or identify as a victim. I prefer to refer to myself as a survivor, as a facilitator of life, of someone who makes a conscious choice to see the situation differently and find solutions. And I have to admit, on some days it's easier than others, but you keep on going.
Speaker 1:I don't believe in toxic positivity. Sometimes the worst thing someone can say to you is just be positive, just think positive, just be positive. Does that really work? I've been that way parts of my life where I just had that mentality of thinking. But I have learned over the years and seen and read articles about toxic positivity. We're going to talk about that in an upcoming episode.
Speaker 1:But I do believe that our thoughts are so powerful and so empowering that what we put out there we get back. Have you ever thought about buying a car and then all of a sudden you see that particular make and model everywhere? I'm telling you, our thoughts are very powerful. If you think crappy thoughts, you're going to have a crappy life. If you think good thoughts, you're going to have a better life. It is never too late to change your life or to turn it around. Bad things happen to good people and if you're angry or frustrated because this is your life right now, I want you to know that I am living proof that when bad things do happen to good people, good things can happen and will happen for you.
Speaker 1:When we think about the law of attraction. We think about what we put out to the universe and how it can come back to us. I'm not saying make a wish list and give it to the universe and wait for it to happen. That doesn't work. It would be great if it did, but we both know that that's not realistic. That's not real. You have to put action with your intention to get results. In other words, get out there and make good choices. If life was one big wishing well, we would have all our dreams come true.
Speaker 1:Life takes time and determination and it takes courage and lots of patience, lots and lots of patience. Thing is never give up, never give in. Your time will come. What you look for will come. What you want to happen will happen. Just be patient.
Speaker 1:Do you struggle with asking for help? I'm guilty of that, guilty, guilty, guilty, trying to be better. But it's still a struggle. Many of us forget the fact that it's okay to ask for help, especially this time of the year when many people are having to make difficult choices. And that's what life is. It's a choice. Every day we get up because we choose to. What we choose to do with that day is a choice. And, believe me, there are some days when I get out of bed, I just want to roll back into bed, because I struggle daily with chronic pain and chronic health issues. I don't want to dive too deep into it on this episode, but I got very sick in 2017 and I had to leave my job that I loved and had to give up not only my income, but something that brought me such immense joy, something that I had worked so hard toward, and it just destroyed me. It destroyed me.
Speaker 1:How many times have you felt, how many of you have felt, that your identity is wrapped up in your job? I know mine was. I know my husband's was. My husband had a terrible work accident in 2021. He has not been able to return to work because of his injuries, because of the chronic pain he struggles with to this day. His identity was wrapped up in his job as well. He had to give up a job that he had for 30 years and loved, but because I went through it first, I was able to help him navigate through the emotions that came along with having to give up something that meant so much to you, through no fault of your own. Like myself, he loved his job, feeling connected to something that not only provided a paycheck but made us feel good and accomplished at the end of the day, no matter how tired we were, was a blessing. It's not that we lack other things in our life. It's just we spent so much time of our life working that it becomes your identity, and when we don't have it anymore, we just don't know what to do, and that can be a struggle in of itself, especially if you're faced with a job loss right now. If you've been through something like this, please share on our Facebook group page. I'd like to hear from you. I would like to know how you handled it. I would like to offer support, if I could.
Speaker 1:I was a nationally certified licensed massage therapist and I had gone back to school at 42 years old because my kids had graduated high school and they were heading on their way to where they needed to be, and I knew it was time for me to try something different. I had always worked since I was 12 years old, but I never felt that I had a career that I loved. So going back to school at 42 was very challenging and it took a lot for me to do that, and my husband was with me and he knows how I operate and when I was there in admissions and wanted to say I needed to think about it, he said if you go home and you think about it, you won't do it. And he was right. So right there. And then I signed up for it and it was one of the most challenging, awesome, amazing, heart wrenching, hard things I ever had to do was go back to school at 42 years old and, unfortunately, a few weeks later after enrolling the program, my dad was diagnosed with advanced stage prostate cancer and I thought I would have to give up the program and he said, no, he's. My husband said, no, we're going to work it out, it'll be okay. No, my husband said, no, we're going to work it out, it'll be okay.
Speaker 1:My dad ended up moving in with us and we loved having him. My dad my dad had an eighth grade education, but you know what he was so wise. In so many ways, my dad taught me so much about grace, gratitude and being thankful for what you do have instead of focusing on what you don't have. Every day, I looked at this man who was battling things that he didn't talk about. He was always joyful and had a good word, never said a bad word about anything or anyone, and seeing someone with advanced stage cancer still living their life and still living every day, getting up doing the best that he could, was something that I will take with me to my last dying breath. Through what he went through and through his grace and gratitude for life, taught me to be more grateful and have more grace. And as, as an FYI, if you can get to know your parent as an adult, it is so worth it. But that'll be more on another episode. We'll dive deep into that one.
Speaker 1:I want to talk about regrets for a moment. We all have them, many of us do and many of us live with them for many years. One of the regrets that I have is not keeping my private healing practice. I was so busy teaching adult education that I did not have the time to devote to my healing practice, and because my teaching job provided an income and my healing practice provided enough income to cover my expenses, I had to give it up because I just could not devote the time to it that it needed. My job provided financial support, but my healing practice provided my spiritual support. I never, ever wanted. My healing practice provided my spiritual support. I never, ever, wanted my healing practice to become a job. I enjoyed it way too much. I enjoyed helping people and I enjoyed the work that it did. It filled me up in ways that was so spiritual and so uplifting that to this day it feels like I have a void inside of me that has not not been able to be filled by anything that compares to what I used to do. So that is one of the biggest regrets that I still have in my life and I'll touch on that later when I I'll touch on that later, I don't want to go too deep into it.
Speaker 1:On our first episode, when I had to give up working due to a sudden illness, it was devastating in so many ways, and some people can heal from what they go through physically, but they are still suffering suffering mentally or emotionally. Unfortunately, I still have physical problems from that time, and so I wasn't able to return to work. Being faced with a loss of a salary was devastating. One of my fears in this life has always been about being homeless. The other is about being forgotten and I can tell you there is a lot of people who feel the same way and tornadoes. I fear tornadoes, but being homeless and being forgotten are the top two. There were a few years where I didn't do too bad physically, but I was still unable to give back to the life that I had, and unfortunately, over the last four years my struggles have been more challenging.
Speaker 1:But I proudly come from a very long line of strong, resilient, independent, determined, amazing women, and I mean that in the most positive way. I have always felt that I am here to help others, to be of service. I can't help in the way you would think in regards to financial or other means, but I can help with my words, my experiences in life, my passion, compassion, empathy for people, places, pets and things, and even maybe a few nuggets of wisdom. I have no hidden agenda for this podcast, aside from the fact that I still have so much to share and I want to help as many people as I can in the most positive, uplifting way. I still have so much to offer and I don't want my life to end knowing that I still have so much inside of me that I can share. I want you to take what you have learned or will learn or are learning, and help others with it. I want you to become that guide. I want you to use the wisdom to help others and yourself. If my words can help you on a bad day, then I know that I have lived my purpose for that day. I don't get hung up on who I can help today or being ego driven. There's enough to go around for everybody. What I like to do and what I do comes from the heart. I miss seeing clients for intuitive readings or for life coaching. I miss the connection I had with these amazing, amazing kindred spirits.
Speaker 1:So I'm hoping that you'll indulge me with this podcast and in many more exciting episodes and guests we're going to have. On the podcast, we have planned to dive deep into connection, authenticity, vulnerability, grief, caregiving. We have I actually have 138 podcast topic ideas, so we're not going to run out, but I just want us to stay connected. We are all kindred spirits. You may not find all the answers in a podcast, but if you allow yourself to have an open mind and open heart, you may find yourself feeling limitless in your ability to heal the things in your own life and your ability to heal the things in your own life. I hope you feel inspired and empowered and maybe a little more enlightened by our episodes and what we share here.
Speaker 1:I invite you to visit our Facebook page, healing Our Kindred Spirits Podcast. I will put the link at the end of the episode in the notes and I'd like to know how you're doing and if you have any questions from this episode or if there is something that you're questioning in your own life that maybe myself or a Facebook community can help you with. Please take an opportunity to connect with our kindred spirits, not only virtually, but in person as well. Please subscribe, share or like our episode and reach out on Facebook if you feel so guided. I will even be jumping in live to do some live segments from time to time on our group page and to do some mini life coach sessions, and maybe we'll throw in some intuitive guidance as well.
Speaker 1:That is one of the things I still get requested for is intuitive guidance, life coaching, spiritual readings. I still get so many requests for them, but because of my limitations and my health problems, I can't see clients anymore because I just cannot have the. I just do not have the physical ability to do that right now. But I can do things in little snippets, in little things, so I'm hoping that we can meet live on Facebook at some point, so that you can enjoy, maybe some mini life coaching sessions as well. I want to leave you with this question that only you can answer Today, at this moment, do you need to be helped, hugged or heard? I appreciate you and I'm grateful for your support. Thank you, thank you, thank you for spending your time with us. I am so grateful.
